Eriana's Vow — Barrier-Breaker (Solar Hunter)
A scoped Special hand cannon that punches through a Barrier shield without you spending a single mod slot on it, and ignites the champion the instant its barrier pops. Every fragment, aspect and mod here exists to turn one pierced barrier into a spreading Solar ignition and keep a small mag fed in GM-tier content. The other two weapons ride along only to cover the champions Eriana's can't personally break.
The weapon
Looks Can Kill (intrinsic): "This weapon fires shield-piercing ammunition and comes with a scope. Strong against [Shield-Piercing] Barrier Champions. Breaking a matched shield or piercing a Champion's barrier will cause the target to ignite." (verbatim, `docs/encyclopedia/exotics.md`)
Death at First Glance (exotic trait): "While Aiming Down Sights, deal 32.5% increased damage for as long as you land Precision Hits or damage a Combatant Shield." (verbatim, `docs/encyclopedia/clarity_build_numbers.md`)
Catalyst — More to Give: "Increases magazine size. Holstering this weapon automatically reloads it after a short period of time." (verbatim, `docs/encyclopedia/catalysts.md`; Clarity: mag +3, 6 → 9)
Eriana's is a 90 RPM scoped Solar Special hand cannon whose shield-pierce and ignite-on-pierce are a native weapon property, not an archetype effect — so it is Anti-Barrier for free and hands you a guaranteed Solar ignition every time it pops a barrier or breaks a matched (Solar) shield. That ignition is the build's keystone: it is the spark every fragment feeds off. Death at First Glance rewards you for holding ADS and landing precision hits with a stacking 32.5% damage bump, so the scoped, deliberate play pattern the gun forces is also its highest-damage pattern. The catalyst (mag 6 → 9 plus a holster auto-reload) and the cloak's reserve-reload solve the only real weakness — the tiny magazine — so you are never caught dry on the champion you exist to break.
Loadout
| Slot | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Subclass | Gunslinger (Solar) | Solar verbs (scorch/ignite/Radiant) are what turn Eriana's single pierce into a room-wide burn. |
| Super | Golden Gun: Marksman | On-theme precision Super for a burst-damage or add-clearing panic button; the gun and ignitions are the real damage. |
| Class ability | Marksman's Dodge | Reloads on demand — the cheapest way to refill the Special mag mid-fight and the trigger for the cloak's reserve-reload. |
| Movement | Triple Jump | Most in-air control to reposition and keep the scope steady on a moving champion. |
| Melee | Lightweight Knife | Keeps the precision-kill economy moving between Eriana's shots without spending Solar resources. |
| Grenade | Healing Grenade | Cheap on-demand sustain so Health can be the dump stat; the gun and ignitions carry the offence. |
| Aspect 1 | On Your Mark | Class-ability or precision hits grant you and nearby allies Weapons stat + reload speed, stacking ten times. |
| Aspect 2 | Crackshot (9.7.0) | Class ability fires up to three scorching shots at marked targets; pre-scorches the champion so Eriana's pierce-ignite lands instantly. |
| Fragments | Ashes · Char · Wonder · Empyrean | Faster scorch → ignition, ignition-spread, orb generation, and Radiant/Restoration upkeep — the whole ignition economy. |
| Exotic armour | Relativism (Hunter Cloak) — Spirit of the Dragon | Faster, steadier ready plus a class-ability reserve-reload of Eriana's — removes the scoped Special HC's friction. |
| Weapons | Unstoppable primary + Overload heavy | Cover the two champions Eriana's can't: e.g. a Heavy Burst HC (Unstoppable) and a Lightweight/Rapid-Fire Machine Gun (Overload). |
Ember of Ashes apply more scorch per hit — shorter time to the ignition threshold
Ember of Char Solar ignitions spread scorch to affected targets — one pierced champion becomes a room-wide burn
Ember of Wonder rapidly defeating targets with ignitions generates Orbs of Power — feeds Super and orb mods
Ember of Empyrean Solar weapon/ability final blows extend Restoration and Radiant — a Solar HC keeps both rolling
Why it works (the mechanics)
- The Anti-Barrier answer costs zero build budget. Eriana's pierces Barrier natively — verbatim "Strong against Barrier Champions." Under Anti-Champion 2.0 champion stun is intrinsic to weapon archetypes and the old artifact champion mods are gone (`docs/knowledge/monument_of_triumph_9_7_0.md`), but Eriana's keeps a dedicated shield-pierce property on top of that table. One of your three slots permanently and freely covers Barrier, freeing the other two for Unstoppable + Overload.
- Every pierced barrier is a free ignition, and Char makes it a chain. The intrinsic ignites the champion on pierce; Ember of Char then spreads scorch from that ignition to everything around it. In the add-dense rooms that protect a champion, popping the barrier clears the escort for free.
- Crackshot pre-loads the kill. The new Gunslinger aspect throws three scorching shots at marked targets. Tag the champion, fire Crackshot to bank scorch, then pierce with Eriana's — the ignition triggers immediately instead of waiting on weapon scorch to build, and landing all three shots cures you.
- On Your Mark and Death at First Glance both reward the scoped play pattern. Precision hits stack Weapons stat ten times (a PvE weapon-damage lean) while holding ADS ramps Death at First Glance to +32.5%. The gun's slow, deliberate scope-up is therefore also its highest-output state.
- Radiant is a +damage buff against champions now, not a stun. Post-9.7.0 Radiant no longer stuns Barrier (Eriana's does that natively); instead it grants bonus weapon damage vs Champions. Ember of Empyrean keeps Radiant alive off Solar final blows, so the champion you are already breaking also eats more gun damage — pure profit on a Barrier specialist.
- The catalyst + Marksman's Dodge + Relativism solve the only weakness — the mag. Eriana's runs a 6-round base mag; the catalyst raises it to 9 and auto-reloads on holster, and Marksman's Dodge through Relativism's Spirit of the Dragon reloads it from reserves on demand. You are never caught dry mid-champion.
Stats & mods
Weapons 200 → Class → Health. Weapons 200 maxes the PvE weapon-damage lean that On Your Mark feeds; Class high powers Crackshot and speeds the dodge that reloads Eriana's; Health is the dump stat because Cure (Crackshot's three-shot payoff) plus Empyrean-extended Restoration and Radiant cover survivability. This is a precision-Solar, weapon-damage archetype — lean into Weapons and Class font mods, reachable on Tier 3–4 gear, with Tier 5 pushing Weapons higher.
Mods:
- Boots: Recuperation + Orbs of Restoration — health back on orb pickup so Health can stay the dump stat.
- Arms: Hand Cannon Loader ×2 (faster Special reload) + a Class Font (→ Class high).
- Chest: two elemental Resistances matching the activity's damage.
- Class item: Special Ammo Finisher (refills Eriana's hungriest need) + Weapons Font (→ Weapons 200) + Powerful Attraction.
- Surge: Solar Weapon Surge ×2 on boots — ≈+17% Solar weapon damage straight onto Eriana's (Clarity: 10/17/22/25% at 1/2/3/4 mods).
- Anti-Champion: none needed for Barrier — Eriana's breaks it intrinsically; bring archetype cover on the other two weapons for Unstoppable + Overload (no artifact champion mods exist under 2.0).
Artifact — Implement of Curiosity
The Solar-forward pick for an ignition/Radiant build on a precision Solar HC: it grants Radiant off Eriana's precision hits, multiplies Solar output on debuffed targets, pays off the Radiant + Scorch twin loop, and covers the Unstoppable champion the gun can't.
Picks (2/3/2):
- Tier 1: Fever and Chill · Semi-Auto Striker
- Tier 2: Cauterized Darkness · Energy Acceleration · Elemental Daze
- Tier 3: Radiant Shrapnel · Elemental Overdrive
Fever and Chill grants Radiant off rapid precision Solar hits — Eriana's keeps the build's whole Radiant economy lit.
Semi-Auto Striker feeds Armor Charge from the Sniper/Scout you bring for champion cover, powering the Surge/boots loop.
Cauterized Darkness makes debuffed non-bosses take more Solar damage — straight onto your ignitions and gun.
Energy Acceleration is the Unstoppable answer for the slot Eriana's doesn't cover.
Elemental Daze makes stunning a champion with Eriana's spawn a Solar explosion + debuff, pre-loading the scorch/ignite chain.
Radiant Shrapnel releases shrapnel on sustained damage while Radiant or on killing a scorched target — paying off both build payoffs at once.
Elemental Overdrive turns your Ember of Wonder Solar orbs/pickups into bonus Solar weapon damage on Eriana's.
Where it shines
- GM / Master / −power endgame with Barrier champions. Native Anti-Barrier with no mod cost, a guaranteed ignition on the pop, and Char spreading it to the champion's add escort. This is the content the build is for.
- Champion-and-add rooms. Pierce → ignite → Char spread → Ember of Wonder orbs → Super. One barrier becomes a full-room clear.
- Survivability built in (Cure from Crackshot's three-shot payoff, Restoration/Radiant extended by Empyrean) so you can dump Health and still hold a lane.
- Champion coverage: Eriana's breaks Barrier intrinsically (native shield-pierce). Bring an Unstoppable frame (e.g. Heavy Burst HC or a High-Impact primary) and an Overload frame (Lightweight/Rapid-Fire — a Machine Gun doubles Overload cover) on the other two slots; under Anti-Champion 2.0 there are no artifact champion mods to lean on.
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 (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 (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. | |
| Orbs of Restoration 1e | Picking up an Orb of Power grants a small amount of energy to your ability with the least energy. | |
| Class Item (7/10) | Powerful Attraction 2e | Automatically collects nearby Orbs of Power when you activate your class ability. |
| Powerful Attraction 2e | Automatically collects nearby Orbs of Power when you activate your class ability. | |
| Class Font 3e | You gain a bonus to your class stat while you have any Armor Charge. Your Armor Charge decays over time. |
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).