Arc

Ex Diris — Moth Swarm (Hunter)

Add-clear + crowd-control blind engine

Ex Diris — Moth Swarm (Hunter)
Weapon: Ex Diris (Grenade Launcher · Special · Arc) · Subclass: Arc (Arcstrider) · Role: Add-clear + crowd-control blind engine

Super: Gathering Storm
Class ability: Gambler's Dodge
Melee: Disorienting Blow
Grenade: Flashbang Grenade
Aspect 1: Electrostatic Mind
Aspect 2: Flow State
Fragments: behaviour recorded in docs/knowledge/ subclasses_and_aspects.md ("AI enemies are stunned and cannot fire accurately"). Confirm Blind still carries Overload-stun under Anti-Champion 2.0 in-game; the encyclopedia gives the verb, not the champion mapping. - No DPS/blast-radius numbers asserted — Ex Diris manifest stats are present but per-shot damage scaling isn't in our snapshot; this is designed as a CC/add-clear build, not a damage-number build, so no figures are fabricated. - Armour set bonus deliberately omitted (house rule: garnish, not a driver). Any Weapons/Super archetype set works; rolls first.
Artifact: Slayer Baron Apothecary Satchel

Full build: https://d2builds.pages.dev/weapon_ex_diris.html

Your gear best achievable Weapons 161 / 100 target — gear ready

Health 30 · Melee 46 · Grenade 63 · Super 23 · Class 38 · Weapons 161 · armour only; stat mods + fragments add more

✓ Manifest Arc · Special · 90 RPM · No intrinsic champion

Weapon: Ex Diris (Grenade Launcher · Special · Arc) · Subclass: Arc (Arcstrider) · Role: Add-clear + crowd-control blind engine Sandbox: 9.7.0 · Created 2026-06-16

A Special Arc wave-frame GL that spits out homing moths which blind whatever they reach. The catalyst makes its kills make you amplified; one Arc fragment turns every amplified Ex Diris 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 exotic that literally throws 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."

A single-shot, 90 RPM Special grenade launcher firing Arc projectiles. Two things matter: (1) Loyal Moths spawns seeking detonators on kills/rapid hits that blind on contact — free area crowd-control with no aiming, and (2) enraged ramps fire rate when you're dealing damage, which the catalyst accelerates while amplified. The catalyst closes the loop: Ex Diris kills → amplified → enrages faster + (via Spark of Beacons) blinding explosions on every kill. It's not a DPS weapon — it's a neutralise-the-room weapon that pays you in blind and amplified.

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-kill Ionic Traces feed amplified. (Arc Staff fine if you prefer roaming.)
Class ability	Gambler's Dodge	Melee energy near enemies; refunds the melee that runs the blind loop.
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, ties the whole CC theme together.
Aspect 1	Electrostatic Mind	Defeating jolted or blinded* targets creates an Ionic Trace; collecting one makes you amplified.* The loop's heart — Ex Diris blinds everything, so every kill feeds a Trace → amplified.
Aspect 2	Flow State	Defeating a jolted target makes you amplified; while amplified, dodge recharges faster, more resilient while dodging, greatly increased reload. Second amplified source + huge reload on a 1-in-mag GL.
Fragments	Spark of Beacons (amplified + Arc Special/Heavy final blow → blinding explosion — Ex Diris is an Arc Special), Spark of Brilliance (precision-kill a blinded target → blinding explosion, +10 Super), Spark of Ions (jolted/Bolt-Charge kill → Ionic Trace), Spark of Amplitude (rapid kills while amplified → Orb of Power)	Three blind/amplified amplifiers + an orb feed.
Exotic armour	Mothkeeper's Wraps (Gauntlets)	Defeat targets to charge cages of loyal moths that fly toward nearby targets or allies. The literal moth-twin to Loyal Moths — Arc moths blind. Two independent moth swarms blanketing the room in blind.
Weapon 2 (Primary)	Arc Primary with Voltshot/Jolt	Jolt → Electrostatic Mind Trace + Spark of Ions Trace; precision finishes blinded targets for Spark of Brilliance.
Weapon 3 (Heavy)	Machine Gun or LMG (Arc)	Boss/champion damage Ex Diris can't deliver; Arc keeps surge mods + Spark of Discharge relevant.

Why this works (the mechanics)

The blind→amplified→blind loop is fully self-sustaining. Ex Diris's Loyal Moths blind on every kill/rapid hit. Electrostatic Mind turns any blinded-target kill into an Ionic Trace; collecting it makes you amplified. The catalyst also makes Ex Diris kills amplified directly. 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 amplified, your Arc Special or Heavy ammo weapon final blows create a blinding explosion." Ex Diris is an Arc Special weapon. Once amplified (which the catalyst guarantees), every Ex Diris kill is both a moth-blind and a beacon-blind — double crowd-control off one shot.
Spark of Brilliance compounds it. Precision-killing a blinded target makes another blinding explosion. With three blind sources flooding the room (moths, Beacons, melee/grenade), your Arc Primary's precision finishers chain blind explosions across the whole pack. Adds +10 Super on top.
The catalyst inverts the enrage downside. Ex Diris normally has to build enrage by taking/dealing sustained damage. Berserk Rush makes it enrage faster while amplified — and you're permanently amplified from the loop — so the fire- rate ramp is effectively always on. The weapon's worst trait becomes free.
Mothkeeper's Wraps doubles the swarm. Its moth cages charge off any kill and fly out to blind too. Now there are two unrelated moth systems saturating the area — Ex Diris's Loyal Moths and Mothkeeper's caged moths — so blind uptime is effectively total, even between Ex Diris's slow single-shot reloads.
Champion coverage is bespoke, not archetypal. Special wave-frame GLs don't carry an archetype champion stun — but Blind stuns Overload champions (and suppresses their ability use), and this build manufactures blind from four sources. Overload is covered by the playstyle itself. Bring archetype frames on the Primary/Heavy for Barrier/Unstoppable. (See Verify notes.)
Orb economy keeps Super and allies fed. Spark of Amplitude makes Orbs during amplified kill streaks; Gathering Storm's jolt + Spark of Ions feed extra Traces. Gambler's Dodge refunds Disorienting Blow so the melee blind is always available.

Stats & mods

Weapons 100+ → Super → Class. Weapons for PvE 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/Melee can sit mid — the blind verbs come from the weapon, not the abilities, so they're insurance, not the engine.

Archetypes: Gunner/Specialist pieces favouring Weapons + Super. Mods: Grenade Launcher loaders + scavengers (1-in-mag reserves matter), Arc Weapon Surge ×2 on boots for the Primary/Heavy, Special Ammo Finder/Finisher to keep Ex Diris fed, Harmonic/Arc Siphon on helmet (amplified kills + Spark of Amplitude already flood Orbs — Siphon adds more). Orbs of Restoration to convert that orb flood back into ability energy. Bomber/Outreach on the class item to speed the dodge that runs the melee blind.

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 and Overload champions get stunned. Four blind sources means whole rooms are neutralised on approach, and amplified's flinch resistance + DR-adjacent speed keeps you mobile. This is 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.
Champion coverage: Overload — covered intrinsically by Blind (the build's whole identity). Barrier / Unstoppable — bring on the Primary/Heavy via their weapon archetypes (Anti-Champion 2.0). Ex Diris itself carries no archetype stun.
Not a boss-DPS build. Ex Diris is single-shot Special crowd-control; lean on the Heavy LMG/MG + Gathering Storm for boss damage windows.

Artifact - Slayer Baron Apothecary Satchel (Episode: Revenant)

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

Tier 1: Trace Evidence (Jolt/Blind precision hits and kills mint Ionic Traces - a third Trace source on top of Electrostatic Mind + Spark of Ions, so amplified never lapses) - The Thick Of It (surrounded final blows grant Armor Charge, the fuel Retinal Burn spends)
Tier 2: Retinal Burn (rapid Arc precision hits spend Armor Charge for a blinding burst - a fourth blind source on the Arc Primary, fed by The Thick Of It) - Curative Orbs (shield breaks make Orbs of Power, backfilling Super and the amplified streak) - Weakened Clear (Grenade Launcher hits on a Champion or shield reload your stowed weapons - huge on a 1-in-mag GL)
Tier 3: Arc Compounding (Arc sources deal bonus damage to Blind targets - the whole room is blinded, so this amps every Arc shot) - Kinetic Impacts (sustained Grenade Launcher damage boosts GL reload and triggers a Kinetic blast; carries Unstoppable)

Verify notes

Element/ammo confirmed via manifest (`inspect_item.py "Ex Diris"`): Arc, Grenade Launcher, Special ammo (1-in-mag, RPM 90). Intrinsic Corrupted Nucleosynthesis + trait Loyal Moths + catalyst Berserk Rush all quoted verbatim from `docs/encyclopedia/exotics.md`, `perks.md`, and `catalysts.md`.
Loyal Moths blind and Mothkeeper's Wraps text verified in `docs/encyclopedia/` (exotics/perks). Mothkeeper's "Arc moths blind" detail is stated in `docs/knowledge/exotics_and_catalysts.md` (the encyclopedia line gives behaviour, not the element-split) — flagged as knowledge-doc, not manifest.
Aspects (Electrostatic Mind, Flow State) and Fragments (Spark of Beacons, Brilliance, Ions, Amplitude) all verified verbatim in `docs/encyclopedia/aspects.md` and `fragments.md`. Spark of Beacons explicitly names "Arc Special or Heavy ammo weapon" — Ex Diris qualifies.
Blind stuns Overload: behaviour recorded in `docs/knowledge/ subclasses_and_aspects.md` ("AI enemies are stunned and cannot fire accurately"). Confirm Blind still carries Overload-stun under Anti-Champion 2.0 in-game; the encyclopedia gives the verb, not the champion mapping.
No DPS/blast-radius numbers asserted — Ex Diris manifest stats are present but per-shot damage scaling isn't in our snapshot; this is designed as a CC/add-clear build, not a damage-number build, so no figures are fabricated.
Armour set bonus deliberately omitted (house rule: garnish, not a driver). Any Weapons/Super archetype set works; rolls first.

Mod selection (masterworked — full allocation)

Piece	Mod · cost	What it does
Helmet (9/10)	Special Ammo Finder 3e	Increases the effect of all contributions towards the Special ammo meter.
	Arc Siphon 3e	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 (3/10)	Outreach 1e	Reduces melee cooldown when using your class ability.
	Bomber 1e	Reduces grenade cooldown when using your class ability.
	Reaper 1e fill	Shortly after using your class ability, your next weapon final blow spawns an Orb of Power.

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).