Ex Diris — Moth Swarm (Arc Hunter)

Centerpiece: Ex Diris (Grenade Launcher · Special · Arc) · Subclass: Arc (Arcstrider) · Role: Add-clear + crowd-control blind engine Sandbox: 9.7.0 · Updated 2026-07-03

A Special Arc wave-frame launcher that spits out homing moths which blind whatever they reach. The catalyst makes its kills leave you amplified; one Arc fragment turns every amplified kill into a blinding explosion, another turns killing the blinded into an Ionic Trace that re-amplifies you. The moths are the hook, but the build is the self-licking loop they start: blind, kill, amplified, blind. Pair it with the gauntlets that literally throw more moths and the room never gets to shoot back.

The weapon

Corrupted Nucleosynthesis (intrinsic): "This weapon enrages when dealing or taking sustained damage, gaining increased rate of fire while enraged."

Loyal Moths (trait): "Final blows and rapid direct hits with this weapon create a loyal moth. The moth will seek out nearby targets and detonate, damaging and blinding them."

Catalyst — Berserk Rush: "Weapon enrages faster while amplified. Final blows with this weapon make you amplified."

Ex Diris is a single-shot, 90 RPM Special Grenade Launcher firing Arc projectiles. Two things carry it. First, Loyal Moths spawns seeking detonators on kills and rapid direct hits that blind on contact — free, no-aim area crowd-control. Second, enraged ramps fire rate as you deal damage (each direct hit adds 25% enrage progress, climbing toward roughly 126 RPM at maximum), and the catalyst accelerates that ramp while amplified. The catalyst also closes the loop directly: a kill makes you amplified for 15 seconds, so the enrage ramp is effectively permanent and every kill re-arms the Arc fragments. It is not a DPS weapon — it is a neutralise-the-room tool that pays you in blind and amplified for staying in the fight.

Loadout

Slot	Pick	Why
Subclass	Arcstrider (Arc)	The blind/amplified verb set Ex Diris is built around.
Super	Gathering Storm	Sticky lightning rod jolts a whole pack; jolted kills feed Ionic Traces and amplified.
Class ability	Gambler's Dodge	Refunds melee energy near enemies, keeping the on-demand blind melee up.
Movement	Triple Jump	Maximum air control to reposition over blinded packs between reloads.
Melee	Disorienting Blow	Melee blinds on hit — a second on-demand blind source the fragments key off.
Grenade	Flashbang Grenade	Blinds on the initial blast — third blind source, reinforcing the whole CC theme.
Aspect 1	Electrostatic Mind	Defeating jolted or blinded targets creates an Ionic Trace; collecting one makes you amplified — the loop's heart, since Ex Diris blinds everything.
Aspect 2	Flow State	Second amplified source (jolted kills) plus greatly increased reload while amplified — huge on a 1-in-mag GL.
Fragments	See line below	Three blind/amplified amplifiers plus an Orb feed.
Exotic armour	Mothkeeper's Wraps (Gauntlets)	Its cages of loyal moths blind on impact — a second, independent moth swarm blanketing the room.
Weapons	Arc Primary (Voltshot/Jolt) + Arc Machine Gun/LMG	Primary jolts for Traces and precision-finishes blinded targets; Heavy delivers the boss damage Ex Diris can't.

Why it works (the mechanics)

• The blind → amplified → blind loop is self-sustaining. Loyal Moths blind on every kill and rapid direct hit. Electrostatic Mind turns any blinded-target kill into an Ionic Trace; collecting it makes you amplified. The catalyst separately makes Ex Diris kills amplify you for 15 seconds. So the moths blind, the kills amplify, and being amplified arms the next layer — with no cooldown to wait on.
• Spark of Beacons is the keystone, and Ex Diris is its exact target. "While you are amplified, your Arc Special or Heavy ammo weapon final blows create a blinding explosion." Ex Diris is an Arc Special weapon and the catalyst keeps you amplified, so every kill is both a moth-blind and a beacon-blind (7.5 m radius) — double crowd-control off one shot.
• Spark of Brilliance compounds it. Precision-killing a blinded target makes another blinding explosion and grants +10 Super. With three blind sources flooding the room, your Arc Primary's precision finishers chain blind explosions across the whole pack.
• The catalyst inverts the enrage downside. Ex Diris normally has to build enrage by taking or dealing sustained damage. Berserk Rush enrages faster while amplified — and you are permanently amplified from the loop — so the fire-rate ramp toward ~126 RPM is effectively always on. The weapon's worst trait becomes free uptime.
• Mothkeeper's Wraps doubles the swarm. Its cages charge off kills and, when thrown, detonate on targets in a blinding explosion (allies instead get a Void overshield). Now two unrelated moth systems saturate the area, so blind uptime is effectively total even between Ex Diris's slow single-shot reloads.
• Orb and Trace economy keeps Super and abilities fed. Spark of Amplitude makes Orbs during amplified kill streaks; Spark of Ions plus Gathering Storm's jolt backfill extra Traces; Gambler's Dodge refunds Disorienting Blow so the melee blind is always ready.

Stats & mods

Weapons 200 → Super → Class. Weapons for damage across the Arc Primary and Ex Diris's chip; Super to cycle Gathering Storm (the pack-jolt that backfills Traces); Class to keep Gambler's Dodge feeding the melee blind. Grenade and Melee can sit mid — the blind verbs come from the weapon, so the abilities are insurance, not the engine.

Archetype lean: Gunner/Specialist pieces favouring Weapons + Super.

Mods:

• Boots: Arc Weapon Surge ×2 for the Primary/Heavy; Grenade Launcher Scavenger (1-in-mag reserves matter).
• Arms: Grenade Launcher Loader ×2 to speed Ex Diris's slow single-shot reload.
• Chest: Concussive Dampener / resist mods for survivability while wading into blinded packs.
• Class item: Bomber + Outreach to speed the dodge that runs the melee blind.
• Surge: Arc Weapon Surge (matches Ex Diris + the Arc Primary/Heavy).
• Anti-Champion: none intrinsic on Ex Diris — Blind covers Overload; bring Barrier/Unstoppable on the Primary/Heavy (see Artifact + Where it shines).

Artifact — Slayer Baron Apothecary Satchel

The Arc-native artifact, and it reads like it was written for this loop: it pays off Blind, Jolt, Ionic Trace and Orbs while adding the Grenade Launcher and Unstoppable coverage Ex Diris can't carry itself.

Picks (2/3/2):

• Tier 1: Trace Evidence · The Thick Of It
• Tier 2: Retinal Burn · Curative Orbs · Weakened Clear
• Tier 3: Arc Compounding · Kinetic Impacts

• Trace Evidence mints Ionic Traces from Jolt/Blind precision hits and kills — a third Trace source on top of Electrostatic Mind and Spark of Ions, so amplified never lapses.
• The Thick Of It grants Armor Charge on surrounded final blows — the fuel Retinal Burn spends, and this build is always surrounded.
• Retinal Burn spends Armor Charge on rapid Arc precision hits for a blinding burst — a fourth blind source, riding the Arc Primary and fed by The Thick Of It.
• Curative Orbs makes Orbs of Power on shield breaks, backfilling Super and the amplified kill streak.
• Weakened Clear reloads stowed weapons on Grenade Launcher hits against a Champion or shield — huge on a 1-in-mag GL.
• Arc Compounding deals bonus Arc damage to Blind targets — the whole room is blinded, so it amps every Arc shot.
• Kinetic Impacts boosts GL reload and triggers a Kinetic blast on sustained Grenade Launcher damage, and carries the Unstoppable stun Ex Diris lacks.

Where it shines

• GMs / Master content (−30 to −40 power): Blind is one of the best survival tools in the game — blinded AI can't fire accurately. Four blind sources neutralise whole rooms on approach, and amplified's flinch resistance keeps you mobile. A control build for content that punishes standing still.
• Add-dense activities (Onslaught, Nightfalls, dungeons): Loyal Moths + Mothkeeper's swarm + Beacons explosions clear and pacify packs continuously while the Arc Primary precision-finishes for chained Spark of Brilliance blinds.
• Not a boss-DPS build. Ex Diris is single-shot Special crowd-control; lean on the Heavy MG/LMG + Gathering Storm for damage windows.
• Champion coverage: Overload — covered intrinsically by Blind (the build's whole identity). Unstoppable — Kinetic Impacts off the artifact. Barrier — bring on the Arc Primary via its weapon archetype (Anti-Champion 2.0). Ex Diris itself carries no intrinsic champion stun.

Mod selection (masterworked — full allocation)

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).