Telesto — Volatile Mine-Layer (Void Hunter)

Centerpiece: Telesto (Fusion Rifle · Special · Void) · Subclass: Nightstalker (Void) · Role: Add-clear / volatile chain-detonation engine Sandbox: 9.7.0 · Updated 2026-07-03

Telesto doesn't fire a bolt, it plants one. Every shot sticks projectiles that hang for a beat and then go off as a delayed Void blast — a wall of floating mines you walk the room into. On Void Hunter you load those mines with Volatile Rounds off Gyrfalcon's, so every delayed detonation also pops the volatile: two explosions per bolt, chaining through the pack. The whole trick — emerge invisible, paint the room with sticky Void mines, watch it cascade.

The weapon

Unplanned Reprieve (intrinsic): "Fusion projectiles attach and detonate with a delayed Void blast."

Harbinger's Pulse (catalyst perk): "Multikills with Void damage immediately reload this weapon from reserves."

Telesto Catalyst — Deeper Pockets / Harbinger Seethe: "Deeper Pockets: Increased ammo reserves. / Harbinger Seethe: After activating Harbinger's Pulse multiple times, [Alternate Weapon Action] to cause a rain of projectiles on your next direct hit with this weapon."

A single trigger-pull throws a burst of bolts that stick to whatever they hit — surface or body — pause, then erupt in staggered Void detonations. Against a clustered pack, one shot is several overlapping blasts. Because those kills are Void multikills, Harbinger's Pulse reloads the gun from reserves for free, so Telesto self-sustains its own add-clear loop, and Deeper Pockets keeps the reserve pool deep enough to run it all encounter. Harbinger Seethe is the spike: stack Harbinger's Pulse reloads, then [Alternate Weapon Action] to make your next direct hit rain extra projectiles — a free burst-mine overload dumped onto a priority target.

Loadout

Slot	Pick	Why
Subclass	Nightstalker (Void)	The element matches the gun — Volatile and Devour both feed off Telesto's Void kills.
Super	Shadowshot: Deadfall	Weaken + suppress + groups the pack into one spot — exactly where Telesto's mines want them, and the weaken multiplies every blast.
Class ability	Marksman's Dodge	Reloads on dodge (redundant with Harbinger's Pulse) and resets the Vanishing Step invis cycle on demand.
Movement	Triple Jump	Extra mid-air correction to reposition over a mined pack and stay out of the blast radius.
Melee	Snare Bomb	Cheap, throwable invis-on-detonation + weaken delivery; re-arms Gyrfalcon's Volatile without needing a kill.
Grenade	Vortex Grenade	Lingering Void zone; with Echo of Undermining it weakens, and it's the grenade Overload Grenades stuns off.
Aspect 1	Vanishing Step	Dodge → invisible. The invis half of the Gyrfalcon's engine; grants +2 Aspect Energy Capacity.
Aspect 2	Stylish Executioner	Any elemental-debuffed kill → invisible + Truesight. Volatile/weaken kills (which Telesto makes nonstop) loop you back into invis hands-free.
Fragments	5× Echo (see below)	Instability re-arms Volatile, Harvest/Starvation drive Devour, Undermining weakens, Reprisal feeds Super.
Exotic armour	Gyrfalcon's Hauberk (Chest)	Emerge from invis → Void weapons gain Volatile Rounds, turning every Unplanned Reprieve detonation into a chaining volatile blast.
Weapons	Void primary + stun-carrying heavy	A Void primary shares the surge and can be re-armed Volatile; the heavy carries the Barrier/Unstoppable stun Telesto lacks.

Why it works (the mechanics)

• Telesto is a Volatile delivery system, not a single gun. Unplanned Reprieve plants multiple delayed detonations per shot; Gyrfalcon's makes each of those a volatile detonation too. The bolts already explode — Volatile just doubles every explosion and lets it chain on kill. No other Void weapon multiplies off Gyrfalcon's as hard, because no other Void weapon fires this many separate detonations per trigger-pull.
• The invis ↔ Volatile loop is self-closing. Vanishing Step gives invis on dodge → emerge → Volatile Rounds → Telesto's volatile blasts kill a debuffed pack → Stylish Executioner grants invis again on any elemental-debuffed kill → emerge → Volatile refreshed. You re-arm Volatile by using it. Snare Bomb and Echo of Instability are backup arms for when you can't dodge.
• The gun reloads itself. Harbinger's Pulse turns Void multikills into an instant reload from reserves. Telesto's whole job is Void multikills, so it never stops to reload mid-clear, and Deeper Pockets keeps the reserves deep enough to never run dry. Marksman's Dodge is a redundant backup reload on top.
• Weaken is the force-multiplier and the Devour fuel. Deadfall, Snare Bomb, and Undermining'd grenades all weaken — weaken is a debuff-bucket multiplier that boosts every detonation for the whole fireteam, and every weakened kill (Echo of Harvest) spawns an Orb + Void Breach, which Echo of Starvation turns into Devour (full heal + grenade refund on kill). The add-clear pays for its own survivability.
• Special ammo, near-infinite uptime. Telesto is a Special fusion, but between Harbinger's Pulse reloads, Deeper Pockets reserves, and Special-ammo economy mods you're rarely starved. It plays like a primary add-clear tool that hits like a heavy.

Stats & mods

Weapons 200 → Class → Super. Weapons scales Telesto's PvE damage vs minors/majors directly (9.7.0). Class high to keep Marksman's/Vanishing Step dodge — the invis cycle — on a short cooldown. Super third to feed Deadfall.

Archetype: a Weapons/Class-favoured set (e.g. Gunner/Specialist pieces); set bonus is garnish only — pick rolls first.

Mods:

• Boots: Void Weapon Surge ×2 (Void weapon damage straight onto Telesto) · Orbs of Restoration (orb pickup → least-charged ability).
• Arms: Fusion Rifle Loader ×1–2 · Fastball (Snare Bomb placement).
• Chest: Arc/Solar/Void Resistance layered under the overshield + Devour.
• Class item: Powerful Attraction (dodge vacuums orbs into Devour/Starvation) · Reaper (dodge → next kill spawns an extra Orb).
• Surge: Void Weapon Surge (Boots) — the direct Void damage multiplier on the gun.
• Anti-Champion: No intrinsic stun on Telesto — Overload comes from the artifact's Overload Grenades on Vortex; bring a stun-carrying heavy for Barrier/Unstoppable.

Where it shines

• Add-dense PvE: strikes, GMs, dungeons, Onslaught — anywhere enemies cluster. One stuck-mine shot wipes a pack; volatile chains finish the stragglers. A premier add-clear loadout, not a boss-DPS one.
• Survivability: Devour (Starvation) + Gyrfalcon's reserve overshield + invis (Vanishing Step / Stylish) — three layers, all fed by the same Void kills.
• Champion coverage: Telesto has no intrinsic champion stun — manifest lists no fusion frame/RPM, so no Anti-Champion 2.0 intrinsic applies. Overloads are covered by the artifact's Overload Grenades on your Vortex grenade; Deadfall + Snare Bomb suppress as an interrupt. Bring a Barrier/Unstoppable-stunning heavy for the rest of the activity's champion load.

Artifact — NPA Repulsion Regulator

The dedicated Void artifact, tuned to this loop: a second Volatile source for Gyrfalcon's, Void Breaches that feed Devour and overshields, and Overload on the Vortex grenade the build already throws.

Picks (2/3/2):

• Tier 1: Volatile Flow · Unto The Breach
• Tier 2: Protective Breach · Overload Grenades · Bricks From Beyond
• Tier 3: Supernova · Void Weapon Channeling

• Volatile Flow re-arms Volatile on Telesto whenever you pick up an Orb — a backup to the invis emerge, so the gun stays loaded between dodges.
• Unto The Breach turns Telesto's weakened/volatile Void kills into Void Breaches, printing the pickups Echo of Starvation converts to Devour.
• Protective Breach turns each Void Breach into an overshield, stacking a fourth survival layer onto Devour + invis + Gyrfalcon's reserve overshield.
• Overload Grenades makes the build's Vortex grenade stun Overloads — the one champion breaker the kit carries natively.
• Bricks From Beyond drops Heavy progress off Void weapon kills, keeping the stun-carrying heavy fed.
• Supernova makes picking up a Void Breach turn your next Void hit into a weakening pulse — free fireteam weaken that multiplies every detonation — and Void Weapon Channeling adds a temporary Void weapon damage bonus after a Void kill, straight onto Telesto's blasts.

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).