High Ground — St0mp-EE5 (Arc Hunter · PvP)
Air-superiority peek-duelist — Crucible 6v6 + Trials/Comp
Skyfall runs St0mp-EE5 as a ground-game hand-cannon duelist — strafe-jump the peek, land, trade. High Ground takes the third dimension. Jump (St0mp launches you higher and farther), tap dodge in mid-air to Ascension upward, amplify yourself on demand, jolt the lane, and rain down a shotgun or SMG angle nobody pre-aims because nobody holds the ceiling. And it is the honest St0mp build: in PvP the legs are pure movement, full stop — your air survivability comes from Ascension into Flow State, not from the boots.
The exotic
St0mp-EE5 — "Hydraulic Boosters: Increases slide distance and improves High Jump, Strafe Jump, and Triple Jump. Take less damage from targets when airborne."
St0mp-EE5 is a movement exotic and, in Crucible, only a movement exotic. Clarity resolves the intrinsic to +6.25% Sprint Speed, +33% Slide Distance, and "greatly increases the initial momentum of all Jump Abilities" — the numbers that warp how you rotate, peek, disengage, and here how high you can Ascension from. The manifest's "take less damage when airborne" reads like a PvP perk, but Clarity confirms it is 30% damage resistance against PVE Combatants only; against enemy Guardians the legs grant zero airborne DR. They also grant zero Airborne Effectiveness, so your in-air weapon accuracy still eats the standard penalty — you peek-and-land to shoot a primary, or stay close where the penalty barely bites. The slipperiness is the entire value; the air defence lives on the subclass.
Loadout
| Slot | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Subclass | Arcstrider (Arc) | Arc gives jolt, amplified, and Ionic Traces — the three verbs the whole air-superiority loop is built on. |
| Super |  Gathering Storm or Arc Staff | Least-important slot: Gathering Storm zones/controls a lane, Arc Staff is a roaming get-off-me — this build wins in the neutral game, not with the Super. |
| Class ability |  Marksman's Dodge | On the ground it instantly reloads and breaks projectile tracking without moving your crosshair; in the air the same button becomes Ascension, so one slot is both a reset and a launcher. |
| Movement |  Triple Jump | Three independently-aimable air vectors for maximum peeking mischief, and St0mp's momentum boost sends each kick higher and farther — plus the altitude you need to Ascension from. |
| Melee | Combination Blow / Disorienting Blow | A close-range panic button, not a kill engine — Disorienting Blow blinds a pushing aper for the half-second you need to win the gunfight you are already in. |
| Grenade | Flashbang or Arcbolt | Flashbang blinds a pushing duo as a get-off-me; Arcbolt chips and, with Spark of Shock, jolts to set up a Flow State amplified kill. |
| Aspect 1 |  Ascension | The signature: consume class-ability energy mid-air to pop upward, jolt the lane in a burst, and go amplified on demand with no kill required — the distinguishing engine versus Skyfall. |
| Aspect 2 |  Flow State | The payoff layer: defeating a jolted target makes you amplified, and while amplified your dodge recharges faster, you are more resilient while dodging (your only real in-air mitigation in PvP), and reload is greatly increased. |
| Fragments | Ions · Shock · Haste · Feedback · Frequency | Close the class-energy loop, turn grenades into jolt triggers, and stack near-permanent Health plus glued reload — see the styled line below. |
| Exotic armour | St0mp-EE5 (Legs) | The movement chassis: +33% slide and boosted jump momentum are what carry you to the off-angles and give Ascension its launch height. |
| Weapons | SMG / 600 auto primary + Shotgun special | An AE-tolerant primary (The Immortal, Unforgiven, or a 600 auto) duels close-to-mid where the airborne penalty is least punishing; a Slideshot/Threat-Detector shotgun is made for the +33% slide and Ascension's downward drop. |
Fragments
Spark of Ions jolted/Bolt-Charge kills create an Ionic Trace
Spark of Shock Arc grenades jolt; −10 Grenade
Spark of Haste greatly increased Health stat while sprinting
Spark of Feedback taking melee damage boosts outgoing melee; +10 Health
Spark of Frequency melee hits increase reload speed and stability
Why it works (the mechanics)
- Ascension is on-demand amplified, not kill-gated. The aspect reads "consume your class ability energy to summon your Arc Staff, propelling yourself upward and creating a burst of energy around you that amplifies allies and jolts targets" — the caster counts as an ally, so tapping dodge airborne buys you amplified with no prior kill. That is the split from Skyfall, whose amplified only comes off a Flow State jolted kill.
- The jolt-to-amplified loop feeds itself. Ascension's burst jolts the lane; you finish the jolted target; Flow State makes you amplified again. Because amplified grants faster dodge recharge, the next Ascension comes sooner — and Spark of Ions hands back the class-ability energy Ascension spent, so the loop closes on its own energy budget.
- Amplified-while-dodging is your PvP air-DR substitute. St0mp gives zero airborne damage resistance against Guardians, so the "more resilient while dodging" clause on Flow State is the only mitigation net you have in the air. Chaining amplified means you are as often as possible in the resilient-dodge window rather than exposed.
- The slide is a free first shot. St0mp's +33% Slide Distance means a slide that ends a third farther than the defender pre-aimed; slide-cancel a corner and their crosshair placement is already a beat behind. Combined with +6.25% Sprint Speed you simply arrive at off-angles before the enemy is set.
- Grenades convert to the loop. Spark of Shock makes Flashbang and Arcbolt jolt, so a defensive grenade doubles as a Flow State trigger: jolt with the grenade, secure the kill, go amplified. Spark of Frequency and Spark of Feedback then keep the gun glued and punish the shoulder-charge ape after any brawl.
- Health lives on the fragments, not just the roll. Spark of Haste grants a greatly increased Health stat while sprinting — near-permanent for a build constantly sprinting between off-angles — and Spark of Feedback adds a flat +10 Health. That layered Health is your trade-forgiveness in a mode where you have no overshield, heal, or airborne DR.
Stats & mods
Weapons 200 → Class → Health. PvP relevance is not the PvE spread — this is a gun-first, mobility-second archetype (Gunner/Specialist-flavoured), chasing weapon handling/reload/ready and dodge uptime, with Health as trade-forgiveness rather than a heal loop.
Mods:
- Boots: Recuperation / Better Already — top off after a won duel where there is no ability heal.
- Arms: Loader for your primary's weapon type — faster reloads stacking on top of Flow State's amplified reload.
- Chest: Unflinching for your primary — steady the peek-and-land shots under return fire.
- Class item: Bomber / Utility Kickstart — shave dodge cooldown so Marksman's/Ascension come back faster.
- Surge: Arc Surge — lean the damage into your Arc primary if you run one.
- Anti-Champion: none — this is a Crucible build; champion tooling is out of scope.
Artifact — Encrypted Data Disk
Picks (2/3/2):
- Tier 1: Riposte · Fierce Proxemics
- Tier 2: Dielectric · Blinding Jolts · Precision Equity
- Tier 3: Elemental Orbs: Arc · Tazer Tag
Blinding Jolts turns every jolted final blow into an AoE blind — Ascension's burst jolts the lane, and finishing anyone in it now blinds the rest, making a pop into a stacked angle a crowd-control tool rather than just a kill.
Dielectric rewards defeating Arc-debuffed (jolted) targets with Bolt Charge and, on rapid kills, an Orb of Power and healing — extra economy layered straight onto the jolt kills you are already scoring.
Elemental Orbs: Arc gives your Arc primary a chance to spawn a throwable/shootable Arc orb on final blows, adding an area-denial detonation without leaving your gun.
Tazer Tag makes Arc-powered melee jolt on hit — a second jolt source so Combination/Disorienting Blow feeds the Flow State loop as well as the grenade.
Precision Equity builds toward a large Orb of Power on precision kills for team support, and 
Fierce Proxemics plus 
Riposte are the Tier 1 fills — finisher energy and a Sword Unstoppable stun that go unused in a pure-duel loadout but keep the section legal at 2/3/2.
Where it shines
- 6v6 Crucible: off-angle vertical peeks nobody pre-aims, plus Blinding Jolts turning a pop into a stacked lane into instant crowd control.
- Trials/Comp (no artifact): strip the seasonal traces and blind — amplified uptime leans entirely on Ascension (on-demand) plus Flow State (jolted kill), so tighten Weapons + Class and treat Ascension as a get-out vertical first, aggression tool second.
- 1vX resets: win the first duel, Ascension or slide out to a fresh angle, and re-fight the 1v1s separately — survivability is not being where they are shooting.
- Champion coverage: none, by design — Champions do not exist in Crucible, and St0mp breaks no champion type intrinsically. If you ever take this kit to PvE, bring anti-champion on the primary; here it is out of scope.
Mod selection (masterworked — full allocation)
| Piece | Mod · cost | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Helmet (7/10) | Arc Siphon 3e fill | Rapid Arc weapon final blows create an Orb of Power. |
| Ashes to Assets 3e fill | Gain bonus Super energy on grenade kills. | |
| Heavy Ammo Finder 1e fill | Increases the effect of all contributions towards the Heavy ammo meter. | |
| Arms (6/10) | Utility Kickstart 3e fill | When your class ability energy is fully expended, your Armor Charge is consumed and you gain class ability energy for each Armor Charge used. |
| Momentum Transfer 2e fill | Causing damage with a grenade reduces your melee cooldown. | |
| Fastball 1e fill | Increases grenade throw distance. | |
| Chest (5/10) | Arc Resistance 1e fill | Reduces incoming Arc damage from combatants. |
| Concussive Dampener 3e fill | Reduces incoming area-of-effect damage from combatants. | |
| Sniper Damage Resistance 1e fill | Reduces incoming damage from combatants that are at long range. | |
| Legs (3/10) | Better Already 1e | Your health begins to regenerate immediately after picking up an Orb of Power. |
| Recuperation 1e | Replenishes health each time you pick up an Orb of Power. | |
| Arc Weapon Surge 1e fill | Your Arc weapons gain a small bonus to damage while you have any Armor Charge. Your Armor Charge now decays over time. | |
| Class Item (5/10) | Utility Kickstart 3e | When your class ability energy is fully expended, your Armor Charge is consumed and you gain class ability energy for each Armor Charge used. |
| Bomber 1e | Reduces grenade cooldown when using your class ability. | |
| Reaper 1e fill | Shortly after using your class ability, your next weapon final blow spawns an Orb of Power. |
All 15 sockets used, 10 energy per masterworked piece; costs from the manifest. Core mods are the build's engine; fill mods are strong defaults — swap freely (chest resists should match the activity's damage types).