Tempest Eye — Gathering Storm (Arc Hunter)
Scope in, drop a precision kill, watch the lightning chain. Every headshot dumps Bolt Charge and a lightning bolt; jolt the pack and every body you mow down pays Gathering Storm energy straight back to you. Cloudstrike is the engine, Raiju's Harness is the flywheel — you refill the Super from the scope, then throw the javelin to jolt the whole room and do it again.
The exotic
Raiju's Harness — Mobius Conduit: Activating Gathering Storm calls down lightning on all nearby targets, jolting them while also amplifying allies. Defeating Arc debuffed targets grants a small amount of Gathering Storm energy.
Cloudstrike — Mortal Polarity: Precision final blows generate a lightning bolt at the target's location and grant a moderate amount of Bolt Charge.
Cloudstrike — Stormbringer: Rapid precision hits create a lightning storm at the point of impact and grant a stack of Bolt Charge.
This is a legal dual-exotic — one armour piece plus one exotic weapon. The two share a single currency: jolted, Arc-debuffed bodies. Cloudstrike manufactures the kills and the Bolt Charge from the scope; the subclass jolts the pack; Raiju's Harness converts those jolted kills back into Super. Mobius Conduit does not extend the Super's duration — on the cast it fires a jolting lightning nova and Amplifies you and nearby allies, and thereafter Arc-debuffed kills refund Gathering Storm energy (Clarity: up to ~50% off Arc-debuffed lightning hits/kills, plus 1% / 2.5% / 4% per Minor / Elite / Miniboss+ kill). The net effect is recast cadence: you never have to shoot the Super to recharge it — you snipe, jolt, and the bar climbs on its own.
Loadout
| Slot | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Subclass |  Arcstrider | The Arc kit supplies jolt (the Arc-debuff Raiju's refunds off), Amplified, Bolt Charge, and Ionic Traces — every verb the loop consumes. |
| Super |  Gathering Storm | Mandatory — Raiju's Mobius Conduit only fires on this cast; the javelin jolts the room, Amplifies the fireteam, and its lightning refunds Super off Arc-debuffed kills. |
| Class ability |  Marksman's Dodge | Instantly reloads Cloudstrike on demand (weapon-rotation friendly) and keeps you on the scope. |
| Movement |  Triple Jump | Air control to line up Ascension's airborne cast and reposition the sniper lane. |
| Melee | Flex ( Combination Blow) | Non-load-bearing for a ranged build; Combination Blow gives between-cast sustain if a pack closes on you. |
| Grenade | Arc grenade (Flux / Pulse) | With Spark of Shock it becomes your ranged jolt applicator — keeps the pack Arc-debuffed for Raiju's refund and Dielectric without needing melee. |
| Aspect 1 |  Flow State | Defeating a jolted target makes you Amplified — faster Cloudstrike reload/handling plus the Amplified state Spark of Beacons and Amplitude key off. |
| Aspect 2 |  Ascension | Airborne, spend class energy for an Arc burst that jolts a pack and Amplifies you + allies — the on-demand ranged jolt button, no melee required. |
| Fragments | Ions · Discharge · Shock · Beacons · Amplitude | Build the trace/Bolt-Charge/jolt/Amplified/Orb economy the two exotics feed on. |
| Exotic armour |  Raiju's Harness (Chest) | The flywheel — turns jolted Cloudstrike kills into refunded Gathering Storm energy so you recast from the scope. |
| Weapons |  Cloudstrike (Energy) · Kinetic primary · Sword (Heavy) | Cloudstrike is the engine; a Barrier-frame Kinetic primary and a Sword (for Riposte) cover the champions jolt doesn't. |
Spark of Ions defeating a jolted / Bolt-Charge target → Ionic Trace
Spark of Discharge collecting Ionic Traces → a Bolt Charge stack; Arc weapon kills → traces
Spark of Shock Arc grenades jolt — your ranged applicator
Spark of Beacons Amplified Arc Special/Power kills → blinding explosion — turns Cloudstrike kills into CC- Spark of Amplitude (rapid kills while Amplified → Orb of Power → Super). *(Swap Amplitude → Spark of Resistance if you're getting rushed.)
Why it works (the mechanics)
- Cloudstrike is a Bolt-Charge firehose. Every precision kill fires a lightning bolt and grants a moderate amount of Bolt Charge (Mortal Polarity); rapid precision hits add a lightning storm and another stack (Stormbringer). Spark of Discharge then closes the loop from the other side — collecting an Ionic Trace grants a Bolt Charge stack, and Spark of Ions makes a fresh trace every time a jolted or Bolt-Charge target dies. The gun self-sustains its own Arc economy from the scope.
- Jolt is the bridge to the Super. Raiju's only refunds Gathering Storm energy off Arc-debuffed kills, so you keep the pack jolted at range — Spark of Shock (grenade), Ascension (airborne burst), and Elemental Orbs: Arc (artifact) all apply jolt without melee. Once everything's jolted, each Cloudstrike kill pays back Gathering Storm energy (1% / 2.5% / 4% by rank) and triggers Dielectric — the Super bar climbs while you are only sniping.
- The cast pays itself back. Throwing Gathering Storm fires Mobius Conduit — 650 on-cast lightning that jolts nearby targets and Amplifies the fireteam — and during the storm its lightning refunds up to ~50% Super off the Arc-debuffed kills it is creating. In dense content that means you recast far sooner than a stock Gathering Storm Hunter; the build's identity is recast cadence, not one big throw.
- Amplified is near-permanent, and it earns its slot. Flow State re-Amplifies you on every jolted kill (faster Cloudstrike reload/handling — real sniper QoL). While Amplified, Spark of Beacons makes Arc Special kills blind everything within 7.5 m — room CC from a stationary sniper — and Spark of Amplitude drops an Orb of Power (2.5% Super each) on rapid kills, layered on top of Raiju's refund.
- Two independent Super economies run off the same kills. Precision Equity (artifact) builds a large Orb off headshots, Elemental Orbs: Arc spawns jolting Arc Orbs, and Spark of Amplitude makes Orbs while Amplified — every Orb picked up is more Super, stacked on the jolted-kill refund stream from Raiju's. The same precision kills feed both economies at once.
- Champions fall out of the loop. Jolt stuns Overload in 9.7.0, so the same jolt you spread for Raiju's is your Overload answer for free; Riposte (guard the Sword) handles Unstoppable; a Barrier-frame Kinetic primary covers Barrier. Blinding Jolts then blinds whatever survives off those same jolted kills.
Stats & mods
Super 200 → Weapons → Class. Super is the identity — a high Super stat multiplies every Raiju refund and every Orb's contribution, so you recast faster; Weapons second because this is a precision sniper (Cloudstrike damage + Special reserves); Class third to keep Marksman's Dodge and Ascension cycling.
Archetype lean: Powerhouse (Weapons / Super) — the clean fit for a weapon-forward Super engine (Colossus (Super / Health) if you want a tankier recast platform).
Mods:
- Boots: Innervation + Recuperation — Orb pickups (which you flood) refund grenade energy and heal.
- Arms: Arc Weapon Loader ×2 — faster Cloudstrike reload on top of Reload at Range.
- Chest: Arc Resistance ×2 — survivability for a stationary sniper holding a lane.
- Class item: Reaper + Bomber — Marksman's Dodge spawns an Orb on your next kill and cuts grenade cooldown.
- Surge: Arc Weapon Surge ×2 — direct Cloudstrike damage, on-element with the whole kit.
- Anti-Champion: none needed — Riposte (Sword) breaks Unstoppable, jolt breaks Overload, a Barrier-frame Kinetic primary breaks Barrier.
Artifact — Encrypted Data Disk
This artifact reads like it was printed for a Cloudstrike build — its theme is literally Arc + Sniper Rifle, and every tier feeds the loop.
Picks (2/3/2):
- Tier 1: Reload at Range · Riposte
- Tier 2: Dielectric · Precision Equity · Blinding Jolts
- Tier 3: Elemental Orbs: Arc · Sniper's Meditation
Reload at Range grants a stacking reload bonus on Bow and Sniper Rifle precision hits — so every Cloudstrike headshot ramps its reload, a sniper's biggest quality-of-life lever.
Riposte stuns unshielded combatants shortly after you guard with a Sword — the one champion archetype (Unstoppable) the subclass jolt does not cover.
Dielectric grants Bolt Charge on Arc-debuffed kills and spawns an Orb of Power plus a small heal on rapid ones — because you jolt the pack, every Cloudstrike kill triggers it, folding Bolt Charge, Orbs (→ Super), and self-healing into one perk.
Precision Equity builds precision final blows toward a large Orb that also grants bonus weapon damage on pickup — a sniper's headshots are the ideal feed, and that Orb is both more Super and a Cloudstrike damage buff.
Blinding Jolts blinds nearby combatants on final blows against jolted targets — stacked with Spark of Beacons it is near-constant room blind, the survivability a stationary sniper needs.
Elemental Orbs: Arc spawns an Arc Orb on Arc weapon kills that jolts what it damages — a ranged jolt-and-Orb source needing no grenade or Ascension, keeping the field Arc-debuffed between casts.
Sniper's Meditation stacks Sniper Rifle damage, stability, and reload on hits — it directly buffs the Cloudstrike centerpiece, ramping precision DPS the longer you hold the lane.
Where it shines
- Dense add-heavy PvE (Nightfalls, Legend/Master lost sectors, GM ad waves) — the jolt-and-snipe loop wants a packed room to convert into Super and Orbs.
- Sustained-lane content where you can hold a sightline — Sniper's Meditation and Reload at Range ramp Cloudstrike the longer you camp a corridor.
- Champion coverage: breaks Overload intrinsically (jolt stuns it in 9.7.0 — Ascension / Spark of Shock grenade / Elemental Orbs: Arc / the cast); bring a Sword for Unstoppable (Riposte) and a Barrier-frame Kinetic primary for Barrier (archetype stun). Encrypted Data Disk carries no Overload mod by design — the jolt economy is the intended answer.
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 | Reduces incoming Arc damage from combatants. |
| Arc Resistance 1e | Reduces incoming Arc damage from combatants. | |
| Concussive Dampener 3e fill | Reduces incoming area-of-effect damage from combatants. | |
| Legs (3/10) | Recuperation 1e | Replenishes health each time you pick up an Orb of Power. |
| Innervation 1e | Reduces grenade cooldown each time you pick up an Orb of Power. | |
| 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 (3/10) | Reaper 1e | Shortly after using your class ability, your next weapon final blow spawns an Orb of Power. |
| Reaper 1e | Shortly after using your class ability, your next weapon final blow spawns an Orb of Power. | |
| Bomber 1e | Reduces grenade cooldown when using 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). Flex/loadout-dependent: on-element with the whole kit. - **Anti-Champion:** none needed — Riposte (Sword) breaks Unstoppable; jolt breaks Overload; a Barrier-frame Kinetic primary breaks Barrier.