Crimson — Banned Bloodwork (Solar Hunter)
One Hand Cannon that does the work of a Hand Cannon and a Healing Grenade. Crimson's three-round burst lands like one fat crit, heals you on the kill, and refills its own mag on the precision kill — so the only "rotation" is hit heads, stay alive, repeat. The build's whole job is to make every kill a precision kill, mark the target before you shoot it, and turn "got shot" into a stat buff.
The weapon
Banned Weapon (intrinsic): "This weapon fires a 3-round burst."
Cruel Remedy (trait): "Kills with this weapon heal the wielder. Precision kills also refill the magazine."
To the Pain (catalyst): "While this weapon is equipped, taking damage increases handling and aim assist until the weapon is stowed."
The intrinsic line undersells the gun; the engine is Cruel Remedy. Any kill heals you (Clarity: 32 HP restored plus Health Regeneration), and a precision kill also instantly refills the magazine — so a burst to the head is a heal-on-demand and a self-loader in one trigger pull. Land the burst, the target dies, the mag is full, you are healed, you keep firing. The catalyst then rewards standing in the fight: the more damage you take, the better Crimson handles and tracks, and it only resets when you holster. Cruel Remedy makes that aggression survivable — you get shot for the buff, then heal it all back on the next head. The two halves push the same "stay on the gun, stay in the open" playstyle.
Loadout
| Slot | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Subclass | Solar Gunslinger | Manufactures Radiant off the melee to buff Crimson without needing it to be Solar, and pairs heal-on-kill with Restoration. |
| Super | Golden Gun: Marksman | On-theme precision Super; Marksman's single-shot fits the headshot economy the whole kit rewards. |
| Class ability | Marksman's Dodge | Reloads Crimson on dodge and repositions between bursts — a manual top-off when a body-shot kill leaves the mag short. |
| Movement | Triple Jump | Standard Hunter air control for holding the aggressive mid-lane the catalyst wants. |
| Melee | Lightweight Knife | Precision knock-down feeds Ember of Torches → Radiant, keeping you in the precision-kill economy. |
| Grenade | Healing Grenade | Redundant cure/Restoration for the moments Crimson's own heal isn't enough. |
| Aspect 1 | On Your Mark | "landing precision hits grants you and nearby allies increased reload speed and Weapons stat… Stacks ten times" — every Crimson headshot stacks reload and PvE damage. |
| Aspect 2 | Gunpowder Gamble | "Defeat targets to charge up an improvised Solar explosive" — Crimson kills charge a free AoE detonation for the pack the single-target burst can't sweep. |
| Fragments | Torches · Solace · Empyrean · Singeing | Melee-to-Radiant, longer buffs, ability-kill Radiant extension, and dodge regen on scorch. |
| Exotic armour | Knucklehead Radar (Helmet) | "Visually marks targets. Deals more damage to low-health marked targets" + radar while aiming — multiplies Crimson's exact output and keeps you aware while trading fire. |
| Weapons | Solar Special + Heavy Rocket | The Special covers the Solar-weapon fragments/artifact loop and a champion Crimson can't; the Rocket is boss DPS and the artifact's Rocket tier. |
Ember of Torches elemental melee hits → Radiant for you and allies — your Lightweight Knife turns Crimson Radiant
Ember of Solace Radiant/Restoration last 50% longer — stretches both buffs across the burst rotation
Ember of Empyrean Solar ability final blows extend Radiant/Restoration — fed by the knife and Gunpowder Gamble, not by Crimson, since Crimson is Kinetic
Ember of Singeing 400% class-ability regen on fresh scorch — Gunpowder Gamble/knife scorch refunds your dodge → more Marksman's-Dodge reloads
Why it works (the mechanics)
- Crimson is its own sustain — the build just keeps the kills coming. Cruel Remedy heals 32 HP on every kill and refills the mag on precision kills, so you almost never leave the gun to reload or recover. Gunslinger then layers Radiant on top via the melee (Ember of Torches), the single biggest force-multiplier for a precision weapon — and it needs no element synergy, so Crimson being Kinetic is irrelevant.
- On Your Mark double-pays every headshot. Each precision hit stacks reload speed and the 9.7.0 Weapons stat (a flat PvE damage bump), up to ten stacks. So one Crimson headshot does four things at once: damage, heal (Cruel Remedy), mag refill (precision Cruel Remedy), and a reload+Weapons stack (On Your Mark). One trigger pull, four payouts.
- The catalyst flips the survivability math. To the Pain makes taking damage a buff (handling + aim assist), and Cruel Remedy makes taking damage recoverable (kill → heal). Together they license the open, mid-lane, in-your-face playstyle Crimson was built for — handle better the more you are shot, heal it back on the next head.
- Knucklehead Radar multiplies Crimson's exact output. Crimson's burst chunks a target to low health; the exotic's mark then turns the finishing rounds into bonus damage, and the precision kill refills the mag. "Provides radar while you're aiming" keeps ADS map awareness while you trade fire — turning Crimson into a genuine solo primary rather than forcing a Solar element or an ability.
- Marksman's Dodge patches the one gap. Cruel Remedy only refills the mag on precision kills — body-shot kills heal but don't reload. Marksman's Dodge is the manual reload-on-demand for those moments, and it doubles as a reposition that refreshes the catalyst's damage-trading window.
- Gunpowder Gamble + scorch closes the loop. Crimson kills charge the improvised Solar explosive for AoE the burst can't sweep; the detonation's scorch fires Ember of Singeing (class-ability regen) and Ember of Empyrean (extends Radiant/Restoration), refunding dodges and stretching buffs across the next rotation.
Stats & mods
Weapons 200 → Health → Class. Crimson is a damage gun whose own perk is the sustain layer, so dump points into the Weapons stat (it stacks with On Your Mark's Weapons bumps); Health is a safe secondary since the catalyst + Cruel Remedy already carry survivability; Class third to keep Marksman's Dodge (your manual reload) up often. Lean a Gunner-primary archetype, with one Powerhouse piece to feed Golden Gun.
- Boots: Hand Cannon Reserves + Recuperation (Crimson's primary ammo isn't infinite under burst fire; orb pickup heals to overkill with Cruel Remedy).
- Arms: Hand Cannon Loader — faster manual reloads for the body-shot-kill gaps.
- Chest: Concussive Dampener / resist mods to stay in the open the catalyst rewards.
- Class item: Better Already + Bomber — orb-pickup heal stacks with Cruel Remedy; grenade/dodge regen supports the ability loop.
- Surge: none — Crimson is Kinetic with no element, so weapon-surge mods do nothing for it; spend those slots on Reserves/Recuperation instead.
- Anti-Champion: carried by your Special + Heavy archetypes (see Where it shines), not Crimson.
Artifact — Queensfoil Censer
The precision-kill artifact for a precision-kill gun: 
Solo Operative is element-agnostic and ramps Kinetic Crimson directly, the Solar tiers keep the Radiant → Scorch → Ignition loop alive on your Solar Special, and the Rocket tier covers the champions and boss DPS Crimson can't.
Picks (2/3/2):
- Tier 1: Fever And Chill · Kindling Trigger
- Tier 2: Revitalizing Blast · Anti-Champion Nosecone · Perpetual Destruction
- Tier 3: Solo Operative · Rays of Precision
- Solo Operative — "precision weapon final blows increase weapon damage until you are defeated"; element-agnostic, so every Crimson headshot kill ramps Crimson itself. The single biggest reason to run this artifact.
Fever And Chill — rapid Solar-weapon hits grant Radiant, feeding the loop off your Solar Special since Kinetic Crimson can't proc it.
Kindling Trigger — Radiant makes Solar weapons apply Scorch, converting that Radiant into the build's Scorch/Ignition economy.
Revitalizing Blast — stunning a Champion ignites it and clears your shield stun; champion coverage that also pays the Ignition theme.
Anti-Champion Nosecone — your Heavy Rocket deals bonus Champion damage for the stuns Crimson can't guarantee.
Perpetual Destruction — non-Exotic Rocket final blows refund ammo and boost reload, keeping the boss-DPS Heavy firing.
Rays of Precision — while Radiant, Solar precision final blows ignite, paying off Radiant + Ignition on the Solar Special.
Where it shines
- Solo / low-fireteam content — Crimson is a self-contained "primary + pocket heal," and the catalyst + Knucklehead let you play aggressively without a support behind you. This is the build's home (and where Solo Operative is live).
- Sustained add/elite clear — heal-on-kill + precision-refill means you rarely leave the gun to reload or recover; you melt a lane and stay topped off.
- Marked-target execution — Knucklehead's bonus damage to low-health marked targets + Solo Operative's ramp turns Crimson into a hard-hitting finisher on majors the burst has already chunked.
- Champion coverage: Crimson breaks nothing intrinsically (manifest champion tag: none). Bring the champions on your other two slots — a Solar Special of one archetype and a Heavy Rocket of another, backed by Queensfoil's Revitalizing Blast / Anti-Champion Nosecone.