Wildfire — Caliban's Hand + Sunshot (Solar Hunter)

Anchor: Caliban's Hand · Subclass: Gunslinger (Solar) · Role: Ignition-chain ad-clear — Sunshot's explosive rounds stack Scorch into Ignitions, every Ignition fully refunds Caliban's Proximity Knife, and the knife re-ignites the next pack Sandbox: 9.7.0 · Created 2026-06-24

Sunshot makes every kill a little Solar bomb; Caliban's Hand makes every Ignition hand your knife straight back. So the gun lights the room, the room ignites, the ignitions refund the knife, and the knife starts the next ignition. Two exotics, one fire that never goes out.

The pairing — why two exotics, not one

Caliban's Hand is the gauntlets, Sunshot is the Primary — both pure Solar, both built on Scorch → Ignition:

• Caliban's Hand makes the Proximity Knife scorch on its explosion and ignite on a final blow, and — the load-bearing clause — an Ignition final blow fully refunds melee energy and can overflow a second knife charge. Scorch damage also trickles melee energy back. Its only need is a steady supply of Scorch and ignitions, which a lone knife can't sustain.
• Sunshot is that supply: explosive Solar rounds that AoE every kill and highlight what they damage (highlighted targets that die chain-explode). Pour that into a pack with Ember of Ashes and Scorch caps fast → Ignition. The gun manufactures the ignitions Caliban's needs to refund the knife.
• They meet on Ignition: Sunshot/Scorch trigger it, Caliban's pays you a knife for it, the knife triggers more of it. The knife is a better igniter than the gun (guaranteed ignite on kill), so you alternate — gun to build Scorch, knife to detonate and refund.

Loadout

Slot	Pick	Why
Super	Golden Gun: Deadshot	Roaming Solar pistol — disintegrates packs, marks targets more vulnerable, and the kills feed Gunpowder Gamble. On-theme ad-clear, not a single-target dump.
Class ability	Acrobat's Dodge	Dodge → Radiant (element-agnostic +25% on Sunshot and the knife) without spending a fragment slot on it.
Melee	Proximity Explosive Knife	Caliban's mandatory melee — scorches on explosion, ignites on kill, refunds itself on the ignition.
Grenade	Incendiary Grenade	A wide Scorch puddle — pre-loads a pack toward the Ignition threshold before you even shoot.
Aspect 1	On Your Mark	Precision hits stack reload + Weapons stat ×10 → a third damage layer just from landing Sunshot crits. 3 fragment slots.
Aspect 2	Gunpowder Gamble	Kills charge an improvised Solar explosive you toss for a free Ignition — a second igniter for when the knife is mid-refund. 1 fragment slot.

Exotic armour — Caliban's Hand (Gauntlets)

Roast 'Em: Your Proximity Knife scorches targets it damages with its explosions, or ignites targets on final blow. After throwing a Proximity Knife, you gain increased melee regeneration until the knife explodes. Gain a small amount of melee energy when your Scorch damages a target, and Ignition final blows fully refund melee energy and can overflow into an additional knife charge.

Three feeds on one ability: regen-while-thrown, melee-on-Scorch-tick, and the big one — full refund + overflow charge on an Ignition kill. With Sunshot stacking Scorch for you, ignitions are constant, so the knife is effectively free.

Exotic weapon — Sunshot (Hand Cannon · Solar · Primary)

Sunburn: "This weapon fires explosive rounds and highlights targets that take damage from Sunshot."

150-RPM Solar HC. The explosive rounds are AoE Solar damage on every shot, and highlighted targets that die detonate and chain — so one Sunshot kill can cascade through a pack, spreading Scorch (with Ember of Ashes) until something ignites. It's an Ignition factory with a trigger.

Why this works (the mechanics)

• Sunshot builds the Scorch, the knife cashes it. Spray a pack → explosive rounds + chain-detonations + Ember of Ashes pile on Scorch → a kill ignites → Caliban's refunds the knife + overflows a charge. Throw the knife into the next cluster for a guaranteed ignite → refund again.
• Radiant is element-perfect here. Acrobat's Dodge + Ember of Torches keep you Radiant; the +25% applies to Sunshot and the knife both, and Radiant pierces minor shields. Free, on-tap, no fragment spent on the dodge.
• On Your Mark triple-dips the 9.7.0 Weapons stat. Sunshot is a precision gun; every crit stacks reload + Weapons-stat PvE damage, layering on top of Radiant and the explosive base. Three multipliers, all paid by landing headshots.
• Two igniters, never a dead beat. When the knife is mid-refund, Gunpowder Gamble is your spare Ignition; when Gamble is charging, the knife is back. The ignition cadence never stalls, so neither does the melee economy.
• Firesprites + Searing keep the knife warm. Scorched kills drop Firesprites (grenade energy) and refund melee (Ember of Searing) — a third feed underneath the Ignition refund, so even a slow room keeps the knife topped.

Weapons

• Sunshot (Solar HC) — the Ignition engine + your Primary.
• Special/Heavy: a Solar option keeps surges/Siphon live and benefits from Radiant; bring a boss-DPS Heavy for the targets ad-clear can't chew. A Solar rocket pairs with the artifact's rocket mods below.
• Champions (Anti-Champion 2.0): Sunshot carries no intrinsic stun — lean on ignitions (stagger) + Revitalizing Blast (artifact: stun → ignite) and bring Barrier/Overload archetype frames on the other two slots. Radiant pierces Barrier shields for the assist.

Stats & archetypes

Priority: Weapons 150 → Health 100 → Melee 100 → Class 60 → Super/Grenade dump.

• Weapons 150 — Sunshot throughput; the first 100 is the PvE damage bonus and On Your Mark stacks more on top.
• Health 100 — survivability floor; you fight mid-range, healed by Restoration (Empyrean-extended) + Firesprite-fed regen.
• Melee 100 — faster baseline knife cooldown so the first throw of a fight lands before the refund loop is running.

Archetypes: Gunner / Powerhouse (Weapons), Bulwark (Health), Brawler (Melee), Specialist (Class). Mods: Hand Cannon Loader + Scavenger, Hand Cannon Targeting, Solar Weapon Surge ×2 on boots, Solar/Harmonic Siphon, Firepower / Heavy Handed for grenade-from-melee.

Artifact — Queensfoil Censer (Season of the Wish)

Picks (2/3/2): Kindling Trigger + Fever And Chill — Revitalizing Blast + Anti-Champion Nosecone + Perpetual Destruction — Rays of Precision + Solo Operative The Solar/Radiant artifact — it reads like a Sunshot ignition sheet:

• Kindling Trigger — while Radiant, Solar weapons apply Scorch to unscorched targets. Sunshot now scorches on contact, not just on kill — Ignitions come even faster.
• Fever And Chill — rapid Solar hits grant Radiant, a second Radiant source under Acrobat's Dodge so you're never without the +25%.
• Revitalizing Blast — stunning a Champion ignites it and clears shield stun — your anti-champion damage spike folded into the fire theme.
• Rays of Precision — while Radiant, Solar precision final blows ignite. Sunshot crits become ignitions outright — pure synergy with On Your Mark's precision focus.
• Solo Operative — precision-kill damage ramp; for solo/duo content this is a huge flat Sunshot buff.
• Anti-Champion Nosecone / Perpetual Destruction — for the Solar rocket in the Heavy slot (champion damage + ammo); swap if you run a non-rocket Heavy (see Verify).

Mod selection (masterworked — full allocation)

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: **Hand Cannon Targeting**.

The loop

• Incendiary Grenade into a pack to pre-Scorch → spray Sunshot → explosive rounds + chain-detonations cap Scorch → first kill ignites.
• Ignition → Caliban's refunds the knife + overflow charge → throw the Proximity Knife into the next cluster → guaranteed ignite → refund again.
• Acrobat's Dodge for Radiant when it lapses; Firesprites/Searing keep melee + grenade topped. Gunpowder Gamble fires whenever it's charged for a bonus Ignition.
• Golden Gun: Deadshot to delete a dense room or a priority pack; Revitalizing Blast handles champions.