Stormswarm — Shinobu's Vow + Ex Diris (Arc Hunter)
Anchor: Shinobu's Vow · Subclass: Arcstrider (Arc) · Role: Dual-exotic Arc engine — Skip-Grenade Bolt Charge single-target + Ex Diris moth-blind crowd control, fused through one Ionic-Trace economy Sandbox: 9.7.0 · Created 2026-06-24
Two Arc exotics that turn out to run the same loop. Shinobu's Vow makes Skip Grenades build Bolt Charge and Bolt Charge refund Skip energy; Ex Diris floods the room with blinding moths. The bridge is one Ionic-Trace economy: a jolted kill (your skip seekers) mints a trace via
Spark of Ions, a blinded kill (the moths) mints one via the artifact's
Trace Evidence, and any Arc-weapon kill mints one via
Spark of Discharge — which also turns every trace you collect into a Bolt Charge stack. So the moths and the grenade feed one trace river that pours straight back into Skip energy. Blind pacifies the room, Bolt Charge heals you and two-shots the champion, and you walk out with both grenade charges full.
The pairing — why two exotics, not one
Most builds here anchor on one exotic. This one legally runs both at once (Ex Diris is the Special weapon, Shinobu's Vow is the 
gauntlets), and they cover each other's holes:
Shinobu's Vow is the single-target + sustain engine: Skip Grenades that hit hard and call Bolt Charge, which heals allies and refunds grenade energy. Its weakness is ad-clear pacification and champion stun — it kills, but it doesn't shut a room up.
Ex Diris is exactly that missing layer: homing moths blind whatever they reach, with no aiming, and Blind stuns Overload. Its weakness is that it has no real single-target damage and no grenade engine.- They meet in the Arc verb economy. Both produce Arc debuffs (jolt + blind), and both kinds convert into Ionic Traces — jolt via Spark of Ions, blind via the artifact's Trace Evidence, Arc-weapon kills via Spark of Discharge. Traces give 15% energy to all three abilities and a Bolt Charge stack (Spark of Discharge). One river, two sources, feeding the grenade that runs Shinobu's.
Loadout
| Slot | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Super |  Gathering Storm | Sticky lightning rod jolts a whole pack and gives the boss/single-target burst neither exotic carries; jolt kills backfill the trace river. (Arc Staff if you'd rather roam.) |
| Class ability |  Gambler's Dodge | Melee energy near enemies → keeps Combination Blow up and arms Lethal Current; Flow State refunds the dodge faster while amplified. |
| Melee |  Combination Blow | Best neutral-game melee — heals + hits hard at 3 stacks, your sustain between grenade volleys; with Lethal Current the post-dodge hit also jolts + aftershocks. (Swap to  Disorienting Blow for a fourth on-demand blind source.) |
| Grenade |  Skip Grenade | The whole Shinobu's engine. Seekers tag everything; Spark of Shock makes them jolt. |
| Aspect 1 |  Lethal Current | After dodging, your next melee has increased lunge range, jolts the target, and creates a damaging aftershock. Turns the Gambler's-Dodge → Combination Blow rhythm into an on-demand jolt (+ AoE aftershock) — a melee trace source feeding Spark of Ions / Trace Evidence / Bolt Charge. (Slide-jolt alternative:  Tempest Strike.) |
| Aspect 2 |  Flow State | Defeating a jolted target makes you amplified; while amplified you dodge faster, take less damage dodging, and reload greatly faster. Second amplified source (arms Spark of Beacons) + huge reload on Ex Diris's 1-in-mag. |
Spark of Shock Arc grenades jolt — turns every skip seeker into a jolt applicator, so the room is jolted and blinded- Spark of Discharge Arc weapon kills can make a trace, and collecting any trace grants a Bolt Charge stack — this is the bolt that bridges Ex Diris's kills to Shinobu's grenade
- Spark of Ions jolted or Bolt-Charge kills create an Ionic Trace — the jolt→trace source
Spark of Beacons while amplified, your Arc Special or Heavy final blow creates a blinding explosion — Ex Diris is an Arc Special, so every kill double-blinds
Survivability swap for harder content: drop
Spark of Resistance (DR while surrounded). You lose one trace source, not the loop — the artifact's Trace Evidence (jolt and blind) + Spark of Discharge still close it.
Exotic armour — Shinobu's Vow (Gauntlets)
New Tricks: Gain an additional Skip Grenade charge. Skip Grenade damage grants Bolt Charge and gaining Bolt Charge grants Skip Grenade energy. When Bolt Charge is ready, you heal nearby allies and enhance your next Skip Grenade (extra bounces + bonus skip seekers per bounce).
A single Skip caps Bolt Charge on its own, so "New Tricks" is up permanently — you're always throwing Enhanced Skips, always healing on the Bolt-Charge cue, and always topping grenade energy back. Two charges means there's almost always a Skip ready for the next pack.
Exotic weapon — Ex Diris (Grenade Launcher · Special · Arc)
Corrupted Nucleosynthesis (intrinsic): "This weapon enrages when dealing or taking sustained damage, gaining increased rate of fire while enraged." 
Loyal Moths (trait): "Final blows and rapid direct hits with this weapon create a loyal moth. The moth will seek out nearby targets and detonate, damaging and blinding them." Catalyst — Berserk Rush: "Weapon enrages faster while amplified. Final blows with this weapon make you amplified."
A 90-RPM, 1-in-mag Special wave-frame GL. Loyal Moths is the point: kills/rapid hits spit seeking detonators that blind on contact — free, no-aim crowd control. The catalyst makes its kills amplify you, which (a) accelerates the enrage ramp so it's effectively always on, and (b) arms Spark of Beacons so every Ex Diris kill is a moth-blind and a beacon-blind off one shot.
Why this works (the mechanics)
- One trace river, several feeders. Skip seekers jolt (Spark of Shock); Ex Diris moths blind. Jolted kills mint Ionic Traces via Spark of Ions; jolted or blinded kills mint them via the artifact's Trace Evidence; any Arc- weapon kill can via Spark of Discharge. Traces fly to you, give 15% energy to all three abilities, and (Spark of Discharge) each one collected is a Bolt Charge stack.
- The two exotics share that river. Ex Diris's blinded kills make traces (Trace Evidence + Discharge) → the traces refill the Skip Grenade and stack Bolt Charge → Shinobu's converts Bolt Charge back into Skip energy. The weapon literally pays the grenade's bills, and vice versa. That's why both Skip charges stay topped between fights.
- Bolt Charge is the heal + the single-target. Shinobu's heals nearby allies whenever Bolt Charge is ready, and a 145+ Grenade stat makes Skips two-shot champions (Skips deal real damage now). The constant healing + Flow State's amplified DR is your survivability — no defensive super needed.
- Blind is the room control + the Overload answer. Three-to-four blind sources (Loyal Moths, Spark of Beacons explosions, the artifact's Retinal Burn, optional Disorienting Blow) mean packs are pacified on approach, and Blind stuns Overload champions — so the build's identity is its Overload coverage. (See Verify notes.)
- Amplified is permanent and free. Berserk Rush amplifies on Ex Diris kills; Flow State amplifies on jolt kills. Permanent amplified = permanent Beacons blinds + permanent fast reload (huge on a 1-in-mag GL) + the enrage ramp always on. The weapon's worst trait (slow enrage build-up) is inverted into free uptime.
Weapons
Ex Diris takes the Special slot. Fill the other two to keep the Arc economy fed and to carry the champion/boss coverage the exotics lack:
- Primary — Arc with Voltshot or an intrinsic Jolt. Arc kills feed Spark of Discharge traces and jolt feeds Spark of Ions / Trace Evidence; precision finishes on blinded targets are Trace Evidence kills straight into the river. Keeps Arc surges + Siphon live.
- Heavy — boss/champion damage (Machine Gun, LFR, or rocket). Arc keeps surges + Discharge relevant, but pick for the damage window — neither exotic deletes a boss. Gathering Storm + Heavy is your boss DPS.
- Champions (Anti-Champion 2.0): Overload — covered by Blind (the build's whole identity). Unstoppable — covered by the artifact's Kinetic Impacts (Ex Diris GL damage triggers it). Barrier — bring an archetype frame on the Primary or Heavy.
Stats & archetypes
Priority: Grenade 200 → Weapons 100 → Health 100 → Class 60 → Super/Melee ~20.
- Grenade 200 — unusually, this is a damage stat here, not a cooldown one. The loop (traces + Bolt Charge) supplies grenade energy, so you don't need Grenade for uptime; you stack it because Skip Grenade damage scales with it and Shinobu's makes Skips hit hard (the champion two-shot wants ~200). This dodges the 9.7.0 cooldown-scaling nerf — you're buying damage, not cooldown.
- Weapons 100 — first 100 carries the PvE damage bonus + handling/reload for Ex Diris and the Arc primary.
- Health 100 — survivability floor; stacks with Flow State amplified DR + Shinobu's constant heals.
- Class 60 — enough Gambler's Dodge to keep Combination Blow + Lethal Current and the melee blind cycling.
Archetypes to chase: 
Grenadier / 
Demolitionist / 
Siegebreaker for the Grenade stack, 
Gunner / Powerhouse for Weapons. Put the exotic gauntlets (Tier 5) in a Grenade archetype (Demolitionist or Grenadier). Mods: 
Grenade Font + 
Weapons Font to hit breakpoints, Grenade Launcher Loader/Scavenger (1-in-mag reserves matter on Ex Diris), Arc Weapon Surge ×2 on boots, 
Harmonic Siphon on helmet (amplified kills + Beacons already flood orbs), 
Orbs of Restoration to convert the orb flood back into ability energy. If you'd rather lean the old infinite-grenade pairing, Elemental Charge ×2 (boots) + Grenade Kickstart ×2 (gauntlets) turns the trace flood into Armor Charge → grenade energy.
Artifact — Slayer Baron Apothecary Satchel (Episode: Revenant)
Picks (2/3/2): Trace Evidence + 
The Thick Of It — 
Retinal Burn + 
Weakened Clear + 
Curative Orbs — 
Arc Compounding + 
Kinetic Impacts The Arc-native artifact, and it reads like it was written for this loop: it pays off Blind, Jolt, Ionic Trace, Orbs and the Grenade Launcher, and supplies the Unstoppable stun Ex Diris can't carry.
- Trace Evidence — rapid precision hits/kills on Jolted or Blinded targets mint Ionic Traces; trace pickup → Armor Charge. This is the build's blind→trace bridge — the part a Hunter can't get from an aspect — on top of Spark of Ions + Discharge.
- The Thick Of It — surrounded final blows grant Armor Charge (the fuel Retinal Burn spends).
- Retinal Burn — rapid Arc precision hits spend an Armor Charge for a blinding burst — a fourth blind source on the Arc primary.
- Weakened Clear — GL hits on a boss/Champion or a shield break reload your stowed weapons + weaken — huge on a 1-in-mag Ex Diris, and free weaken on champs.
- Curative Orbs — shield breaks make Orbs, backfilling Super + the amplified streak.
- Arc Compounding — Arc sources deal bonus damage to Blind targets; the whole room is blinded, so this amps every Arc shot (Ex Diris, primary, super).
- Kinetic Impacts — sustained GL damage boosts GL reload and triggers a Kinetic shockwave that stuns Unstoppable. Ex Diris's Unstoppable answer.
Mod selection (masterworked — full allocation)
| Piece | Mod · cost | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Helmet (7/10) | Harmonic Siphon 1e | Rapid Arc weapon final blows create an Orb of Power. Rapid Solar weapon final blows create an Orb of Power. Rapid Stasis weapon final blows create an Orb of Power. Rapid Void weapon final blows create an Orb of Power. Rapid Strand weapon final blows create Orbs of Power. |
| 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. | |
| Arms (7/10) | Grenade Font 1e | You gain a bonus to your grenade stat while you have any Armor Charge. Your Armor Charge decays over time. |
| Grenade Kickstart 3e | When your grenade energy is fully expended, your Armor Charge is consumed and you gain grenade energy for each Armor Charge used. | |
| Grenade Kickstart 3e | When your grenade energy is fully expended, your Armor Charge is consumed and you gain grenade energy for each Armor Charge used. | |
| 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 (5/10) | Weapons Font 3e | You gain a bonus to your weapons stat while you have any Armor Charge. Your Armor Charge decays over time. |
| Arc Scavenger 1e | Arc weapons get bonus reserves when picking up ammo used by that weapon. | |
| Arc Weapon Surge 1e | Your Arc weapons gain a small bonus to damage while you have any Armor Charge. Your Armor Charge now decays over time. | |
| Class Item (4/10) | Reaper 1e fill | Shortly after using your class ability, your next weapon final blow spawns an Orb of Power. |
| Bomber 1e fill | Reduces grenade cooldown when using your class ability. | |
| Powerful Attraction 2e fill | Automatically collects nearby Orbs of Power when you activate your class ability. |
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).
The loop
- Ex Diris into the pack → moths blind everything; Skip Grenade in → seekers jolt everything (Spark of Shock). Room is now blinded and jolted.
- Kills (Ex Diris, primary, super) of those debuffed targets → Ionic Traces (Spark of Ions on jolt, Trace Evidence on jolt/blind, Spark of Discharge on Arc kills) → 15% to all abilities + a Bolt Charge stack each (Spark of Discharge).
- Bolt Charge → Skip energy (Shinobu's) + heal nearby allies + an Enhanced next Skip; Ex Diris kills keep you amplified (Beacons blinds, fast reload, enrage on).
- Champion appears → blind stuns Overload; Ex Diris GL damage stuns Unstoppable (Kinetic Impacts); two ~200-Grenade Skips delete it while Bolt Charge heals you.
- Boss window → Gathering Storm + Heavy. Otherwise you never stop: blind → debuffed kills → traces → grenades + Bolt Charge → blind.