Hunters are Destiny 2's most popular class by a large margin, doubling the number of Guardians that play Warlock or Titan. With their majestic capes and well-designed subclasses, it's easy to see why. Hunters can offer a bit of everything, ranging from powerful Supers to team buffs.
Even with their flexibility, some subclasses are worse than others. Hunters have no bad subclasses in Destiny 2, but they certainly have picks that fall behind other fantastic choices. For those who want to understand a Hunter's true potential while wielding the Light or Darkness, here is every Hunter subclass in Destiny 2 ranked from worst to best.
Updated October 15th, 2022, by Charles Burgar: Every Light subclass saw an overhaul since we last updated this article. The Subclass 3.0 overhaul has breathed new life into every Destiny 2 subclass, Hunters included. We've updated this tier list to reflect the 3.0 changes, ranking the subclasses based on their synergies with Aspects, Fragments, and Exotics across all game types.
4 Arcstrider (Arc)
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The Arcstrider is all about speed, raw aggression, and using your body as a weapon. It's arguably the easiest subclass to play of the bunch, allowing you to weave your dodges and Combination Blow ability into a seamless loop. Paired with the right Aspects, your punches will release explosive chain lightning that'll kill everyone near you. For enemies that aren't in punching distance, throw a grenade near them or turn your Arc Staff into a lightning spear, dealing as much damage as some of the Hunter's top DPS Supers.
So why isn't the Arcstrider ranked higher? The class has little utility for groups, limited survivability without mods or Exotics, and struggles in content where a swift punch isn't feasible—bringing an Arcstrider to a Grandmaster Nightfall will require some serious skill. It's also a subclass that has limited build variety. You can choose to punch things to death or throw infinite Skip Grenades; Arc weapon builds are nothing special. If you're looking for utility, pick another spec. But if you're looking for some jaw-dropping damage and solid add clear, look no further.
Arcstrider Aspects
Lethal Current is the best Aspect for the Arcstrider in PvE, infusing your punches with chain lightning when you dodge. Performing a dodge enhances your lunge range, buffs your next melee attack, and causes Jolted targets to also be afflicted with Blind. Since your punches Jolt, Blinding is a safe bet in PvE. If you're going to punch something—and let's face it, you are going to be punching a lot of things as an Arcstrider—use Lethal Current.
Flow State is a great neutral game buff, giving you faster dodge cooldowns and lightning-fast reload speed while Amplified. It also buffs your dodges with an absurd amount of damage resistance, allowing you to tank Special weapons in PvP and even Supers if you're using Arc Staff. As far as neutral game Aspects go, Flow State is a solid pick.
Tempest Strike is not worth using. It has no synergy with your melee ability, deals much less damage than you'd expect, and provides the same add-clearing potential as Combination Blow with Lethal Current active. Until Bungie buffs this Aspect, Tempest Strike is by far the worst Arcstrider Aspect.
3 Revenant (Stasis)
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Revenant is all about keeping your enemies slowed and your abilities charged. Nearly every ability in the Revenant's kit can slow targets, granting incredible crowd control for all PvE content and even the Crucible. You have a solid melee ability that can be built around, powerful grenades, and a solid shutdown Super.
That sounds underwhelming compared to Light subclasses on the surface, yet Revenant has one thing up its sleeve: armor mods. Elemental Well mods have incredible synergy with Stasis subclasses thanks to Elemental Shards, a mod that counts Stasis Shards as Elemental Well. As a result, Revenant is the most build-rich out of the Hunter subclasses. A good build will have constant abilities, a near-permanent 25% damage buff, 40% DR, and enough crowd control to keep GM Nightfall enemies at bay. Revenant is a criminally underrated PvE subclass with a high PvP skill ceiling.
Revenant Aspects
Grim Harvest creates Stasis Shards for each slowed or frozen target you defeat. Shards grant 10% melee energy for you and your allies when collected, allowing you to recharge Withering Blade with ease. The high Fragment count makes it easy to build around slows and Stasis Shards, leading to a PvE staple for most Revenant builds. Pair this with Whisper of Impetus to auto-reload all of your weapons when needed. In the Crucible, its use mostly comes from the three Fragment slots, although you can turn Stasis Shards into healing items with the right Fragments.
Shatterdive enables a unique playstyle for the Revenant, allowing them to detonate frozen targets and Stasis crystals at will. This doubles as a movement tool in the Crucible, allowing you to ground yourself immediately during a gunfight. It has a short cooldown, deals surprisingly good damage against frozen targets in PvE, and provides a movement tool in the Crucible. Shatterdive is mediocre in PvE and excellent for PvP.
Touch of Winter makes your grenades better. Duskfields are larger and spawn a crystal, allowing you to benefit from Whisper of Shards. Your Glaciers spawn a ring of crystals, allowing you to overlap damage with Shatterdive more easily. Finally, Coldsnaps seek more aggressively and spawn crystals. It's a solid Aspect overall if you need Fragment slots or don't know what else to run.
Winter's Shroud is the worst Aspect in the Revenant's arsenal, arguably out of all Hunter Aspects. It inflicts x40 slow to nearby targets upon dodging. That sounds powerful on paper, yet it's impossible to freeze someone in PvP without using two Withering Blade melees or a second dodge through The Sixth Coyote. Freezing enemies this way is impractical in PvE, and the lack of additional Fragment slots seriously hurts its build potential. You have far better ways of inflicting slow.
2 Nightstalker (Void)
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Most Hunter mains know the raw power of the Nightstalker. Your entire kit revolves around invisibility, a powerful buff that drops enemy aggro in PvE and periodically drops your radar pings in the Crucible. That alone makes the Nightstalker a powerful subclass, yet it's when you start looking at Exotics that the Nightstalker becomes the ultimate support spec for Hunters.
Omnioculus allows you to grant allies invisibility whenever needed, enhancing your invisibility with 40% (7.5% in PvP) damage resistance. Gyrfalcon's Hauberk gives the Nightstalker a form of sneak attack, granting a massive damage buff when breaking invisibility. Aggressive or passive, the Nightstalker has something for everyone.
Nightstalker Aspects
Trapper's Ambush allows your Snare Bomb to turn allies invisible, and you can activate your melee midair through a dive attack, providing longer-lasting invisibility and weaken effects. It has one Fragment slot to keep it in check, but just about every PvE build is going to use this Aspect for its utility.
Vanishing Step turns you invisible upon using your dodge. It's simple, grants two Fragment slots, and makes your dodge animation slightly faster. Both PvE and PvP players will use this to great effect.
Stylish Executioner is niche but incredibly powerful with the right build. Defeating Void-debuffed targets will turn you invisible, making this a perfect fit for Gyrfalcon's Hauberk. Pair this Aspect with Echo of Instability or the Collective Obligation Exotic Pulse Rifle for great results. With that said, its niche trigger condition makes it seldom used in most builds.
1 Gunslinger (Solar)
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Despite its name, the Gunslinger is focused on throwing a variety of knives and grenades to overpower their foes. This spec has a few weapon-related buffs and perks, yet the main focus is about throwing as many knives as possible toward your foes. A good Gunslinger player will have infinite melee charges, a constant 25% weapon damage buff, and access to Destiny 2's strongest Supers.
There isn't a weakpoint in the Gunslinger subclass. Solar Hunters have access to healing, damage, good abilities, add clear, and burst DPS Supers that excel in raid content. If you're more of a Crucible main, the Gunslinger's excellent Exotics and powerful Golden Gun Super won't disappoint. Use Caliban's Hand to Ignite targets, Young Ahamkara's Spine to throw constant grenades, or Star-Eater Scales to deliver a Blade Barrage that deals 800K damage in a second. The Gunslinger has everything you'd want from a subclass, both for PvE and PvP.
Gunslinger Aspects
Knock 'Em Down is one of Destiny 2's strongest Aspects. Melee ability kills while Radiant will refund your melee charge, allowing you to spam your melee ability if you can keep landing kills. It also buffs your Supers, doubling the damage of Blade Barrage while extending the duration of both Golden Gun variants. Almost every Gunslinger uses this Aspect, and for good reason.
On Your Mark grants your team a massive buff to their handling and reload speeds for all weapons. That alone might not be exciting, yet this Aspect grants three Fragment slots. The buildcrafting potential with this Aspect and Knock 'Em Down cannot be overstated.
Gunpowder Gamble is a powerful Aspect that's held back by its long cooldown and one Fragment slot. Landing enough Solar kills will convert your next grenade into a bundle of dynamite, Igniting the area when detonated. It deals absurd damage in PvE but is effectively a large grenade in PvP. If it wasn't for the limited Fragment slots or eight-second cooldown between uses, Gunpowder Gamble would be a far stronger pick.