Umbral Edge — Spectral Blades (Void Hunter)

Anchor: Graviton Forfeit · Subclass: Nightstalker · Role: Perma-stealth heavy-blade assassin — invisible repositioning + mid-fight ability refresh — dual-exotic with Heartshadow Sandbox: 9.7.0 · Built 2026-06-27

Charge a Heartshadow heavy, vanish, and fire four tracking Void orbs through the pack. Every swing while cloaked weakens; every weakened kill re-cloaks you (Stylish Executioner). Graviton Forfeit extends that invisibility and — while you're inside it — dumps your dodge, melee and grenade straight back into your hands. You are never visible long enough to be shot, and never out of abilities long enough to feel it.

Loadout

Slot	Pick	Why
Super	Spectral Blades	Invisible roaming blade Super — on-theme, and casting it puts you straight back into Invisibility (which Graviton extends + converts to ability regen). Deadfall is the team-utility alternative (tether weakens the whole pack → feeds the same weaken engine).
Class ability	Gambler's Dodge	Refunds Snare Bomb (your weaken melee) on a near-enemy dodge; the dodge itself is your on-demand Invisibility trigger via Vanishing Step. Graviton makes it recharge up to 200% faster while invisible, so it's almost always up.
Movement	Triple Jump (flex)	Player choice — not load-bearing. High Jump for vertical repositioning out of cloak.
Melee	Snare Bomb (Smoke Bomb)	Weakens on hit and can cloak allies. A free, ranged weaken source that arms Stylish Executioner / Power from Pain / Echo of Harvest without spending the sword.
Grenade	Vortex Grenade	Lingering Void well (the "vortex" the premise expected — it comes from the grenade, not the sword). With Echo of Undermining it weakens the whole pack; Echo of Remnants stretches its duration.
Aspect 1	Stylish Executioner	The engine. Defeating any debuffed target (everything you touch is Weakened) grants Invisibility + Truesight, and your next melee while invisible weakens. This is how stealth stays perma. 2 Fragment slots.
Aspect 2	Vanishing Step	Dodge → Invisibility. The clean "reposition invisibly" trigger that pairs with Graviton's class-regen-while-invisible. 1 Fragment slot. Alt: Trapper's Ambush (dive → weakening smoke + ally invis, and a 4th Fragment slot) if you want AoE weaken over a dedicated dodge-cloak.

Exotic — Graviton Forfeit (Helmet) + Heartshadow (Heavy)

Dual-exotic (one armour + one weapon is legal). Heartshadow — Exhumation: while grounded, a Charged Heavy Attack turns you invisible for 6.3s and releases four tracking Void orbs that each deal 507 [363] damage with no falloff (+30% to minors). Entering that invisibility procs Shot in the Dark: until you leave stealth (and for 2.5s after), you deal +25% weapon damage, your hits apply Weaken for 6 [3]s, and kills grant Invisibility again. Catalyst (Wraithwalk): +6 reserves and +50% movement speed while invisible — you reposition fast and cloaked. Graviton Forfeit — Vanishing Shadow: Invisibility lasts 2 seconds longer, and entering it grants a stack of Vanishing Shadow (7s, frozen while you stay invisible, max 3, new stacks only after you exit and re-enter). Each stack accelerates base ability regen — Class 67/133/200%, Grenade & Melee 166/333/500% at 1/2/3 — and hitting x3 (or re-cloaking at x3) grants a 15 HP Void Overshield for 7s (10s with Echo of Persistence).

The loop: heavy swing → cloak + four orbs + Shot in the Dark. Shot in the Dark weakens whatever you hit; a weakened kill re-cloaks you (Stylish Executioner) and the kill itself refreshes Shot in the Dark. Each cloak entry is a Vanishing Shadow stack, so cycling stealth (heavy → dodge → kill → finisher) climbs you to x3 fast — where your abilities pour back in and a Void Overshield papers over the rare moment you're seen.

Why this works (the mechanics)

• Weaken is the whole economy. Shot in the Dark applies Weaken on every hit; Snare Bomb, Vortex (Echo of Undermining) and the Singularity Blade artifact mod all stack more. Weaken is the currency that buys Invisibility (Stylish Executioner), Orbs + Void Breaches (Echo of Harvest), Devour (Power from Pain), and damage (Shot in the Dark's +25%, Expanding-Abyss-style Void bonuses).
• Invisibility is self-sustaining. Four independent cloak sources — Heartshadow heavy, Gambler's/Vanishing Step dodge, Stylish Executioner kills, Echo of Obscurity finishers. You re-enter stealth far faster than the timer (already +2s from Graviton, +40% from Persistence) runs out → effectively permanent.
• Graviton turns stealth into abilities. While invisible at x3 stacks, Class regenerates 200% faster and Grenade/Melee 500% faster. Because you live in stealth, that's your baseline regen, not a burst — so base Melee/Grenade stats can stay low and the build still floods Snare Bombs and Vortexes.
• Survivability is layered, not stat-bought. You're unshootable most of the time (invis), you get a 15 HP Void Overshield at x3 (10s with Persistence), Truesight from Stylish Executioner, and Armorsmith DR on shield-breaks. That's why Health is the dump stat.
• The sword answers Champions itself. Riposte (artifact) makes Heartshadow's light/heavy attacks stun Unstoppable Champions right after a guard — no separate breaker weapon needed for the melee threat — and Counter Energy converts any champion stun into your least-charged ability.

Weapons

• Power: Heartshadow (Exotic Void Sword, Heavy) — the engine. Hold a charge of Sword energy, heavy-swing to vanish + fire the four-orb volley, then guard-and-strike to stun Unstoppables (Riposte). Keep Sword energy topped — the heavy is your cloak button, not just damage.
• Energy: flex Void special (e.g. a Void shotgun/fusion) — keeps a second Void weapon up so Power from Pain weaken-kills proc Devour and Shot in the Dark's buff carries between sword swings. Void match also feeds any Volatile/weaken weapon perks.
• Kinetic: flex primary (140 HC / 720 auto) — orb generation + ranged cleanup for targets you don't want to walk into. Not load-bearing; the sword carries.
• Champions: Unstoppable is covered intrinsically by Riposte (guard → sword attack stuns) and any stun feeds Counter Energy. This artifact pool has no Barrier/Overload mod — in Barrier/Overload-heavy content bring a weapon-intrinsic breaker (e.g. Le Monarque for Overload, a Barrier-breaking heavy) or expect to swap a Tier mod.

Stats & archetypes

Weapons → Class → Super → Melee → Grenade → dump Health. Target archetype Gunner (Weapons) / Specialist (Class). Weapons feeds sword reserves + handling (and heavy-ammo reserves >100); Class keeps the dodge-cloak online for that first entry into stealth before Graviton's regen takes over. Super fuels Spectral Blades. Melee and Grenade can sit low — Graviton's Vanishing Shadow regenerates them 500% faster while you're invisible, which is almost always. Suggested spread: Weapons ~150, Class ~100, Super ~90, Melee ~70, Grenade ~50, Health dumped.

Set bonus (none required)

No set bonus is part of the engine — the loop is exotic + artifact + fragments. A 4pc that adds melee/sword damage, Void weapon damage, or ability regen is free garnish but never the driver; run whatever Gunner/Specialist-archetype pieces hit the stat plan.

Artifact — Encrypted Data Disk

Picks (2/3/2): Riposte + Power from Pain — Singularity Blade + Counter Energy + Armorsmith — Void Infestation + Sword Storm Combo

Encrypted Data Disk is themed Void · Sword, so it lines up with this build exactly. Singularity Blade is the centrepiece: while you hold a Void elemental buff (you're permanently invisible, and the x3 Void Overshield counts), your melee and Sword hits Weaken, and Sword final blows release a weakening burst — it turns Heartshadow into a wide-area weaken applicator that feeds the entire economy. Void Infestation then makes weakened-target kills spit out a tracking projectile that weakens more targets, chaining the loop across the pack. Power from Pain converts those weaken-kills into Devour (heal-on-kill). Riposte gives the sword its Unstoppable stun; Counter Energy turns that stun into ability energy. Armorsmith (DR + melee damage on shield-break) and Sword Storm Combo (a light→light→light→heavy string summons disorienting penumbral blades, extended by sword kills) round out melee survivability + crowd control.

Loop

• Build Sword energy, then Charged Heavy → vanish (6.3s, +2s Graviton, +40% Persistence), fire four Void orbs, proc Shot in the Dark (+25% dmg, Weaken-on-hit).
• Swing through the pack — every hit Weakens (Shot in the Dark + Singularity Blade). Weakened kills re-cloak you (Stylish Executioner), spawn Orbs + Void Breaches (Echo of Harvest), grant Devour (Power from Pain), and fling weaken-seekers (Void Infestation).
• Dodge (Vanishing Step) to reposition invisibly and bank another Vanishing Shadow stack; finisher a straggler (Echo of Obscurity) for a third stack → x3 → Void Overshield + full-speed Class/Melee/Grenade regen.
• Guard then strike an Unstoppable (Riposte) → stun → Counter Energy refunds your weakest ability; Snare Bomb / Vortex come back almost instantly inside stealth.
• Spectral Blades when surrounded or for a priority kill — it re-cloaks you on cast and resets the whole stack ladder. Repeat from the heavy before stealth lapses.

Notes

• Premise adapted: the prompt expected Heartshadow's heavy to "spawn a Vortex." Per the manifest (Exhumation) it actually fires four tracking exploding Void orbs (507 dmg each), not a Vortex — so the lingering-Void "vortex" is supplied by the Vortex Grenade instead, and the heavy's real payoff is surfaced as Shot in the Dark (the +25%/Weaken/kill-refresh buff entering invisibility grants). Graviton Forfeit's half of the thesis — extend invisibility + accelerate ability regen while invisible — is accurate as written.
• Clarity community numbers (`clarity_lookup.py`): Heartshadow heavy = invis 6.3s + four orbs at 507 [363] dmg; Shot in the Dark = +25% dmg, Weaken 6 [3]s, kills re-cloak, 2.5s lingering; catalyst = +50% move speed while invisible. Graviton Vanishing Shadow = Class 67/133/200%, Grenade/Melee 166/333/500% regen at 1/2/3 stacks, 15 HP Void Overshield 7s (10s w/ Persistence), invis +2s. Echo of Persistence = Invisibility +40%, Overshield/Devour +50%. Echo of Obscurity = invis 5s (7 w/ Persistence). Echo of Harvest = Void Breach + Orb (2.5% Super), 10s cd.
• Verify-flags (no Clarity entry — supers/aspects/artifact perks aren't in the DB): the exact magnitude of Spectral Blades' on-cast invis, Stylish Executioner's invis/Truesight durations, Singularity Blade's weaken-burst radius, and Riposte's stun window are in-game-verify. Confirm Vanishing Shadow stacks genuinely freeze through a Spectral Blades cast.
• Champion gap (honest): Encrypted Data Disk covers Unstoppable only (Riposte/Kinetic Rupture). Bring a weapon-intrinsic Barrier/Overload breaker for content that demands it, or swap a Tier mod.