Destiny 2: The Witch Queen has brought some major additions to the game, yet nothing is quite as meta-defining as a season's Artifact mods. In Season of the Risen, Guardians will get the Synaptic Spear Artifact shortly after the first Witch Queen campaign mission, granting players some of the most build-enabling mods to date.
Giving Void weapons Volatile rounds, spawning Heavy ammo from finishers, and enhancing Origin Traits are just a few things available from this season's Artifact. Let's go over what each mod does this season, and we'll give a brief rundown of the mods that are worth taking first. Remember, there is no longer an Artifact mod cap, so you'll eventually be able to access all of these mods.
Column One
| Mod | Slot And Cost | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Anti-Barrier Scout Rifle | Arms | Scout Rifles you are wielding fire shield-piercing rounds and stun Barrier Champions. Scout Rifles deal bonus damage against Barrier Champions. |
| 1 Energy | ||
| Overload Rounds | Arms | Uninterrupted fire from your equipped Auto Rifles and Submachine Guns grants bullets that stun combatants, delaying ability energy regeneration and lowering combatant damage output. Strong against Overload Champions. |
| 1 Energy | ||
| Unstoppable Hand Cannon | Arms | Aiming down sights with any Hand Cannon you are wielding loads a powerful explosive payload that stuns unshielded combatants. Strong against Unstoppable Champions. |
| 1 Energy | ||
| Piercing Bowstring | Arms | Bows gain shield-piercing arrows, which bypass combatant defenses. Strong against Barrier Champions. |
| 1 Energy | ||
| Unstoppable Pulse Rifle | Arms | Aiming down Pulse Rifle sights loads a high-impact burst that stuns unshielded combatants. Strong against Unstoppable Champions. |
| 1 Energy |
The most notable mods in this column are Anti-Barrier Scout and Piercing Bowstring. Bows are fantastic for countering Champions, so Piercing Bowstring is a great pick. Scout Rifles saw some buffs in Season of the Lost, and the buff to Exotic Primaries in Witch Queen have made the likes of Polaris Lance and Dead Man's Tale surprisingly good for Legend content.
Overload Rounds is currently bugged and will not disable health regeneration from Overload Champions. Use this mod with caution.
Column Two
| Mod | Slot And Cost | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Glaive Dexterity | Arms | Faster ready and stow speed for Glaives. |
| 1 Energy | ||
| Rocket Launcher Scavenger | Legs | Rocket Launchers get bonus reserves when picking up Heavy ammo. |
| 1 Energy | ||
| Psionic Forging I | Head | Increases the duration of the Psychohack Origin Trait and the effect of the Suros Synergy Origin Trait. |
| 1 Energy | ||
| Melee Wellmaker | Combat Style | Powered melee combatant final blows spawn elemental wells matching your subclass energy type. |
| 1 Energy | ||
| Hand Cannon Targeting | Head | Improved target acquisition, accuracy, and aim-down-sights speed for Hand Cannons. |
| 6 Energy |
Rocket Launcher Scavenger is typically five points, so grabbing it for one point is a no-brainer here. Beyond that, you might want to consider Melee Wellmaker in PvE and Hand Cannon Targeting for PvP. Elemental Wells have never been stronger, so having a cheap mod that can easily spawn them is a good idea. Psionic Forging buffs the new Origin Traits that appear on weapons from Witch Queen, acting as a sort of intrinsic perk. Psychohack lowers the damage of enemies you are actively shooting, and Suros Synergy gives an effect similar to No Distractions upon reloading.
Column Three
| Mod | Slot And Cost | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Glaive Scavenger | Legs | Glaives get bonus reserves when picking up ammo used by that Glaive. |
| 1 Energy | ||
| Thermoschock Plating | Chest | Reduces incoming Arc and Solar damage from combatants. |
| 2 Energy | ||
| Auto Rifle Loader | Arms | Increases reload speed of Auto Rifles. |
| 1 Energy | ||
| Font of Might | Combat Style | Picking up an elemental well that matches your subclass energy type gratns a temporary bonus to weapon damage of that same elemental type. |
| 1 Energy | ||
| Psionic Forging II | Head | Increases the duration of the Land Tank Origin Trait and the effect of the Hakke Breach Armaments Origin Trait. |
| 1 Energy |
Thermoshock Plating is effectively two damage resistance mods in one. Unless you're using expensive Combat Style mods in your chest armor, we recommend you pick this mod up. Font of Might for one point is a steal considering how strong it is, and Psionic Forging II improves the effectiveness of Land Tank (gain Resilience and damage resistance after a combatant kill) and Hakke Breach Armaments (deal bonus damage to vehicles, turrets, barricades, and Stasis crystals.
Column Four
| Mod | Slot And Cost | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Unstoppable Glaive | Arms | Glaives you wield fire a powerful explosive payload that stuns unshielded combatants. Strong against Unstoppable Champions. |
| 6 Energy | ||
| Lucent Finisher | Class Item | Defeating a Lucent Hive Lightbearer or Champion with your finisher spawns Heavy ammo for you and your allies. |
| 6 Energy | ||
| Suppressing Glaive | Class Item | Damaging combatants with your Glaive suppresses them, preventing them from using abilities for a short time. |
| 4 Energy | ||
| Overload Grenades | Class Item | Void grenades disrupt combatants, stunning them, delaying ability energy regeneration and lowering combatant damage output. Strong against Overload Champions. |
| 1 Energy | ||
| Inferno Whip | Class Item | Solar melee abilities tun unshielded combatants. Strong against Unstoppable Champions. |
| 1 Energy |
Three of your options in this column relate to countering Champions, so pick any mods that suit your playstyle. Lucent Finisher is Heavy Finisher but costs no Super energy and spawns ammo for yourself as well. Definitely grab this mod if you can. Suppressing Glaive has some interesting synergies with Void Fragments, but most players can safely ignore this mod.
Column Five
| Mod | Slot And Cost | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Suppression Mastery | Class Item | Suppression effects you create have increased duration. |
| 3 Energy | ||
| Devouring Depths | Class Item | Casting your Void Super while you are critically wounded or benefitting from Devour increases your damage with that Super. |
| 3 Energy | ||
| Volatile Flow | Combat Style | Picking up a Void elemental well grants your Void weapons Volatile rounds. |
| 2 Energy | ||
| Energy Vampirism | Combat Style | Gain energy for your least-charged ability when you suppress a target. |
| 3 Energy | ||
| Suppressive Darkness | Class Item | Whenever you suppress a combatant, you also weaken them, causing them to take additional damage for a short time. |
| 7 Energy |
Suppressive Darkness and Volatile Flow are incredibly strong and should be obtained as soon as possible. Any weapons that suppress become significantly stronger with Suppressive Darkness (such as Two-Tailed Fox). Volatile Flow makes your Void weapons inflict Volatile when they hit someone, allowing rapid-fire Void weapons to dish out some absurd damage and general add-clear.
Devouring Depths is worth taking if you're a Hunter, as obtaining Devour is possible once we get access to the last four Fragments. The other two mods are solid but not must-haves when first unlocking mods on your Artifact.
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