Arc

Lodestar — Shift & Beam (Arc Hunter)

Amplified add-shredder + jolt/Bolt-Charge engine

Your gear best achievable Weapons 161 / 200 target — 39 short

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

✓ Manifest Arc · Primary · 1000 RPM · No intrinsic champion

Centerpiece: Lodestar (Trace Rifle · Primary · Arc) · Subclass: Arc — Arcstrider · Role: Amplified add-shredder + jolt/Bolt-Charge engine Sandbox: 9.7.0 · Updated 2026-07-03

Lodestar is a continuous Arc beam that only becomes itself once you're amplified — the catalyst dumps a pile of reload, aim assist and ADS movement onto a weapon that already laces enemies for the price of holding the trigger. So build the whole Hunter around staying amplified: an Arcstrider that makes amplified off jolt kills, Mask of Bakris to bolt a stacking Arc-damage buff on top, and a fragment shell that turns Lodestar's stream of Arc kills into Ionic Traces, Orbs and Bolt Charge. Hold the beam, shift, repeat.

The weapon

Starlight Beam (intrinsic, verbatim): "This weapon fires a low-intensity Arc beam with enhanced stability and accuracy."

Catalyst — Supercharged Matrix (verbatim): "While amplified, this weapon gains greatly increased reload speed, aim assist, and movement while aiming down sights."

What it does: a Primary-ammo Arc Trace Rifle — a held hitscan beam feeding from a near-bottomless ammo pool, not a burst gun. The intrinsic is a stat-line buff (stability and accuracy) rather than a kill-chain perk, so the catalyst is the real intrinsic: it converts the entire feel of the gun once you're amplified — near-instant reloads between targets, glued aim assist on the stream, and you keep moving at near-walk speed in ADS so you can beam-and-reposition. The build's only job is "be amplified all the time," and Arc Hunter makes that trivial. Because it draws Primary ammo, Lodestar never competes with your Special or Heavy for bricks, so those two slots are free to cover everything the beam can't — champions and boss burst.

Loadout

Slot	Pick	Why
Subclass	Arc — Arcstrider	Amplified is an Arc keyword; the whole kit manufactures it to switch the catalyst on.
Super	Gathering Storm	Roaming-free nuke that jolts a whole pack → amplified fuel via Flow State, plus a heavy-hitter for elites.
Class ability	Gambler's Dodge	Bakris converts Dodge into Light Shift, so any dodge works — Gambler's for melee/amplified uptime.
Movement	Strafe Jump	Neutral aerial control; you play grounded on the beam, so nothing exotic is needed here.
Melee	Combination Blow	Not the point of the build but keeps amplified and health rolling between beams.
Grenade	Flux Grenade	Throwaway damage; with Spark of Shock it becomes a jolt-a-pack Flow State trigger.
Aspect 1	Flow State	"Defeating a jolted target makes you amplified." The engine — jolt anything, kill it with the beam, stay amplified.
Aspect 2	Lethal Current	Post-dodge (Light Shift counts) melee jolts + aftershock + blinds — a free jolt/blind source to feed Flow State.
Fragments	Ions · Discharge · Resistance · Amplitude · Shock	Two Trace sources off Arc kills, an orb fountain, jolting grenade, plus flat DR for the stationary beam.
Exotic armour	Mask of Bakris (Helmet)	Light Shift stacks a real Arc-weapon damage multiplier onto a beam that has none, and refunds Dodge off kills.
Weapons	Special (Barrier/Unstoppable) + Heavy (MG/Rocket)	Lodestar is your Primary, so both other slots are free for champion stun and boss DPS.

Fragments

Spark of Ions · Spark of Discharge · Spark of Resistance · Spark of Amplitude · Spark of Shock

Why it works (the mechanics)

The catalyst gates on amplified, and the subclass never lets amplified drop. Flow State makes you amplified off any jolted-target kill, and Lodestar is the thing killing jolted targets. Once one pack is jolted (Lethal Current melee, Spark of Shock grenade, or Gathering Storm), the loop self-sustains: amplified → catalyst reload/AA/ADS-move → easier beam kills → more amplified.
Bakris stacks a real damage multiplier onto a beam that lacks one. Lodestar's intrinsic is only stability and accuracy — it has no built-in damage ramp. Light Shift supplies the missing multiplier: 10% / 21% / 33% increased Arc weapon damage at 1/2/3 stacks (Clarity), and beam kills under the buff refund Dodge energy, so you shift → buffed beam mows the pack → refund → shift again. This is the single biggest damage lever on the gun.
Two independent Ionic Trace sources off beam kills (Ions + Discharge). Spark of Ions prints a Trace on every jolted-target kill; Spark of Discharge adds a chance-Trace on any Arc final blow. A Trace Rifle's high kill-rate spams both, so ability energy floods back in even though you barely throw anything.
Spark of Amplitude turns permanent-amplified + rapid kills into an orb fountain. "Rapidly defeating targets while you are amplified creates an Orb of Power" — the beam's tick-rate makes rapid kills the default, not an edge case. Those orbs feed the armour mods below and the fireteam's Super economy.
Lethal Current makes you a jolt and blind battery. After each Light Shift/Dodge the next melee jolts, aftershocks, and blinds — a self-contained way to re-jolt a fresh pack for Flow State whenever adds arrive un-jolted, so the amplified loop never stalls on a dry room.
Champion coverage comes from jolt and the free weapon slots, not the gun. Lodestar has no intrinsic champion stun (Trace Rifle, champion = none), so disruption leans on jolt (Gathering Storm, Lethal Current, Spark of Shock) and the artifact, while the untouched Special/Heavy slots carry the Barrier/Unstoppable archetypes.

Stats & mods

Weapons 200 → Health → Class. Weapons is the highest-value stat (it scales Lodestar's PvE damage on top of the Bakris stack); Health for standing-still beam survivability; Class to keep Light Shift/Dodge cycling so the Bakris buff and refunds stay lit.

Archetype lean: prioritise pieces favouring Weapons (Powerhouse / Gunner) to reach the 200 Weapons target, then Health.

Mods:

Boots: Arc Weapon Surge ×2 (stacked Arc weapon damage straight onto the beam) · Innervation for orb-pickup ability energy.
Arms: Loader mods for weapon handling · Fastball if running the jolt grenade.
Chest: Arc Resistance ×2 + one off-element — you're stationary on the stream, so flat DR matters.
Class item: Powerful Attraction (Dodge vacuums your orbs) · Bomber/Reaper.
Surge: Arc Weapon Surge (on-element with Lodestar and the Bakris buff).
Anti-Champion: none from the beam — bring Barrier/Unstoppable on the Special/Heavy or the artifact; jolt covers Overload-style elites.

Artifact — Slayer Baron Apothecary Satchel

The Arc/blind half of this artifact bolts straight onto Lodestar's loop: a Trace Rifle that kills jolted and blinded adds turns precision fire into Ionic Traces, Armor Charge and Orbs, and the blind it generates becomes an Overload-adjacent disruptor that your Arc damage then punishes harder.

Picks (2/3/2):

Tier 1: Trace Evidence · The Thick Of It
Tier 2: Curative Orbs · Retinal Burn · Debilitating Wave
Tier 3: Arc Compounding · Conductive Cosmic Crystal

Trace Evidence makes Ionic Traces off precision/kills on jolted or blinded targets — the build jolts everything, so this prints Traces off a Trace Rifle's stream of precision kills.
The Thick Of It grants Armor Charge while surrounded, which you always are on the stationary beam, and that charge is the fuel Retinal Burn spends.
Curative Orbs drops a free Orb on the first shield break, stacking with Spark of Amplitude's orb fountain.
Retinal Burn spends an Armor Charge on Arc precision hits to blind the pack — a champion-adjacent disrupt and the trigger for Arc Compounding.
Debilitating Wave adds an Arc finisher wave matching your Super for instant add-clear when the room gets crowded.
Arc Compounding makes Arc sources hit Blind targets harder, so Lodestar shreds the packs Retinal Burn just blinded — this is the T3 pick that actually fires off the loop.
Conductive Cosmic Crystal gives your Arc and Void abilities bonus damage against targets under a Stasis debuff. It's a marginal pick in this kit: an Arcstrider applies jolt and blind, not a Stasis debuff, so nothing here triggers it unless you bring a Stasis source (see Verify).

Where it shines

Add-dense PvE — Vanguard Ops, Battlegrounds, Nightfall trash waves, GM clear phases. A held Arc beam with permanent-amplified reload and a stacking Bakris damage buff is a continuous-fire mob eraser, and the orb/Trace economy keeps abilities and the team's Supers topped.
Sustained-fire majors — the catalyst's aim assist plus the Bakris stack let Lodestar beam down orange-bar majors and elite health bars quickly, especially once they're jolted or blinded.
Champion coverage (be honest): Lodestar stuns nothing intrinsically (Trace Rifle, champion = none). Overload-style disruption comes from jolt (Gathering Storm, Lethal Current, Spark of Shock) and Retinal Burn's blind. Barrier and Unstoppable must be covered by your Special/Heavy archetypes (Anti-Champion 2.0) or the artifact — since Lodestar draws Primary ammo, both those slots are free to carry the stun the beam can't.

Verify notes

Element / ammo / RPM / champion: Lodestar is an Arc, Primary-ammo Trace Rifle at 1000 RPM, champion = none — confirmed in `data/weapon_facts.json`. Correction: the pre-normalisation prose repeatedly called it a "Special-ammo" Trace Rifle; the manifest lists it as Primary ammo, so the ammo type, the "eats Special ammo" framing, and the "keep the Primary Kinetic to avoid Special contention" weapon-slot logic were all rewritten — Lodestar frees, not fills, the Special slot.
Intrinsic (Starlight Beam) and catalyst (Supercharged Matrix) quoted verbatim from `docs/encyclopedia/exotics.md` and `docs/encyclopedia/catalysts.md`.
Mask of Bakris (Light Shift), Flow State, Lethal Current, and Spark of Ions/Discharge/Resistance/Amplitude/Shock all quoted verbatim from `docs/encyclopedia/exotics.md`, `aspects.md`, and `fragments.md`.
Numbers: Light Shift = 10% / 21% / 33% Arc weapon damage at 1/2/3 stacks, 11 s, max 3 stacks from `docs/encyclopedia/clarity_build_numbers.md` (Clarity). Beam tick damage and the catalyst's exact reload/AA/ADS-move magnitudes are manifest/in-game, not in the encyclopedia — stated as interactions, not fabricated values.
Champion stun: Lodestar carries no intrinsic or bespoke champion stun (`weapon_facts.json` champion = null); coverage is delegated to jolt, the artifact, and the Special/Heavy archetypes. Stated explicitly rather than invented.
Conductive Cosmic Crystal (T3): its real effect is "your Arc and Void abilities deal bonus damage to targets affected by a Stasis debuff" (`artifacts_structured.md`). This Arc kit produces no Stasis debuff, so the mod is largely inert here — kept for the legal 2/3/2 but flagged as a weak slot; swap in a Stasis debuff source (or treat it as filler) if you want it live.
Set bonuses: none used — armour set bonuses are optional garnish per the house rule; any 2pc favouring Weapons/Arc is fine once the stat targets are hit.

Mod selection (masterworked — full allocation)

Piece	Mod · cost	What it does
Helmet (7/10)	Arc Siphon 3e fill	Rapid Arc 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 (5/10)	Fastball 1e	Increases grenade throw distance.
	Fastball 1e	Increases grenade throw distance.
	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.
Chest (5/10)	Arc Resistance 1e	Reduces incoming Arc damage from combatants.
	Arc Resistance 1e	Reduces incoming Arc damage from combatants.
	Concussive Dampener 3e fill	Reduces incoming area-of-effect damage from combatants.
Legs (3/10)	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.
	Innervation 1e	Reduces grenade cooldown each time you pick up an Orb of Power.
Class Item (4/10)	Reaper 1e	Shortly after using your class ability, your next weapon final blow spawns an Orb of Power.
	Bomber 1e	Reduces grenade cooldown when using your class ability.
	Powerful Attraction 2e	Automatically collects nearby Orbs of Power when you activate your class ability.

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: the Bakris buff). - **Anti-Champion:** none from the beam — bring Barrier/Unstoppable on the Special/Heavy or the artifact; jolt covers Overload-style elites.