Arc

Cloudstrike — Chain Lightning (Hunter)

Precision-kill add-clear + Bolt Charge battery

✓ Manifest Arc · Special · 140 RPM · No intrinsic champion

Weapon: Cloudstrike (Sniper Rifle · Special · Arc) · Subclass: Arcstrider · Role: Precision-kill add-clear + Bolt Charge battery Sandbox: 9.7.0 · Created 2026-06-16

Cloudstrike has never been a single-target gun — it's a chain reaction with a scope. Every precision kill drops a lightning bolt and hands you Bolt Charge, so a sniper that "should" be slow add-clear instead detonates packs and charges an Arc payload on the same headshot. Mask of Bakris turns each dodge into a stacking Arc damage buff, the Bolt Charge spends itself into more lightning, and the whole loop runs off the one verb the gun already wants: hit heads.

The weapon

Mortal Polarity (exotic, verbatim): Precision final blows generate a lightning bolt at the target's location and grant a moderate amount of Bolt Charge.

Cloudstrike Catalyst — Triple Tap (verbatim): Rapidly landing precision hits will return one round to the magazine.

What it does: a precision kill (not just a hit) spawns a lightning bolt at the corpse — a wide Arc AoE that chains to and kills the surrounding pack, which is why Cloudstrike clears adds far above its single-shot weight. The same kill deposits a moderate chunk of Bolt Charge on you, so the gun is also a passive Arc battery: stacks build with zero ability input. Triple Tap (catalyst) makes the precision loop self-sustaining — rapid headshots refund rounds, so you rarely break to reload between targets. Special ammo, so it shares the bench with your Heavy.

Loadout

Slot	Pick	Why
Subclass	Arcstrider	Arc element matches the gun; Bolt Charge + amplified + jolt are the native verbs Mortal Polarity feeds.
Super	Gathering Storm	Throw-and-jolt Arc Staff; sticks a pack and jolts it so your lightning bolts chain off pre-jolted targets. Storm's Edge fine if you prefer roaming.
Class ability	Marksman's Dodge	Instant reload (tops Cloudstrike between packs) and triggers Mask of Bakris's Arc damage stack. The dodge is the damage button here.
Melee	Combination Blow (or Tempest Strike)	Combo Blow for amplified+heal sustain; Tempest Strike if you want jolt-on-slide + Bolt Charge from jolted kills (Tempest Strike aspect text).
Grenade	Flux Grenade / Pulse Grenade	Cheap jolt/chip; Spark of Shock makes any Arc grenade jolt, pre-seeding chains.
Aspect 1	Flow State	Defeating a jolted target → amplified; while amplified, dodge recharges faster + greatly increased reload + resilient dodge. Faster dodge = more Bakris stacks + more reloads.
Aspect 2	Lethal Current	After dodging, next melee jolts + aftershock + blinds jolted targets. Since you dodge constantly (Bakris/reload), this is a near-free jolt-and-blind on demand to seed lightning chains and stun-adjacent crowd control.

Fragments (4)

Spark of Ions jolted-kill or Bolt-Charge-kill → Ionic Trace
Spark of Discharge Arc weapon kills → Ionic Trace — Cloudstrike feeds this directly
Spark of Beacons while amplified, Arc Special final blows → blinding explosion — Cloudstrike is an Arc Special
Spark of Ions pairs with Spark of Amplitude (rapidly defeating while amplified → Orb) if you want the orb economy instead of Beacons**

Exotic armour — Mask of Bakris (Helmet)

Light Shift (verbatim): While you have a Stasis or Arc Super equipped, your Dodge becomes a longer range, faster moving shift that partially cloaks you during use. After shifting, your Stasis and Arc weapons gain a stacking damage bonus for a short time. Final blows with this bonus active refund class ability energy.

This is the pairing. Cloudstrike is an Arc weapon, so every dodge stacks a flat Arc damage bonus straight onto it — and Cloudstrike kills refund the dodge (Light Shift's final-blow clause + Flow State's amplified-dodge regen), so the buff is permanently uptimed by the gun it buffs. The shift also repositions you to the next pack and partially cloaks you on entry. With Gathering Storm (an Arc Super) the Light Shift condition is always satisfied.

Why this works (the mechanics)

One input, four payouts. A precision kill with Cloudstrike (a) drops a lightning bolt that clears the pack, (b) grants Bolt Charge, (c) counts as an Arc weapon kill for Spark of Discharge (Ionic Trace), and (d) refunds the Bakris dodge via Light Shift's final-blow clause. You aim at heads; the build does everything else.
The dodge is the damage button. Marksman's Dodge reloads Cloudstrike and procs Mask of Bakris's stacking Arc bonus in one press. Flow State makes that dodge come back faster while amplified, and Cloudstrike's own kills keep you amplified (jolted-kill → Flow State). Dodge → buffed shot → kill → refund dodge → repeat.
Bolt Charge is a free second damage stream. Mortal Polarity deposits Bolt Charge per precision kill with no ability spend. Spark of Discharge + Spark of Ions convert kills into Ionic Traces, and Trace Evidence (artifact) turns rapid precision hits on jolted/blinded targets into more traces — traces feed grenade/melee/class energy, so the gun reloads your abilities.
Everything is pre-jolted before the bolt lands. Lethal Current (dodge melee), Spark of Shock (Arc grenades jolt), and Gathering Storm all apply Jolt. Cloudstrike's lightning bolt then detonates into a field of jolted targets, and Spark of Beacons adds a blinding explosion on every Arc Special final blow while amplified — so the same headshot clears, jolts, blinds, and charges.
Catalyst keeps you in the scope. Triple Tap refunds rounds on rapid precision hits, so a dense room is one long chain of headshots without a reload break — which is exactly the cadence Mortal Polarity (final blows) and the Bakris stack-uptime want.

Stats & mods

Weapons 100+ → Class 100 → Health. Weapons stat scales Cloudstrike's PvE damage on top of Bakris; Class 100 maxes dodge regen (the build's heartbeat) and buffs Lethal Current/Ascension-style class outputs. Stat tuning: dump Grenade (grenades are utility jolt, not damage) into Weapons/Class.

Mods: Sniper Rifle Loader + Sniper Rifle Scavenger (Special economy is the only real constraint — keep ammo flowing), Arc Weapon Surge ×2 on legs (≈+17% Arc damage stacked onto Cloudstrike), Targeting mods for snap, Heavy Ammo Finder/Scout to keep the Special/Heavy bench fed. Artifact: Dielectric (Arc-debuffed kills → Bolt Charge), Trace Evidence (jolt/blind precision → Ionic Traces), Overclock and Load (amplified/Bolt-Charge → Arc handling + reload), Flashover (max Bolt Charge → amplified + harder bolts) if you push a heavy Bolt Charge stack.

Where it shines

Add-dense PvE — strikes, Nightfalls, Onslaught, GM clear phases. The lightning-bolt chain is at its best against packed orange/red bars; one headshot cascades. Bakris repositioning + partial cloak covers the sniper's weak hipfire.
Champions: Cloudstrike's perk text carries no bespoke champion stun, so champion duty is archetype-driven (Anti-Champion 2.0) — confirm its sniper archetype's intrinsic stun (see Verify) and lean on Lethal Current jolt + Spark of Beacons blind and Gathering Storm jolt for crowd-control on Overload-style behaviour. Bring a second weapon covering Barrier/Unstoppable.
Boss/miniboss damage: Cloudstrike is a precision Special sniper — Bakris stacks + Arc surges + Weapons stat make it a respectable swap-DPS option on single targets, though the lightning-bolt payload only triggers on kills, so bosses get the raw sniper, not the chain.

The other two slots:

Primary (Kinetic/Stasis): an Overload or Barrier-archetype Primary (e.g. a Barrier-frame scout or Overload SMG/auto per Anti-Champion 2.0) to cover the champion types Cloudstrike doesn't, and to handle red-bar trash without spending Special ammo.
Heavy: a Machine Gun or Linear Fusion for sustained boss DPS and the burst Cloudstrike's kill-gated bolt can't provide on a single target. Arc Heavy (e.g. an Arc MG) further fuels Spark of Discharge/Dielectric if you want the whole kit Arc-locked.

Verify notes

Element/ammo: Cloudstrike is Arc · Special — Arc confirmed by the Bolt Charge grant in Mortal Polarity and its long-standing Arc damage type; Sniper Rifles are Special ammo. Manifest entry in `docs/encyclopedia/exotics.md` gives the perk text but not the damage-type field directly — element asserted from the perk + known weapon, flag if cross-checking the manifest.
Champion archetype: Cloudstrike's perk text carries no bespoke champion stun. Under Anti-Champion 2.0, sniper champion coverage follows its frame (the brief's mapping: Aggressive/High-Impact → Unstoppable; Precision/Adaptive → Barrier; Rapid-Fire → Overload). Cloudstrike's exact sniper archetype is not recorded in the encyclopedia snapshot — confirm in-game before relying on it for a specific champion; the build hedges with grenade/melee jolt+blind and a second weapon.
Exotic perk + catalyst quoted verbatim from `docs/encyclopedia/exotics.md` (line 216, Mortal Polarity) and `docs/encyclopedia/catalysts.md` (line 29, Triple Tap). "Moderate amount of Bolt Charge" is Bungie's wording — exact stack count not numerically specified.
Mask of Bakris (Light Shift) verbatim from `docs/encyclopedia/exotics.md` (line 39). Arc-weapon damage-bonus magnitude/duration: manifest gives behaviour, not the %; confirm in-game.
Aspects (Flow State, Lethal Current, Tempest Strike) and fragments (Spark of Ions/Discharge/Beacons/Amplitude/Shock) verified against `docs/encyclopedia/aspects.md` and `docs/encyclopedia/fragments.md`.
Artifact mods (Dielectric, Trace Evidence, Overclock and Load, Flashover, Defibrillating Blast) verified in `docs/encyclopedia/artifact.md`. Artifact availability is seasonal; these are present in the 9.7.0 snapshot.
Armour set bonuses are deliberately omitted — garnish, not a driver. Slot any Arc-leaning set only after the stats/mods above are met.

Mod selection (masterworked — full allocation)

Piece	Mod · cost	What it does
Helmet (7/10)	Heavy Ammo Finder 1e	Increases the effect of all contributions towards the Heavy ammo meter.
	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.
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 fill	Reduces incoming Arc 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)	Arc Scavenger 1e	Arc weapons get bonus reserves when picking up ammo used by that weapon.
	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.
	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 (4/10)	Reaper 1e fill	Shortly after using your class ability, your next weapon final blow spawns an Orb of Power.
	Bomber 1e fill	Reduces grenade cooldown when using your class ability.
	Powerful Attraction 2e fill	Automatically collects nearby Orbs of Power when you activate 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: **Targeting** mods for snap; **Trace Evidence** (jolt/blind precision → Ionic Traces); **Overclock; Load** (amplified/Bolt-Charge → Arc handling + reload); **Flashover** (max Bolt Charge → amplified + harder bolts) if you push a heavy Bolt Charge stack.