Skyburner's Oath — Slug Fire (Hunter)
Weapon: Skyburner's Oath (Scout Rifle · Special · Solar) · Subclass: Gunslinger · Role: Scorch applicator → ignition engine, Cabal/major shredder Sandbox: 9.7.0 · Created 2026-06-16
A Cabal slug rifle that hates Cabal. Hip-fire and every shot is a larger explosion that applies Scorch; ADS and the slugs fly fast and flat for range. The catalyst turns that scorch into a wildfire — kills spread it, sustained fire inflicts it — and a Solar Hunter is the one subclass that eats scorch stacks for free ignitions, melee energy, Firesprites and Radiant. The gun applies the debuff; Gunslinger collapses it into ignitions.
The weapon
Slug Rifle (verbatim): "This weapon lobs explosive slugs. When you're aiming down sights, the slugs travel fast and straight. When you're firing from the hip, the explosion is larger and applies Scorch to the target."
Catalyst — Skyburner Catalyst (verbatim): "Incandescent: Defeating a target spreads scorch to those nearby. More powerful combatants and opposing Guardians cause scorch in a larger radius. / Burning Ambition: Dealing sustained damage scorches the target. Dealing damage to a scorched target inflicts scorch."
What it does: two firing modes off one trigger. Hip-fire = bigger AoE explosions that directly apply Scorch (no ADS needed) — this is the scorch faucet. ADS = fast, flat slugs for picking precision/range. The catalyst removes the hip-fire tax entirely: with 
Burning Ambition, even ADS sustained fire scorches, and any damage into a scorched target stacks more scorch — so the gun ramps targets toward the 100-stack 
ignition threshold on its own. 
Incandescent then makes every kill spray scorch to the pack (bigger radius on majors/Guardians). One gun = AoE scorch application + self-sustaining ignition pressure. Note: explosive Solar AoE plus innate scorch also does extra work vs Cabal phalanx shields and Scorn/Tormentor adds.
Loadout
| Slot | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Subclass |  Gunslinger (Solar) | Only subclass that consumes scorch — the resource Skyburner's manufactures non-stop. |
| Super |  Blade Barrage | Big multi-ignition burst;  Knock 'Em Down launches more projectiles. (Golden Gun: Marksman if you want a champion/boss delete instead.) |
| Class ability |  Gambler's Dodge | Reloads weapons on dodge near enemies (free Skyburner reload) + melee energy back. |
| Melee | Proximity Knife | Caliban's Hand turns it into a scorch/ignition bomb — see exotic. |
| Grenade |  Healing Grenade | Cure + the gun is the damage; pairs with Ember of Benevolence for ability regen. (Tripmine for a second ignition source if you skip Caliban's.) |
| Aspect 1 |  On Your Mark | Precision hits → ×10 stacks of reload + Weapons stat; ADS slugs land precision hits all day. |
| Aspect 2 |  Gunpowder Gamble | Kills (scorch kills count) charge a thrown Solar bomb that ignites the pack — a second AoE ignition the gun feeds. |
Ember of Ashes apply more scorch per hit — accelerates every target to the ignition threshold
Ember of Searing scorched-target kills → melee energy + Firesprite — refunds the Proximity Knife
Ember of Char your ignitions spread scorch — chains the Incandescent wildfire, +10 Grenade
Ember of Eruption bigger ignition AoE, +10 Melee
Ember of Empyrean Solar weapon/ability kills extend Radiant/Restoration — a Solar gun keeps both alive
Exotic armour: 
Caliban's Hand (Gauntlets) — Roast 'Em.
Other two weapon slots:
- Primary (Kinetic/Stasis): a Strand/Stasis or Kinetic add-clear weapon — Skyburner's is your Special, so the primary covers sustained trash and a champion archetype Skyburner's can't (see champions).
- Heavy: a Solar Machine Gun or Rocket (Solar surge double-dips your scorch/ignition surges) for bosses Blade Barrage doesn't finish.
Why this works (the mechanics)
- The gun is a scorch faucet; Gunslinger is the drain. Skyburner's hip-fire (and, with the catalyst, any sustained fire) applies Scorch. Solar Hunter is built to pay you for scorched targets — Ember of Searing (melee + Firesprite on scorched kill), Ember of Singeing (class regen on scorch), Sol-style ignition payoffs. Every other subclass throws that debuff away; Gunslinger compounds it.
- Ember of Ashes pushes targets over the ignition line for free. Scorch ignites at 100 stacks. More stacks per shot = faster ignitions = the catalyst's "damage to a scorched target inflicts scorch" loop spirals a whole group into ignitions off ordinary trigger pulls.
- Ignition → Incandescent → ignition is a self-spreading wildfire. A scorched target dies → Incandescent sprays scorch to neighbours (bigger radius on majors) → Ember of Char makes the ignition itself spread scorch too → those neighbours are now scorched and the next shot/kill ignites them. The pack burns itself down.
- Caliban's Hand closes the melee economy. Proximity Knife scorches on explosion / ignites on final blow; Scorch damage refunds melee energy and ignition kills fully refund the knife (and can overflow a second charge). The gun keeps everything scorched, so the knife is always landing on a scorched target → ignition → free knife back. Ember of Searing stacks a second melee-refund-on-scorch-kill on top, so the knife is effectively free during any fight.
- On Your Mark double-dips the 9.7.0 Weapons stat. ADS slugs are precision-friendly; precision hits stack On Your Mark ×10 → reload + Weapons stat, which is flat PvE weapon damage on top of the scorch/ignition damage. Two damage sources from just aiming.
- Two extra AoE ignition sources ride the same kills. Gunpowder Gamble charges off kills and ignites on throw; Blade Barrage's projectiles ignite (Ember of Combustion-style) and Knock 'Em Down buffs it. The build has three independent ignition buttons (gun, knife, Gamble/Super) all feeding off the scorch the gun lays down.
Stats & mods
Weapons 150+ → Health 100 → Class ~100 → Melee fills. Weapons for raw gun damage and On Your Mark headroom; Class ~100 keeps Gambler's Dodge (the Skyburner reload) up; Melee feeds the Caliban's knife (though Searing/Caliban refunds carry it).
- Helmet: Heavy/Special Ammo Finder, Harmonic Siphon (Solar kills → Orbs).
- Gauntlets (Caliban's): Melee Font, Loader for your Special.
- Chest: elemental resistances; Concussive Dampener vs Cabal explosions.
- Boots: Solar Weapon Surge ×2 (≈+17% Solar damage straight onto Skyburner's and the heavy) · Orbs of Restoration.
- Class item: Powerful Attraction (dodge vacuums Orbs/Firesprites) · Bomber/Outreach.
- Stat tuning: trade Health/Grenade into Weapons; the build heals via Healing Grenade + Restoration (Empyrean) + Cure.
- Mods that matter: match Solar surge to the gun; Special Ammo Finder/Scout-class loader keep slugs flowing (Skyburner's is Special — ammo economy is the only real constraint).
Where it shines
- Match Game / scorch-heavy add-dense content: Nightfalls, Lost Sectors, seasonal activities — the Incandescent + Char wildfire clears packs the gun never directly hits.
- Cabal/Scorn-heavy rooms: the slug explosions and innate scorch shred phalanx shields and chunk Tormentors/elites.
- Champion coverage (Anti-Champion 2.0): Skyburner's is a Scout — by archetype it does not carry a bespoke champion stun, and it has no listed intrinsic stun in the manifest (flag — confirm in-game; some Solar exotics carry one). Plan around it: lean on scorch/ignition to stagger and burn elites, and assign your other two weapon slots to the champion archetypes you need (Precision/Adaptive → Barrier; Lightweight/Rapid-Fire → Overload; Aggressive/High-Impact → Unstoppable) plus the seasonal artifact's anti-champion mods. Gunpowder Gamble/Blade Barrage ignitions also help knock down un-shielded elites.