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Charged with Light is one of Destiny 2's most complicated mechanics. This unique mechanic allows players to create builds centered around unique traits. Increased damage, damage resistance, and spawning constant Special ammo are just a few things these mods can do.

Related: Destiny 2: A Complete Guide To Combat Style Mods

You can only obtain these mods from Banshee-44 currently, so you'll want to be purchasing any mods he sells. With 38 Charged with Light mods, it can be somewhat tough figuring out how each one works and which ones are worth getting. That's what this guide is for. We'll give an in-depth look at every Charged with Light mod in Destiny 2, covering everything from its effects to any special mechanics it has.

Updated August 3rd, 2022, by Charles Burgar: While Solar 3.0 added definite keywords for healing, most Charged with Light mods did not receive keyword synergies. High-Energy Fire also saw a nerf inside the Crucible, reducing its damage buff slightly to prevent certain Special weapons from one-shotting Guardians. We've updated this article to include more info on how mods interact (or don't) with subclass keywords, and we've updated the High-Energy Fire section to include its different values in PvE and PvP.

Table Of Contents

Argent Ordnance

Destiny 2 Argent Ordnance Mod

Argent Ordnance: While Charged with Light, readying or firing a Rocket Launcher grants it increased damage and reload speed. Damaging a combatant with a rocket consumes one stack of Charged with Light.

Affinity

Solar

Cost

5 Energy

Effect

While Charged with Light, Rocket Launchers deal 20-40% increased damage and reload faster.

Consumes

x1 Charged with Light

Stack Effect

One Mod: 20% bonus damage

Two Mods: 25% bonus damage

Three Mods: 35% bonus damage

Four Mods: 40% bonus damage

Argent Ordnance does not stack with Weapons of Light, High-Energy Fire, or other damage buffs.

When you have Charged with Light stacks, a buffed named "Godslayer Warheads" will display on your screen. Damaging a target will remove a stack of Charged with Light after one second. Rocket Launchers with multiple rockets in their tube, such as Truth, can fire multiple rockets before the buff expires. While the buff is active, your Rocket Launcher will reload much faster as well. Damaging multiple targets while Godslayer Warheads is active will only consume one stack of Charged with Light.

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Blast Radius

Destiny 2 Blast Radius Mod

Blast Radius: Become Charged with Light by rapidly defeating multiple combatants with Grenade Launchers or Rocket Launchers.

Affinity

Solar

Cost

3 Energy

Effect

Double kills with Grenade or Rocket Launchers grant Charged with Light stacks.

Grants

x1 Charged with Light

Stack Effect

Grants an additional Charged with Light stacks per mod

Using two of these mods allows you to maintain High-Energy Fire using only a Grenade Launcher.

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Charge Harvester

Destiny 2 Charge Harvester Mod Icon

Charge Harvester: While you are not Charged with Light, any kill or assist has a small cumulative chance to cause you to become Charged with Light. -10 to the stat that governs your class ability recharge rate.

Affinity

Void

Cost

3 Energy

Effect

Kills grant ~10% cumulative chance to become Charged with Light.

Hunter: -10 Mobility

Titan: -10 Resilience

Warlock: -10 Recovery

Grants

x1 Charged with Light

This mod only works while you have no Charged with Light stacks. Once you obtain a stack, Charge Harvester won't grant further stacks.

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Charged Up

Destiny 2 Charged Up Mod Icon

Charged Up: Allows for 1 additional stack of Charged with Light.

Affinity

Solar

Cost

2 Energy

Effect

+1 Charged with Light stack cap

Stack Effect

Increases your Charged with Light stack cap; maximum cap is 4.

This mod stacks with Supercharged, giving you a maximum Charged with Light stack cap of five. You cannot exceed x5 Charged with Light stacks, regardless of how many Supercharged and Charged Up mods you have installed.

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Empowered Finish

Destiny 2 Empowered Finish Mod Icon

Empowered Finish: Become Charged with Light by finishing a combatant, consuming one-tenth of your Super energy.

Affinity

Universal

Cost

1 Energy

Effect

Finishers grant x1 Charged with Light, consuming 10% Super energy

Grants

x1 Charged with Light

If you have other finisher mods that drain Super energy, Empowered Finisher stacks additively with them.

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Energy Converter

Destiny 2 Energy Converter Mod Icon

Energy Converter: While Charged with Light, using your grenade attack grants you Super energy, consuming all stacks of Charged with Light. The more stacks you have, the more energy you gain, up to a maximum of 50% of your Super energy. -10 Discipline.

Affinity

Void

Cost

4 Energy

Effect

Mod Effect: Throwing your grenade grants Super energy, consuming all stacks of Charged with Light. Only grants up to the first 50% of your Super.

Stat Penalty: -10 Discipline

Consumes

All Charged with Light stacks

Energy Converter will only regenerate the first 50% of your Super bar. After you reach 50% Super energy, throwing a grenade will not consume Charged with Light stacks nor give Super energy. If you are just shy of 50%, Energy Converter will grant Super energy up to 50%, consuming all Charged with Light stacks regardless of how much Super energy was given.

Related: Destiny 2: Elemental Wells Explained In-Depth

Obtaining multiple Charged with Light stacks makes this mod significantly better:

Super Returns Per Stack

One Stack

5%

Two Stacks

10%

Three Stacks

15%

Four Stacks

20%

Five Stacks

40%

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Extra Reserves

Destiny 2 Extra Reserves Mod Icon

Extra Reserves: While Charged with Light, defeating combatants with Void damage grants a chance to drop Special ammo. This effect consumes all stacks of Charged with Light. The more stacks you have, the higher your chance of gaining the ammo drop. -10 Intellect.

Affinity

Void

Cost

3 Energy

Effect

Mod Effect: While Charged with Light, Void kills can drop Special ammo.

Stat Penalty: -10 Intellect

Consumes

All Charged with Light stacks

Multiple Charged with Light stacks seem to massively increase the chance of Special ammo dropping, nearly guaranteeing a drop at x5 Charged with Light stacks. Any Void damage can proc Extra Reserves, not just Void weapons.

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Firepower

Destiny 2 Firepower Mod Icon

Firepower: While Charged with Light, regain a portion of your grenade energy when you use your grenade, consuming one stack of Charged with Light.

Affinity

Solar

Cost

4 Energy

Effect

While Charged with Light, throwing your grenade grants 15-60% grenade energy.

Consumes

x1 Charged with Light

Stack Effect

One Mod: 15% increased grenade regeneration

Two Mods: 30% increased grenade regeneration

Three Mods: 45% increased grenade regeneration

Four Mods: 60% increased grenade regeneration

The amount of grenade energy provided is static, regardless of how many Charged with Light stacks you have or your Discipline stat. The only way to modify it is to wear multiple Firepower mods. Wearing multiple Firepower mods does not increase the Charged with Light stacks consumed, only the amount of energy gained.

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Heal Thyself

Destiny 2 Heal Thyself Mod Icon

Heal Thyself: While you are Charged with Light, grenade final blows heal you and consume one stack of Charged with Light.

Affinity

Solar

Cost

4 Energy

Effect

While Charged with Light, grenade kills heal 25-100% of your health and shields.

Consumes

x1 Charged with Light

Stack Effect

25% increased health recovered; caps at 100%

Final blows from Stasis grenades are extremely inconsistent, as shatter kills don't count as grenade final blows. Use this mod with Light subclasses for better results. The heal from this mod does not share the Cure keyword from Solar subclasses.

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Heavy Handed

Destiny 2 Heavy Handed Mod Icon

Heavy Handed: While Charged with Light, regain half of your melee energy when you use a charged melee ability, consuming one stack of Charged with Light.

Affinity

Arc

Cost

7 Energy

Effect

While Charged with Light, melee abilities refund 50% melee energy.

Consumes

x1 Charged with Light

Secondary Effect

While three or more enemies surround you, kills with Fusion Rifles, Shotguns, Sidearms, or Submachine Guns add ammo for that weapon to your reserves.

Your melee ability must hit an enemy to grant the 50% energy return. This effect does not stack with Melee Kickstart, although Exotics that grant melee energy—notably Mk. 44 Stand Asides—stack with Heavy Handed.

The ammo granted by the secondary effect grants one round to your reserves. Ammo gained this way is not affected by ammo finder mods. Using the same weapon category in two slots will grant ammo to both weapons on kill, excluding Heavy weapons.

Despite its description, Heavy Handed's secondary perk does not work with One Thousand Voices or Forerunner.

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High-Energy Fire

Destiny 2 High-Energy Fire Mod Icon

High-Energy Fire: While Charged with Light, gain a bonus to weapon damage. Each defeated combatant consumes one stack of Charged with Light.

Affinity

Universal

Cost

4 Energy

Effect

While Charged with Light, your weapon deal 20% increased damage against PvE foes and 15% more against Guardians.

Consumes

x1 Charged with Light on kill

High-Energy Fire does not stack with Weapons of Light, Radiant, or other damage buffs.

High-Energy Fire provides a T1 damage buff to your weapons while Charged with Light. In PvE, this buff increases your damage output by 20%. High-Energy Fire's buff is reduced to 15% extra damage in PvP. This buff does not stack with other damage buffs.

Unlike most damage buffs in Destiny 2, High-Energy Fire lasts until you kill someone or use your Charged with Light stacks. This makes High-Energy Fire have 100% uptime until you kill someone, making this a fantastic mod for boss fights like Rhulk in Vow of the Disciple.

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Kindling The Flame

Destiny 2 Kindling The Flame Mod Icon

Kindling the Flame: While Charged with Light, reviving a downed Guardian gives you a burst of healing, consuming one stack of Charged with Light.

Affinity

Solar

Cost

2 Energy

Effect

While Charged with Light, reviving a downed Guardian heals you for 25-100%.

Consumes

x1 Charged with Light

Stack Effect

One Mod: 25% increased healing

Two Mods: 50% increased healing

Three Mods: 75% increased healing

Four Mods: 100% increased healing

Excess healing does not create an overshield. This heal does not count as a Cure for the purposes of Solar 3.0 Aspects and Fragments.

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Lucent Blade

Destiny 2 Lucent Blade Mod Icon

Lucent Blade: While Charged with Light, dealing damage with a sword gives you bonus Sword damage for 5 seconds, consuming one stack of Charged with Light.

Affinity

Arc

Cost

4 Energy

Effect

While Charged with Light, hitting an enemy with your Sword grants a 35% damage buff for 5 seconds.

Consumes

x1 Charged with Light

Secondary Effect

Greatly increases the charge rate for your equipped Swords.

Lucent Blade does not stack with Weapons of Light, Radiant, or other damage buffs.

Charge rate refers to your Sword's Guard energy, allowing you to heavy attack enemies and deflect enemy projectiles. The charge rate increase is immense.

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Powerful Friends

Destiny 2 Powerful Friends Mod Icon

Powerful Friends: When you become Charged with Light, nearby allies also become Charged with Light, if they are not already.

Affinity

Arc

Cost

4 Energy

Effect

When you become Charged with Light, nearby allies also become Charged with Light.

Grants

x1 Charged with Light

Secondary Effect

+20 Mobility

A common strategy for PvP builds is to use Powerful Friends and Radiant Light together, granting +20 Mobility and +20 Strength to your build for little investment. Should an ally be using Powerful Friends when you become Charged with Light, you'll gain x2 Charged with Light instead of just one stack. If you equip multiple copies of this mod, the +20 Mobility bonus will cease to function.

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Precisely Charged

Destiny 2 Precisely Charged Mod Icon

Precisely Charged: Become Charged with Light by getting multiple rapid precision final blows with Linear Fusion Rifles or Sniper Rifles. -10 Discipline.

Affinity

Void

Cost

1 Energy

Effect

Mod Effect: Precision double kills from Sniper Rifles or Linear Fusion Rifles grant one Charged with Light stack.

Stat Penalty: -10 Discipline.

Grants

x1 Charged with Light

To receive the Charged with Light stacks, you'll need to land two precision final blows in a very short period.

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Precision Charge

Destiny 2 Precision Charge Mod Icon

Precision Charge: Become Charged with Light by rapidly defeating combatants with precision kills from Bows, Hand Cannons, and Scout Rifles. -10 Strength.

Affinity

Void

Cost

2 Energy

Effect

Mod Effect: Precision multikills from Bows, Hand Cannons, or Scout Rifles grant one Charged with Light stack.

Stat Penalty: -10 Discipline

Grants

x1 Charged with Light

You'll need to land around three kills in quick succession with the weapons listed to gain a Charged with Light stack. Since Hand Cannons are meta in Destiny's Crucible, this mod is a solid choice for PvP.

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Protective Light

Destiny 2 Protective Light Mod Icon

Protective Light: While Charged with Light, you gain significant damage resistance against combatants when your shields are destroyed. This effect consumes all stacks of Charged with Light. The more stacks consumed, the longer the damage resistance lasts.-10 Strength.

Affinity

Void

Cost

2 Energy

Effect

Mod Effect: While Charged with Light, gain 10% damage resistance for 5-20 seconds when your shields break.

Stat Penalty: -10 Strength

Consumes

All Charged with Light stacks

Significant damage resistance is misleading. This mod only grants 10% damage resistance while active. For comparison, chest DR mods give 15%, and 100 Resilience grants 40%. It also no longer extends the duration of more powerful DR sources as of The Witch Queen expansion.

Protective Light's damage resistance carries over to your shields if they regenerate. If your shields break again when Protective Light is active, the mod's duration will reset. The duration is based on how many Charged with Light stacks are consumed. The exact values are listed below:

Protective Light Stack Duration

One Stack

5 seconds

Two Stacks

10 seconds

Three Stacks

12 seconds

Four Stacks

15 seconds

Five Stacks

20 seconds

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Quick Charge

Destiny 2 Quick Charge Mod Icon

Quick Charge: Become Charged with Light by rapidly defeating multiple combatants with Fusion Rifles or Shotguns.

Affinity

Arc

Cost

5 Energy

Effect

Double kills with Fusion Rifles or Shotguns grant one stack of Charged with Light.

Grants

x1 Charged with Light

Secondary Effect

Greatly increases the ready speed of Fusion Rifles, Shotguns, Submachine Guns, and Swords.

The ready speed bonus from Quick Charge is slightly weaker than a dexterity mod on your arms, granting around +25 handling with no additional scalars. This effect stacks with dexterity mods and handling-boosting Exotics.

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Radiant Light

Destiny 2 Radiant Light Mod Icon

Radiant Light: Casting your Super causes nearby allies to become Charged with Light.

Affinity

3 Energy

Cost

3 Energy

Effect

Casting your Super makes nearby allies become Charged with Light

Gives

x1 Charged with Light

Secondary Effect

+20 Strength

Radiant Light has excellent synergy with Powerful Friends, allowing any build to obtain +20 Mobility and Strength for little effort. As with Powerful Friends, equipping multiple copies of Radiant Light will disable the +20 Strength bonus.

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Reactive Pulse

Destiny 2 Reactive Pulse Mod Icon

Reactive Pulse: While Charged with Light, when you take damage while surrounded by combatants, you emit a burst of damaging Arc energy, consuming one stack of Charged with Light.

Affinity

Arc

Cost

3 Energy

Effect

While Charged with Light, taking damage while surrounded releasing chain lightning.

Consumes

x1 Charged with Light

Secondary Effect

Gain a powerful overshield while performing your finisher.

Reactive Pulse no longer activates Arc-based effects, such as Crown of Tempest's Conduction Tines or Trinity Ghoul's Exotic perk. The lightning damage is lackluster, incapable of killing Thrall that match your Power level. However, most enemies hit by Reactive Pulse's AoE blast will be staggered for a few seconds.

Related: Destiny 2: A Complete Guide To Armor 2.0

The secondary effect grants a 100-point overshield while you're performing a finisher. The overshield lasts for a second after the finisher ends.

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Shield Break Charge

Destiny 2 Shield Break Charge Mod Icon

Shield Break Charge: Become Charged with Light by breaking a combatant shield with the matching energy type.

Affinity

Universal

Cost

1 Energy

Effect

Become Charged with Light by breaking a shield with a matching damage type

Grants

x1 Charged with Light

Shield Break Charge only works against PvE enemies.

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Stacks On Stacks

Destiny 2 Stacks on Stacks Mod Icon

Stacks on Stacks: Gain an extra stack of Charged with Light for every stack you gain. -10 Recovery.

Affinity

Void

Cost

4 Energy

Effect

Mod Effect: Gain twice as many Charged with Light stacks as normal.

Stat Penalty: -10 Recovery

Stacks on Stacks works with every mod that grants Charged with Light, including the likes of Taking Charge and Charge Harvester. This mod has a powerful interaction with Elemental Charge. If you grab an Elemental Well that matches your subclass element, Stacks on Stacks will grant four Charged with Light stacks, not three.

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Striking Light

Destiny 2 Striking Light Mod Icon

Striking Light: While Charged with Light, defeating combatants with melee damage and Swords spawns 1 Orb of Power for your allies and consumes one stack of Charged with Light.

Affinity

Arc

Cost

5 Energy

Effect

While Charged with Light, melee and Sword kills spawn an Orb of Power for allies.

Consumes

x1 Charged with Light

Secondary Effect

Gain 25% damage resistance against combatants while sprinting.

The Orb of Power from Striking Light only spawns for your allies and is equivalent to a weak Orb of Power (those spawned from helmet mods). This mod's secondary effect grants 25% damage resistance while sprinting, although this effect only works against PvE enemies.

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Supercharged

Destiny 2 Supercharged Mod Icon

Supercharged: You can have 2 additional stacks of Charged with Light, up to a maximum of 5.

Affinity

Solar

Costs

5 Energy

Effect

+2 to your Charged with Light stack cap

Stack Effect

Increases your Charged with Light cap to 5; more than 2 Supercharged mods do nothing

With Supercharged equipped, your maximum Charged with Light cap can reach five. Since one Supercharged mod increased your cap from two to four, it's recommended that you pair this mod with Charged Up instead of a second Supercharged mod.

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Surprise Attack

Destiny 2 Surprise Attack Mod Icon

Surprise Attack: While Charged with Light, reloading or readying a Sidearm will consume all stacks of Charged with Light and convert them into stacks of a major damage buff, which are depleted as you damage combatants with that Sidearm. -10 Intellect

Affinity

Void

Cost

1 Energy

Effect

While Charged with Light, gain a 40% (35% in PvP) damage increase to Sidearms after reloading or readying them. The buff lasts for a variable number of shots.

-10 Intellect

Consumes

All Charged with Light stacks

Surprise Attack does not stack with High-Energy Fire, Well of Radiance, or other damage buffs.

The Witch Queen expansion buffed this mod without any patch notes declaring such. Surprise Attack now gives a 40% damage buff to sidearms in PvE, from 35%. It still gives a 35% damage buff in the Crucible.

After you reload or ready a Sidearm, the "Charged Magazine" buff appears, displaying how many rounds you have that will deal increased damage. This buff is only consumed when you hit a target; missing bullets don't consume Charged Magazine stacks. You cannot refresh this buff until you lose all Charged Magazine stacks, either by swapping your weapon or using all overcharged bullets.

Each Charged with Light stack grants five stacks of Charged Magazine, up to a cap of 25.

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Related: Destiny 2: Top Artifact Mods

Sustained Charge

Destiny 2 Sustained Charge Mod Icon

Sustained Charge: Become Charged with Light by rapidly defeating combatants with Auto Rifles, Trace Rifles, or Machine Guns. Additional copies of this mod increase the time allowed between combatants that are defeated.

Affinity

Solar

Cost

4 Energy

Grants

x1 Charged with Light

Stack Effect

+1 seconds allowed between kills

You'll need to land around four rapid kills to activate Sustained Charge. Copies of this mod allow for more time between each kill.

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Swift Charge

Destiny 2 Swift Charge Mod Icon

Swift Charge: Become Charged with Light by rapidly defeating combatants with Pulse Rifles, Sidearms, or Submachine Guns.

Affinity

Arc

Cost

5 Energy

Grants

x1 Charged with Light

Secondary Effect

Pulse Rifle final blows in PvE can drop Special ammo for allies

Similar to Sustained Charge, you'll need around four rapid kills to obtain a stack of Charged with Light.

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Taking Charge

Destiny 2 Taking Charge Mod Icon

Taking Charge: Become Charged with Light by picking up Orbs of Power.

Affinity

Universal

Cost

3 Energy

Effect

Orbs of Power grant x1 Charged with Light

Grants

x1 Charged with Light

This is easily the best means of becoming Charged with Light in Destiny 2. Orbs of Power generated from helmet mods and Supers can activate Taking Charge.

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