Whirling Ovation — Standing Ovation (Solar Hunter)

Centerpiece: Whirling Ovation (Rocket Launcher · Heavy · Strand) · Subclass: Gunslinger (Solar) · Role: Charge-and-release Heavy boss deleter — one Radiant-amped Solar rocket, then back to knives Sandbox: 9.7.0 · Updated 2026-07-03

A Heavy rocket you hold and charge — Strand-bodied, but it spits a delayed Solar payload that "massively increases" its damage when charged, and the catalyst adds over-penetration plus a scorching field. Its intrinsic also carries a Barrier tag, so the gun can double as your champion answer. The whole build exists to make that one charged shot land as big as the game allows: draw it fresh for the Sealed Ahamkara empowering buff, be Radiant when you release, and surge the Solar detonation on top. One trigger pull, then back to knives.

The weapon

Coronal Culmination (intrinsic): "[Shoot] : Hold to charge; release to fire. Charged projectiles have a delayed Solar payload."

Coronal Culmination (intrinsic perks): "This weapon can be charged with Solar energy to massively increase its damage." · "[Shield-Piercing] Barrier:"

Whirling Ovation Catalyst — Filled Determination: "Fully charged shots over-penetrate weaker combatants and cause a delayed Solar detonation with a brief scorching field."

What it does: this is a 12-RPM, 5-round Heavy Rocket Launcher with a 5000 ms charge time. You hold the trigger to charge, then release a single projectile that plants a delayed Solar payload — a charged release is the difference between a normal rocket and a "massively increased damage" one. The catalyst turns that charged shot into a piercing line-clearer that leaves a Solar scorching field, which matters because Scorch is the Solar verb the rest of the build feeds on. The body is Strand, but you do not build for Strand — every payoff word ("Solar payload", "charged with Solar energy", "Solar detonation", "scorching field") is Solar, so the subclass is Solar. The intrinsic also carries a [Shield-Piercing] Barrier tag, so a charged shot can stun Barrier champions without an archetype.

Loadout

Slot	Pick	Why
Subclass	Gunslinger (Solar)	Radiant is the empowering buff that lands on the charged rocket; Scorch from the catalyst feeds the Solar fragment loop.
Super	Golden Gun: Marksman	On-theme single-target burst for when the rocket is on cooldown; enhanced by Knock 'Em Down.
Class ability	Marksman's Dodge	Reloads on dodge — re-tops the 5-round RL and repositions between charges.
Movement	Triple Jump	Sustained air control to reposition around a boss during the long charge-hold window.
Melee	Lightweight Knife	Precision knife kills feed the Radiant/melee loop and power Golden Gun; the engine that arms every charged shot.
Grenade	Healing Grenade	Cure + Restoration sustain — the gun is the damage, the grenade keeps you alive while you hold a 5 s charge.
Aspect 1	Knock 'Em Down	While Radiant, throwing-knife final blows refund melee energy — keeps Radiant self-perpetuating; also improves Golden Gun.
Aspect 2	On Your Mark	Precision hits / class-ability use grant stacking Weapons-stat and reload to you and allies — flat weapon damage separate from the empowering buff.
Fragments	Torches · Empyrean · Ashes · Searing	Radiant source + Radiant extension + thicker Scorch + Scorch-kill melee/Firesprite return — the closed Solar economy.
Exotic armour	Sealed Ahamkara Grasps (Gauntlets)	Fresh-draw empowering buff lands on the charged rocket; gaining Nightmare Fuel refills the stowed RL from reserves.
Weapons	Precision primary + Aggressive/High-Impact special	Primary builds On Your Mark stacks (Overload by frame); special covers Unstoppable — the two champion types the rocket doesn't.

Why it works (the mechanics)

• The charged Solar shot is the whole build. A charged release "massively increases" the rocket's damage and plants a delayed Solar payload; the catalyst makes it over-penetrate and leave a scorching field. Everything else exists to buff, arm and reload that one trigger pull.
• One empowering buff, maximised — not stacked. Radiant and Sealed Ahamkara's fresh-draw are both empowering buffs, so they do not stack; the game takes the larger. Fresh-drawing the rocket applies Nightmare Fuel's 35% (PvE) empowering buff, which supersedes Radiant's smaller amount on that shot — and Radiant covers you on every shot where you did not fresh-draw. Weapons-stat (On Your Mark) and a surge mod are separate damage categories that stack on top of whichever empowering buff is live.
• Radiant is self-sustaining without touching the gun. Ember of Torches (elemental melee hit → Radiant) plus Knock 'Em Down (Radiant + knife final blow → melee energy back) form a loop: throw knife → Radiant → kill → melee refund → throw again. Ember of Empyrean then lets the Solar rocket itself extend Radiant up to 15 s, so a single charged shot into a pack keeps the buff alive for the next one.
• The catalyst's scorch field closes the Solar economy. Over-penetrating charged shots leave a scorching field → Ember of Ashes thickens the stacks (+50%) → ignitions → Ember of Searing turns Scorched kills into melee energy + a Firesprite, which re-arms the knife that makes you Radiant. The rocket pays for the melee that pays for the rocket's buff.
• The exotic solves the reload, not the stat. 12 RPM / 5 mag / 7 reload would make a charge RL clunky. Gaining Nightmare Fuel (melee/finisher final blows, which you do constantly) refills the stowed rocket from reserves, and Marksman's Dodge tops it on demand — you never manually reload the Heavy.
• Golden Gun is the off-cooldown burst. Knock 'Em Down improves Marksman GG, so when the rocket is empty you still have a Solar single-target nuke whose precision kills feed Ember of Empyrean (extends Radiant) and keep the whole loop warm.

Stats & mods

Weapons 200 → Class → Health. Weapons maxed because every point is weapon damage that lands on the charged shot (and On Your Mark adds more of the same category on top); Class for dodge-reload uptime; Health to survive the exposed charge-hold. Armour archetypes favouring Weapons/Class (Gunner, Powerhouse). Stat tuning: +Weapons / −Health where the rolls allow.

Mods:

• Boots: Weapon Surge ×2 matched to the rocket's damage element (see Verify — the weapon is Strand-type) · Heavy Ammo Scavenger.
• Arms: Heavy Handed (melee final blows return ammo) supports the knife loop · Momentum Transfer.
• Chest: Solar/Strand Resistance for the charge-hold window — you are exposed for ~5 s while charging, so DR matters more than usual here.
• Class item: Bomber + Reaper for dodge uptime.
• Surge: Weapon Surge ×2 (element-matched — see Verify) straight onto the charged shot.
• Anti-Champion: Barrier is intrinsic to the weapon (see Verify); slot the artifact's champion mods for Unstoppable/Overload coverage.

Artifact — Queensfoil Censer

The Solar artifact that doubles as a Rocket Launcher kit — it amplifies the exact charged-Solar-rocket loop this build runs (Radiant → Scorch → ignition → Armor Charge → bigger rocket) and reinforces the weapon's champion side.

Picks (2/3/2):

• Tier 1: Kindling Trigger · Blast Radius
• Tier 2: Anti-Champion Nosecone · Perpetual Destruction · Revitalizing Blast
• Tier 3: Rays of Precision · Argent Ordnance

• Kindling Trigger — while Radiant, the charged Solar rocket applies Scorch, feeding the catalyst's scorch economy and Ember of Ashes/Searing.
• Blast Radius — Rocket Launcher final blows grant Armor Charge, the resource Argent Ordnance later spends for more rocket damage.
• Anti-Champion Nosecone — rockets hit Champions harder, stacking on the intrinsic Barrier deletion.
• Perpetual Destruction — RL final blows refund ammo + reload, easing the 5-mag / 7-reload pain alongside the exotic's refill.
• Revitalizing Blast — stunning a Champion ignites and clears shield stun — pairs with the Barrier stun and the Solar ignition economy.
• Rays of Precision — while Radiant, Solar precision final blows ignite — pays off Radiant via Golden Gun and knife precision.
• Argent Ordnance — firing the RL spends Armor Charge for more damage + reload — converts Blast Radius charge straight into rocket damage.

Where it shines

• Boss / miniboss DPS: charged + empowered + surged single rocket, then Golden Gun and knives while it refills off kills. The 5 s charge is fine against a stationary boss.
• GM / −30/−40 endgame: the intrinsic Barrier tag lets the gun pull double duty (damage + champion), and the charge-hold DR mods plus Healing Grenade / Restoration keep you alive through the wind-up.
• Add-dense rooms: the catalyst's over-penetration + scorch field clears a line and ignites the pack, snowballing Searing → Firesprites → melee → Radiant.
• Champion coverage: Barrier is on the weapon's intrinsic (manifest — see Verify). Pair the two filler slots by frame for the rest — an Aggressive/High-Impact special (Unstoppable) + a Lightweight/Rapid-Fire primary (Overload).

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).