Black Talon — Three-Debuff Reaper (Hunter)

Weapon: Black Talon (Sword · Heavy · Void) · Subclass: Nightstalker (Void) · Role: Void-debuff sword DPS that triple-stacks the catalyst Sandbox: 9.7.0 · Created 2026-06-16

The catalyst pays you per type of Void debuff on the target. So don't run one debuff well — run three at once. Crow's Wings suppresses, Gyrfalcon's makes your Void rounds Volatile, Undermining grenades Weaken, and a Deadfall tether stamps all three on a whole pack in one shot. Then you walk in and swing a sword that's ramped on Suppress + Volatile + Weaken simultaneously.

The weapon

Crow's Wings (verbatim): "[Heavy Attack] : Fire a Heavy projectile attack that suppresses targets. Hitting a target already suppressed spreads the effect to nearby targets."

Catalyst — Reversal (verbatim): "Dealing damage to Void debuffed targets increases this weapon's damage for a short time per each type of Void debuff affecting the target."

What it does: the heavy attack fires a ranged projectile that Suppresses — so Black Talon is the rare sword with a built-in standoff option and a Void debuff stapled to it. The catalyst is the whole build's thesis: damage scales per distinct Void debuff type on the target. One debuff is a small bump; three (Suppress + Volatile + Weaken) is a different weapon. The projectile also spreads suppression off an already-suppressed target, so it self-propagates across a tethered pack.

Loadout

Slot	Pick	Why
Subclass	Nightstalker (Void)	The only subclass that natively stacks Suppress + Weaken + Volatile + invis.
Super	Shadowshot: Deadfall	One cast applies Weaken + Suppress to the whole pack and groups them — instant 2-of-3 debuffs before you swing.
Class ability	Gambler's Dodge	Melee back near enemies; the dodge that pairs with invis fragments and Gyrfalcon's emerge-from-invis trigger.
Melee	Snare Bomb (Quickfall)	Smoke for invis on demand → re-arms Gyrfalcon's Volatile Rounds; tags targets.
Grenade	Magnetic Grenade	With Echo of Undermining it Weakens a priority target precisely (the third debuff type on demand).
Aspect 1	Stylish Executioner	Any elemental-debuffed kill → invis + Truesight. Your debuffs are everywhere, so invis is always available → re-procs Gyrfalcon's Volatile.
Aspect 2	Vanishing Step	Dodge → invis with no kill required. Reliable on-demand invis to re-arm Volatile Rounds before a sword commit.
Fragments	Undermining · Instability · Harvest · Starvation	See below.
Exotic armour	Gyrfalcon's Hauberk (Chest)	Emerge from invis → Void weapons get Volatile Rounds = the third debuff type, applied by Black Talon itself.
Energy weapon	Void primary w/ Destabilizing Rounds	Independent Volatile source; keeps the debuff up between invis windows.
Kinetic weapon	Add-clear primary (Volatile-immune slot is fine)	Trash clear + generates ammo/orbs so the sword stays fed.

Why this works (the mechanics)

• The catalyst counts debuff types, so the build manufactures three. Suppress (Crow's Wings + Deadfall), Volatile (Gyrfalcon's + Destabilizing + Echo of Instability), Weaken (Echo of Undermining grenade + Deadfall). All three are independent Void debuffs per the encyclopedia, so they coexist on one target and each adds a Reversal stack.
• Deadfall is a one-button setup for the whole pack. Shadowshot: Deadfall "dramatically weakening and suppressing" tethered targets — that's 2 of 3 debuff types on every enemy in the tether, instantly. Walk in, heavy-attack for the third behaviour, and the catalyst is at near-max on contact.
• Gyrfalcon's closes the loop on Black Talon's own element. Black Talon is Void. Emerge from invis (Vanishing Step dodge or Stylish kill) → "Your Void weapons gain Volatile Rounds" → the sword's hits now apply Volatile themselves. Black Talon stamps its own third debuff while it swings.
• Invis is free and constant, so Volatile Rounds never lapse. Stylish Executioner triggers off any elemental-debuffed kill (you make those nonstop), and Vanishing Step gives invis on a plain dodge. Either way every re-entry re-arms Gyrfalcon's Volatile on the sword.
• Weaken is also a raw damage multiplier on top. It's a debuff-bucket multiplier (increased damage taken), so it boosts the sword swing itself, not just the catalyst count — double-dipping: +1 Reversal stack and a flat damage-taken increase.
• The orb/Devour economy keeps you alive in the swing range. Echo of Harvest (weakened kills → Orb + Void Breach), Echo of Starvation (breach/orb → Devour). Swinging a sword means standing in melee; Devour is the heal that makes that survivable, fed automatically by the weakened kills you're already getting.

Stats & mods

Weapons 200 → Health 100+ → Class. Weapons is the sword-damage stat and benefits every gun feeding the loop; Health because melee range is exposure; Class for dodge uptime (invis → Volatile re-arm).

Archetypes: Powerhouse (Weapons/Super) or Gunner pieces; Brawler if you want Melee for Snare uptime. Mods, by piece:

• Helmet: Harmonic Siphon (Void kills → Orbs) · Ashes to Assets (Super on ability kills → faster Deadfall recasts).
• Gauntlets: Heavy Ammo Finder / Scavenger (sword ammo is the constraint) · Fastball (lands the Magnetic-grenade Weaken).
• Chest: one each Arc/Solar/Void Resistance — flat DR for swing range.
• Boots: Void Weapon Surge ×2 (sword is Void → ~+17% onto Black Talon) · Orbs of Restoration.
• Class item: Powerful Attraction (dodge vacuums orbs → Devour) · Reaper.

Fragments (4): Echo of Undermining (Void grenades Weaken — the third debuff source), Echo of Instability (grenade kills → Volatile Rounds — backup Volatile when not invis), Echo of Harvest (weakened kills → Orb + Breach), Echo of Starvation (Breach/Orb → Devour). Drop Undermining's −10 Grenade into the dump stat; the grenade fires often enough.

Where it shines

• GMs / −30/−40 content: Deadfall debuffs a whole room, the sword deletes the tethered orange bar at a 3-stack catalyst ramp, Devour + invis keep you alive in melee. The standoff heavy projectile lets you Suppress from cover first.
• Boss/miniboss DPS: stack all three debuffs on the target, then swing — the catalyst ramp plus Weaken's damage-taken multiplier is the highest the sword reaches. Light-attack chains while the buff is live.
• Champions (Anti-Champion 2.0): Black Talon's intrinsic Suppress stuns Overload champions directly (suppression interrupts ability/regen). Deadfall suppress is a backup Overload answer for the pack. Barrier/Unstoppable are not covered by the sword — bring those frames on the energy/kinetic weapon (e.g. a Barrier-archetype primary). Weaken thins all champion health for the team.