Graviton Spike — Cold Snap (Stasis Hunter)

Centerpiece: Graviton Spike (Hand Cannon · Primary · Arc) · Subclass: Revenant (Stasis) · Role: Self-buffing dual-mode primary that the whole kit amplifies on both its Arc and Stasis sides Sandbox: 9.7.0 · Updated 2026-07-03

One hand cannon that is two hand cannons. Flick the alternate fire to a fast-firing Arc burst or a slow, hard-hitting Stasis mode, and every kill or precision hit overcharges the other mode so the swap is always worth making. Mask of Bakris is the one exotic in the game that buffs Arc and Stasis weapon damage at once, so it pays out no matter which mode is loaded, and a Stasis Hunter freezes the room so Graviton's Stasis mode lands its big hits for free. Build the loop around the toggle.

The weapon

Temporal Manipulation — "[Alternate Weapon Action] to swap between fast-firing Arc mode or slow-firing Stasis mode. Final blows and precision hits overcharge the opposing mode to enable additional effects." (`docs/encyclopedia/exotics.md`, l.253)

Catalyst — the manifest entry is a bare placeholder: "Fragment of Graviton Spike Catalyst acquired —" with no effect text (`docs/encyclopedia/catalysts.md`, l.76). Treat the catalyst as undocumented in this snapshot; nothing here depends on it.

Manifest-confirmed, this is an Arc primary hand cannon (150 RPM, energy slot) whose intrinsic bolts a second, slow-firing Stasis mode onto the same frame. Arc mode is the high-rate-of-fire add-clear profile; Stasis mode is low-rate, higher per-shot, for priority and precision damage. The two feed each other: killing or landing precision hits in the mode you're holding "overcharges the opposing mode," so the correct habit is to build charge in one mode, then swap to cash an enhanced version of the other. The exact "additional effects" each overcharge enables are not spelled out in the manifest text (see Verify notes), so this build leans only on the two things the text guarantees — it deals Arc in one mode and Stasis in the other, and the swap is always rewarded. Pick a subclass and exotic that don't care which side is live.

Loadout

Slot	Pick	Why
Subclass	Revenant (Stasis)	On-element with Graviton's Stasis mode and the freeze engine that makes the slow side of the gun land its shots.
Super	Silence and Squall	Roaming Stasis super; Squall's storm slows/freezes packs so the Stasis mode lands precision hits and Arc mode mops survivors.
Class ability	Gambler's Dodge	Dodge is the engine for Winter's Shroud (slow), Mask of Bakris's shift, and melee refund near enemies.
Movement	Triple Jump	Air control to line up the Bakris shift and reposition mid-fight.
Melee	Withering Blade	Ricocheting Stasis shuriken — slows/freezes for free Stasis-mode precision and feeds shards.
Grenade	Duskfield	Pulls a pack in and slows them, setting up frozen targets for the Stasis mode and the shatter loop.
Aspect 1	Winter's Shroud	Dodging slows nearby targets — on-demand slow without spending the grenade, softening targets for the slow Stasis shots (2 Fragment slots).
Aspect 2	Grim Harvest	Defeating slowed/frozen targets drops Stasis shards; picking them up grants Frost Armor (DR), so the constant slow manufactures free survivability (2 Fragment slots).
Fragments	Hedrons · Rending · Chains · Conduction	Freeze-stat spike, frozen-target damage, shard generation, and shard tracking — see below.
Exotic armour	Mask of Bakris (Helmet)	The only exotic that buffs both Arc and Stasis weapon damage after a shift, and refunds class-ability energy on buffed final blows.
Weapons	Energy special + Heavy	An energy special (fusion/glaive) for the burst the primary lacks, plus an MG or Rocket for bosses — Graviton carries add-clear and majors, not boss DPS.

Why it works (the mechanics)

• Mask of Bakris is the only exotic that buffs both of Graviton's elements. Verbatim (`docs/encyclopedia/exotics.md`, l.39): "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." Graviton's Arc mode and its Stasis mode both qualify, so the shift-damage buff is live no matter which way the toggle is flipped. No other weapon-damage exotic covers both of Graviton's modes — this is the build's reason to exist.
• The Bakris loop is self-sustaining on this gun. Clarity has the numbers: Light Shift grants 10%/21%/33% Arc + Stasis weapon damage at 1/2/3 stacks over 11s, and kills refund class-ability energy while it's active (`clarity_build_numbers.md`, l.372-380). Shift → both modes buffed → land a buffed final blow in some mode → dodge refunded → shift again. Because Graviton is two damage profiles in one primary, a refundable kill is almost always available.
• The Stasis subclass turns Graviton's weakness into a setup. The Stasis mode is "slow-firing" and punishing against moving adds — so freeze them first (Withering Blade, Duskfield, Squall). Slowed/frozen targets don't move, the slow precision shots land, and Whisper of Rending ("Primary ammo weapons do increased damage to Stasis crystals and frozen targets") makes those shots hit harder. The subclass exists to make the slow side of the gun good.
• Whisper of Hedrons is a free weapon buff keyed to what you already do. Freezing is constant here; Hedrons ("Increases weapon handling and health after freezing a target") converts every freeze into handling/stat uptime for the next Stasis-mode volley — exactly what the slow, high-impact mode wants. Bakris also adds +10% against Stasis-debuffed enemies, stacking on the same frozen targets.
• The toggle is rewarded twice. Graviton itself "overcharges the opposing mode" on kills/precision hits, and Bakris keeps both modes buffed after a shift — so the optimal habit (build charge in one mode → swap → cash the enhanced other mode) is paid by the gun and the exotic at once. The swap is the gameplay.
• Ability economy runs on slow. Winter's Shroud (dodge → slow) and Grim Harvest (slow/frozen kills → shards → Frost Armor) form a closed loop: dodge to slow and refund melee, kill the slowed target, pick up shards (Conduction tracks them, Chains feeds extra ones under Frost Armor) to keep the DR layer topped up, then throw Withering Blade to slow again.

Stats & mods

Weapons 200 → Class → Health. Weapons first because this is a primary-weapon build and the 9.7.0 Weapons stat scales PvE weapon damage — it stacks on top of the Bakris shift buff and Hedrons. Class next for dodge uptime (the whole loop runs on dodging). Health to a survivable floor; the Frost Armor DR layer (Grim Harvest, fed by Whisper of Chains) covers the rest. Archetype lean: prioritise pieces favouring Weapons + Class (and Super for Silence and Squall uptime).

Mods:

• Boots: Stasis Weapon Surge ×2 or Arc Weapon Surge ×2 — pick the mode you spend the most time in (Surge is element-specific, so it only buffs one of Graviton's two modes; choose deliberately). Add Orbs of Restoration for ability uptime.
• Arms: Hand Cannon Loader + Hand Cannon Dexterity for snappy reloads and mode-swaps.
• Chest: Arc Resistance + Stasis Resistance under the Frost Armor layer.
• Class item: Powerful Attraction (dodge vacuums Stasis shards + orbs) + Bomber (grenade energy on dodge, refills Duskfield).
• Surge: match the mode you main — Stasis or Arc Weapon Surge on the boots as above.
• Anti-Champion: Graviton has no intrinsic champion breaker, so lean on freeze/slow (Withering Blade, Duskfield, Squall) to lock down Overload-style elites and cover the rest with your special/heavy frames.

Artifact — Slayer Baron Apothecary Satchel

This is the Stasis artifact, and it powers the exact loop this Revenant build already runs — Stasis-weapon hits into Frost Armor, Stasis Shards, and class-ability energy that refeeds the dodge engine. The artifact's job here is to multiply Graviton's Stasis side and the Grim Harvest DR layer; champions are covered behaviourally by freeze/slow plus the special/heavy frames.

Picks (2/3/2):

• Tier 1: Wind Chill · Crystalline Converter
• Tier 2: Frost Renewal · Hail The Storm · Curative Orbs
• Tier 3: Served Cold · Brain Freeze

• Wind Chill grants Frost Armor on rapid Stasis-weapon hits and spawns a Stasis Shard against slowed/frozen targets — the freeze-first habit pays directly into Graviton's Stasis mode.
• Crystalline Converter makes your next Stasis-weapon final blow after a class ability create a Stasis Shard, feeding Grim Harvest off the dodge you already spam.
• Frost Renewal bursts a freeze and re-grants Frost Armor when you take critical damage under it — sustains the DR layer and manufactures more freezes for the slow mode.
• Hail The Storm adds shatter damage and shards when frozen targets and crystals break, cashing the Stasis-mode shatter.
• Curative Orbs drops an Orb of Power on shield break, feeding the Siphon/Orb economy and ability uptime.
• Served Cold returns class-ability energy when you pick up a Stasis Shard, directly powering the dodge-driven Bakris and Winter's Shroud loop.
• Brain Freeze surrounds frozen combatants with chilling fog that slows nearby targets, extending the lockdown the slow-firing Stasis mode depends on.

Where it shines

• Mid-range add-clear into priority deletion in one weapon: Arc mode shreds the trash, then swap to Stasis mode for the orange-bar standing in a Duskfield. The freeze-first habit makes the slow mode feel like a mini-sniper.
• Sustained patrol / strike / lower-end GM clear where a self-buffing, self-healing primary that refunds its own dodge lets you stay aggressive and reposition with the Bakris shift.
• Anywhere a single exotic primary must stay relevant across two elements — the build never "picks wrong," because Bakris and the subclass cover both modes.
• Champion coverage: Graviton has no intrinsic champion stun (manifest `champion: null`). It breaks nothing on its own — lock down Overload-style targets with freeze/slow (Withering Blade, Duskfield, Squall) and bring a special/heavy frame that intrinsically stuns Barrier and Unstoppable.

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). Flex/loadout-dependent: so lean on freeze/slow (Withering Blade; Duskfield; Squall) to lock down Overload-style elites; cover the rest with your special/heavy frames.