Solar

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

Ignition-chain ad-clear that turns every burning pack back into a free Proximity Knife

Centerpiece: Caliban's Hand (Gauntlets) · Subclass: Gunslinger (Solar) · Role: Ignition-chain ad-clear that turns every burning pack back into a free Proximity Knife Sandbox: 9.7.0 · Updated 2026-07-03

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

The exotic

Roast 'Em: Your Proximity Knife scorches targets it damages with its explosions, or ignites targets on final blow.

Caliban's Hand turns the Proximity Knife into a Solar detonator: its explosion scorches everything it damages, and a final blow ignites. That is the sourced text — scorch on contact, ignite on kill. The build's engine hangs off what an ignition then feeds back: the Gunslinger fire economy is meant to trickle melee energy off Scorch and Ignition, so the knife stops being a plain cooldown and becomes a resource you spend and reclaim. On its own a lone knife can't ignite fast enough to keep that loop lit, which is why the piece begs for an external Scorch source. Pair it with a weapon that manufactures ignitions and the melee stays warm, pack after pack. (The exact melee-refund and overflow magnitude sits beyond the encyclopedia line — flagged in Verify.)

Loadout

Slot	Pick	Why
Subclass	Gunslinger (Solar)	Scorch/Ignition subclass — the only kit where Caliban's ignitions, Radiant, and Firesprites all live natively.
Super	Golden Gun: Deadshot	Roaming Solar pistol that disintegrates packs and marks targets, and its kills feed Gunpowder Gamble — on-theme ad-clear, not a single-target dump.
Class ability	Acrobat's Dodge	Landing after the dodge grants Radiant for 10s (+25% to Sunshot and the knife) without spending a fragment slot on it.
Movement	Triple Jump	Extra mid-air resets to reposition around a burning pack and stay out of melee range while the ignitions do the work.
Melee	Proximity Explosive Knife	Caliban's mandatory melee — scorches on explosion, ignites on final blow; the melee-refund loop rides on that Ignition (magnitude flagged in Verify).
Grenade	Incendiary Grenade	A wide Scorch puddle that pre-loads a pack toward the Ignition threshold before you fire a shot.
Aspect 1	On Your Mark	Precision hits stack reload + Weapons stat ×10 — a third damage layer just for landing Sunshot crits; 3 fragment slots.
Aspect 2	Gunpowder Gamble	Kills charge an improvised Solar explosive you toss for a free Ignition — a spare igniter for when the knife is mid-refund; 1 fragment slot.
Fragments	Ashes · Searing · Torches · Empyrean	Faster Scorch, melee/Firesprite refunds, on-tap Radiant, and Radiant/Restoration extension — the fire economy in four chips.
Exotic armour	Caliban's Hand (Gauntlets)	The centerpiece — the knife scorches on explosion and ignites on final blow; the build rides the melee refund off that Ignition (see Verify).
Weapons	Sunshot + Solar special/heavy	Sunshot is the Ignition factory; a Solar heavy keeps surges live and covers the boss-DPS ad-clear can't chew.

Fragments

Ember of Ashes more Scorch stacks per hit — reach Ignition faster
Ember of Searing Solar/scorched kills grant melee energy + a Firesprite — a third feed on the knife
Ember of Torches powered-melee hits make you and allies Radiant
Ember of Empyrean Solar final blows extend Radiant/Restoration — keeps Radiant rolling between dodges

Why it works (the mechanics)

Sunshot builds the Scorch, the knife cashes it. Spray a pack — the explosive rounds AoE every hit, kills chain-detonate (Sun Blast applies 10 Scorch, 15 with Ember of Ashes) and pile Scorch until something ignites. That Ignition feeds melee energy back (exact refund flagged in Verify), so the knife comes home fast and you throw it into the next cluster to start the fire again.
Radiant is element-perfect here. Acrobat's Dodge grants Radiant for 10s on landing and Ember of Torches re-ups it off any powered-melee hit; the +25% applies to both Sunshot and the knife, and Radiant pierces minor shields. Ember of Empyrean stretches that window so you're rarely without it, and the artifact's Fever And Chill adds one more Radiant source.
On Your Mark triple-dips the 9.7.0 Weapons stat. Sunshot is a precision weapon, and every crit stacks reload + Weapons-stat PvE damage up to ×10 — layered on top of Radiant and the explosive base. Three multipliers, all paid by landing headshots you were already taking.
Two igniters, never a dead beat. When the knife is mid-refund, Gunpowder Gamble is your spare Ignition; when Gamble is charging back up, the knife is already home. The ignition cadence never stalls, so neither does the melee economy that rides on it.
Firesprites and Searing keep the knife warm. Ember of Searing refunds melee energy and drops a Firesprite (grenade energy) on every scorched kill — a baseline feed underneath the Ignition refund, so even a slow room keeps the knife and grenade topped rather than dry.

Stats & mods

Weapons 200 → Health → Melee. Lean Gunner/Powerhouse for the Weapons ceiling, with enough Bulwark (Health) to hold mid-range and Brawler (Melee) so the first knife of a fight lands before the refund loop is spun up.

Mods:

Boots: Solar Weapon Surge ×2 + Hand Cannon Scavenger (Sunshot uptime).
Arms: Hand Cannon Loader + Heavy Handed (melee energy on melee kills — a manual top-up).
Chest: Solar/Concussive resist to survive the mid-range fights ignitions pull you into.
Class item: Bomber + Reaper (ability cooldown + orbs off dodge).
Surge: Solar Weapon Surge — matches Sunshot and a Solar heavy.
Anti-Champion: ignitions (stagger) + Revitalizing Blast (artifact) + Barrier/Overload archetype frames on the other two slots.

Artifact — Queensfoil Censer

The Solar/Radiant artifact reads like a Sunshot ignition sheet — it doubles down on Scorch, Radiant, and turning fire into champion damage.

Picks (2/3/2):

Tier 1: Kindling Trigger · Fever And Chill
Tier 2: Revitalizing Blast · Anti-Champion Nosecone · Perpetual Destruction
Tier 3: Rays of Precision · Solo Operative

Kindling Trigger makes Solar weapons apply Scorch to unscorched targets while Radiant, so Sunshot now scorches on contact, not just on kill — ignitions arrive even faster.
Fever And Chill grants Radiant on rapid Solar hits, a second Radiant source under Acrobat's Dodge so you're almost never without the +25%.
Revitalizing Blast ignites a stunned Champion and clears your shield stun — your anti-champion damage spike folded straight into the fire theme.
Rays of Precision ignites on Solar precision final blows while Radiant, turning Sunshot crits into ignitions outright — pure synergy with On Your Mark's precision focus.
Solo Operative ramps precision-kill weapon damage; when you're the only member of your fireteam that's a large flat Sunshot buff on top of everything else (solo only — it does not proc in a duo/trio).
Anti-Champion Nosecone and Perpetual Destruction support a Solar rocket in the heavy slot (champion damage + ammo/reload refund); swap them if you run a non-rocket heavy.

Where it shines

Add-dense PvE — strikes, Nightfalls, GM lost sectors, seasonal activities. The refund loop scales with target count: more bodies means more Scorch, more ignitions, more free knives.
Anything mid-range and grouped. Sunshot's chain-detonations and the knife's AoE want packs, not spread-out single targets.
Solo content — Solo Operative only pays out as the sole fireteam member; the self-sustaining ability economy also makes it a strong lone-wolf (and, minus the Solo Operative bonus, duo) clear kit.
Champion coverage: Sunshot has no intrinsic champion stun. You break Champions with ignitions (stagger) + Revitalizing Blast (stun → ignite), and bring Barrier/Overload archetype frames on the other two slots; Radiant pierces Barrier shields for the assist.

Verify notes

Sunshot is a 150-RPM Solar Primary Hand Cannon, no intrinsic champion (`data/weapon_facts.json`). Its Sunburn intrinsic is per `docs/encyclopedia/exotics.md`; Sun Blast (`clarity_build_numbers.md`) confirms kill explosions deal 409 [160] damage and apply 10 Scorch (15 with Ember of Ashes), and chain into additional explosions.
Caliban's Hand "Roast 'Em" — quoted verbatim from `docs/encyclopedia/exotics.md` (scorch on explosion, ignite on final blow). The added melee-feed clauses (melee regen while the knife is thrown, Scorch-tick melee energy, Ignition melee refund + overflow charge) are NOT in the encyclopedia extraction and are flagged UNCONFIRMED — the refund/overflow loop is the build's premise, not a sourced value; verify magnitudes in-game before relying on them.
Aspects/fragments class-checked: On Your Mark and Gunpowder Gamble are Gunslinger (Solar) aspects; the four Embers are Solar fragments (`docs/encyclopedia/aspects.md`, `fragments.md`). Manifest text quoted for each in the Fragments line.
Radiant = +25% weapon damage is the community/Clarity value; the manifest only says "increased." Acrobat's Dodge grants Radiant for 10s on landing (`clarity_build_numbers.md`). On Your Mark's Weapons-stat magnitude and Radiant's exact % are flagged as tuning/community-sourced.
Artifact: Queensfoil Censer picks verified against `docs/encyclopedia/artifacts_structured.md` — all seven mods are real pool entries at the listed tiers (2/3/2). Nosecone/Perpetual Destruction assume a Solar rocket heavy; `artifact_parser.py --recommend` will swap them for a Sword/MG loadout.

Mod selection (masterworked — full allocation)

Piece	Mod · cost	What it does
Helmet (7/10)	Solar Siphon 3e fill	Rapid Solar 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 (9/10)	Heavy Handed 3e	Your powered melee final blows create Orbs of Power.
	Heavy Handed 3e	Your powered melee final blows create Orbs of Power.
	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.
Chest (6/10)	Solar Resistance 2e fill	Reduces incoming Solar 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)	Solar Weapon Surge 1e	Your Solar weapons gain a small bonus to damage while you have any Armor Charge. Your Armor Charge now decays over time.
	Solar Weapon Surge 1e	Your Solar weapons gain a small bonus to damage while you have any Armor Charge. Your Armor Charge now decays over time.
	Solar Weapon Surge 1e fill	Your Solar 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: a Solar heavy. - **Anti-Champion:** ignitions (stagger) + Revitalizing Blast (artifact) + Barrier/Overload archetype frames on the other two slots.