When most Destiny 2 players hear about armor builds, they usually write them off as too confusing and not worth using. Most of this confusion stems from Combat Style Mods, armor Mods that focus on providing buffs from the Charged with Light and Warmind Cell mechanics.
These mechanics aren’t nearly as unintuitive as one might assume. Warmind Cells are fantastic in any build while Charged with Light can provide some of the strongest effects in franchise history, outshining most Exotics in terms of usefulness. For players that want to make the best character builds, here is a complete guide to understanding Destiny 2’s Combat Style Mods. Raid and Nightmare Mods are excluded from this guide as they are tied to more niche activities.
What Are Combat Style Mods?
Combat Style Mods, previously known as seasonal Mods, are unique armor Mods that offer powerful buffs in all activities. These Mods can grant effects such as increased weapon damage, damage resistance when your shields break, and the ability to spawn room-clearing Warmind Cells upon killing PvE foes.
Needless to say, these Mods are vital for making the strongest Destiny 2 builds both for PvE and PvP. All Legendary and Exotic armor pieces can equip Combat Style Mods in a fourth Mod slot. If the Combat Style Mod has an elemental affinity (Solar, Arc, or Void), the armor piece must have that respective elemental affinity to equip it. Solar Mods only go on Solar armor, Void Mods go on Void armor, et cetera.
Combat Style Mod Mechanics
As of Season of the Hunt, all Combat Style Mods revolve around one of two mechanics: Charged with Light stacks and Warmind Cells. Here is a brief description of what each mechanic does:
- Charged with Light: A permanent buff that stacks up to two times and does nothing on its own. Consume stacks of Charged with Light to receive unique bonuses. Mods influence how this buff is earned and spent.
- Warmind Cell: A bright orange ball that can be detonated by damaging it. Warmind Cell detonations deal heavy damage over a moderate area. Mods influence how Warmind Cells behave.
Charged with Light Mods with a green icon offer ways to gain the buff. Mods with a yellow icon offer ways to spend the buff. White Mods offer miscellaneous bonuses that enhance these mechanics.
For example, Taking Charge grants Charged with Light when you grab an Orb of Power — an effect that does nothing on its own. This Mod can be paired with High-Energy Fire, a Combat Style Mod that grants you 20% increased weapon damage while you have Charged with Light. Killing a target consumes one stack. With these two mods together, grabbing Orbs of Power will grant a useful damage boost that persists until you either die or kill someone. If this is paired with Stacks of Stacks, a Mod that causes you to gain two stacks of Charged with Light whenever you receive one, you can have a permanent 20% damage boost so long as you use a Masterworked weapon.
Warmind Cells are much easier to understand. While any Warmind Cell Mod is equipped, any Seventh Seraph or IKELOS weapon will spawn an orange ball after killing a set number of enemies. Mods augment how Warmind Cells work. Cellular Suppression, for example, turns Warmind Cells into suppressive energy sources that blind targets. To balance their absurd PvE potential, Warmind Cells can’t spawn in PvP environments.
Where To Obtain Combat Style Mods
Banshee-44 is the only NPC vendor that sells Combat Style Mods from past seasons. He will sell a random armor Mod every day for ten Mod Components. Check his stock every day for new Mods to complete your collection.
When a season introduces Combat Style Mods, players will be able to obtain them either from that season’s vendor or from the seasonal activity. In Season of Arrivals, for example, players could earn Combat Style Mods from the Contact public event or the Drifter’s Prismatic Recaster. Keep an eye out for these Mods whenever a new season begins. The Mod section of the collections tab gives a good idea of how to obtain any new Combat Style Mods.
The Best Charged With Light Mods
Players don’t have to memorize all 47 Combat Style Mods to know which options are the best. Here are some of the largest standouts that relate to the Charged with Light mechanic.
- Taking Charge (Universal, three energy): Become Charged with Light by picking up Orbs of Power. Best used with a Masterworked weapon.
- High-Energy Fire (Universal, four energy): Receive a 20% damage buff while Charged with Light. Defeating an opponent consumes one stack. Works in PvE and PvP.
- Lucent Blade (Arc, four energy): Grants a 35% damage buff to Swords after striking a target, lasting five seconds. Consumes one stack of Charged with Light. Equip a second Arc Mod to greatly increase your Sword’s charge rate.
- Protective Light (Void, two energy): Receive a 50% damage resistance buff for a variable duration after your shields break, consuming all stacks of Charged with Light. One stack lasts 5 seconds, two lasts 10, three lasts 13, four lasts 16, and five stacks last 20 seconds.
- Reactive Pulse (Arc, three energy): While surrounded, taking damage will release an Arc shockwave that does heavy damage to nearby foes. This consumes one stack of Charged with Light. Equip a second Arc Mod to gain a powerful overshield while performing finishers.
Most of these Mods are easy to build around and offer a powerful buff. Taking Charge is all players need to gain Charged with Light stacks. As for buffs, Lucent Blade and High-Energy Fire offer a large DPS increase for PvE and PvP, respectively. For a more defensive build, Reactive Pulse and Protective Light can be used together to take an absurd amount of punishment while Reactive Pulse kills any nearby foes.
For an in-depth look at some strong builds, check out this Beyond Light build guide.
The Best Warmind Cell Mods
Warmind Cells might be much easier to understand, but there are still a myriad of choices that vary from poor to exceptional. Here are some of the strongest Warmind Cell Mods that you should keep an eye out for.
- Rage of the Warmind(Solar, five energy): Warmind Cells deal additional Solar damage. Synergizes with Wrath of Rasputin.
- Wrath of Rasputin (Solar, one energy): Solar splash damage kills can spawn Warmind Cells. Solar grenades, Dragonfly, Xenophage, and Sunshot are compatible with this Mod.
- Cellular Suppression (Void, four energy): Damaging a Warmind Cell will radiate a suppressive Void effect. You also deal less damage to Warmind Cells.
- Warmind’s Protection (Void, two energy): Enemies deal 50% less damage when near Warmind Cells. This stacks with other damage resistance buffs.
- Grasp of the Warmind (Void, three energy): You can pick up, carry, and throw Warmind Cells. Synergizes nicely with Warmind’s Protection.
Wrath of Rasputin is a phenomenal Mod for those looking to use Warmind Cells, allowing the likes of Solar Subclasses and Exotics like Sunshot to spawn Warmind Cells. If Rage of the Warmind is also installed, Warmind Cells can spawn Warmind Cells if they kill enough targets. This causes a feedback loop where you constantly have Warmind Cells you can detonate. For a more support-oriented playstyle, Grasp of the Warmind and Warmind’s Protection can be used to carry around an orb that halves enemy damage output.
This guide covers more Warmind Cell Mods that are worth your attention.
NEXT: Destiny 2: The 7 Best Warlock Builds For PvP (And The 7 Best For PvE)
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Charles Burgar is an expert on all things tech and gaming. Graduating from Pikes Peak Community College in 2018 with an Associate of Science, Charles has spent his time dissecting popular video games, movies, and technology. With an understanding of games for as long as he can remember, Charles has a large interest in understanding what makes things fun. He is currently a Freelance writer for TheGamer and Game Rant.
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