Xenophage — Pyroclasm (Hunter)

Centerpiece: Xenophage (Machine Gun · Heavy · Solar) · Subclass: Gunslinger · Role: Precision heavy DPS + Unstoppable-stun + ignition spreader Sandbox: 9.7.0 · Updated 2026-06-29

A Solar machine gun that fires explosive precision rounds and — with its catalyst — detonates a Solar blast on every kill while ramping Rampage 3×. Build a Gunslinger that turns those detonations into ignitions: scorch feeds the explosions, the explosions feed scorch, and the same trigger pull recharges your dodge and Golden Gun. Point at the orange health bar, hold the trigger, and watch the room ignite.

The weapon

Exotic intrinsic — Pyrotoxin Rounds: "Fires high-powered explosive ammunition."

Catalyst — Chain Reaction: "Each final blow with this weapon creates an elemental damage explosion."

Catalyst — Rampage: "Kills with this weapon temporarily grant increased damage. Stacks 3x."

What it does: Xenophage fires a slow, hard-hitting explosive round that does full damage on body and precision hits — the explosion negates the usual precision-multiplier penalty — so it is forgiving DPS that still rewards aim while moving. Its rounds over-penetrate and the explosion carries a small AoE, so it punches through a line of adds and chunks majors and minibosses. The catalyst layers a Solar elemental explosion on every final blow (Chain Reaction) plus a stacking Rampage buff (up to 3×) that ramps its own sustained damage. Because that explosion is Solar, it plugs straight into the Solar verb stack — scorch and ignition — which is the entire reason to run it on a Solar subclass rather than as a generic heavy.

Loadout

Slot	Pick	Why
Subclass	Gunslinger (Solar)	Solar weapon → Solar subclass so Chain Reaction's blast feeds scorch/ignition and every Xenophage kill drives the dodge/Super economy.
Super	Golden Gun: Marksman	On-theme precision Super; "creates Orbs of Power on precision hits" feeds Star-Eater, and it over-penetrates like the gun.
Class ability	Gambler's Dodge	Refunds the melee for the Radiant loop and repositions you between Xenophage bursts.
Movement	Triple Jump	Maximum air control to reposition onto priority targets and out of ignition AoE.
Melee	Knife Trick (or Lightweight Knife)	Precision-knife kills → Radiant via Ember of Torches, and the throw lays down scorch.
Grenade	Incendiary Grenade	Direct scorch application — seeds the ignitions that Chain Reaction then chains.
Aspect 1	On Your Mark	Class-ability/precision hits grant reload + Weapons stat stacking ×10 — a direct PvE damage boost on Xenophage's precision rounds.
Aspect 2	Gunpowder Gamble	Kills charge a Solar explosive you throw for a guaranteed ignition — one more scorch/ignition source feeding the loop.
Fragments	Ashes · Char · Searing · Empyrean	Four Solar weapon-kill-driven fragments: more scorch, ignition spread, melee/Firesprite return, and extended Radiant/Restoration.
Exotic armour	Star-Eater Scales (Leg Armor)	"You gain additional Super energy from Orbs of Power… picking up an Orb… overcharges your Super, causing… a burst of healing… and an overshield." — pays you for the Orbs the kit already spams.
Weapons	Kinetic primary + Solar special + Xenophage (Heavy)	Primary clears chaff to keep On Your Mark ×10 and Orbs flowing; a Solar special shares surge/Ember coverage and a Barrier or Overload frame covers the champion Xenophage doesn't.

Why it works (the mechanics)

• Xenophage carries its own champion answer. The project knowledge doc lists Xenophage as an intrinsic Unstoppable stun (Anti-Champion 2.0 routes most stuns through weapon archetypes, with a handful of bespoke-stun exotics). That hands you a heavy DPS gun and Unstoppable coverage in one slot, so your other two weapon slots are free to bring Barrier/Overload frames. (Note: the manifest's weapon facts list no intrinsic breaker — see Verify.)

• Chain Reaction + Solar = an ignition engine, not just an explosion. The catalyst's per-kill Solar blast lands on enemies you have already scorched (Incendiary Grenade, Knife Trick, Ember of Ashes stacking faster). Scorch + a Solar detonation crosses the ignition threshold; Ember of Char then spreads scorch from that ignition to everything nearby; the next Xenophage kill detonates that group. One trigger pull cascades into a room-clearing chain.

• The loop pays for itself off scorched kills. Ember of Searing returns melee energy plus a Firesprite for every scorched target you defeat → re-arm Knife Trick → re-apply Radiant (Ember of Torches) and more scorch. Gambler's Dodge refunds the melee on top, so you almost never wait on the knife.

• On Your Mark and Rampage double-dip Xenophage's damage. On Your Mark's ×10 stacks add the 9.7.0 Weapons stat — a PvE weapon-damage boost earned simply by landing precision hits, exactly what Xenophage's forgiving explosive crits produce. Rampage (catalyst, 3×) stacks on top as a second multiplier from the same kills, and Radiant rides over both.

• Star-Eater turns the build's Orb spam into a free heal + overshield. Golden Gun: Marksman makes Orbs on precision hits; On Your Mark and masterwork kills make more. At full Super, every Orb overcharges it, so casting Golden Gun mid-fight is "a burst of healing" plus "an overshield" — a reset button you fire between heavy DPS windows rather than retreating.

• Radiant is always up. Ember of Torches (knife) starts it, Ember of Empyrean (Solar weapon/ability final blows extend Radiant and Restoration) keeps it rolling off Xenophage kills, and Ember of Solace can stretch the duration. Radiant is a weapon-damage buff that rides on Xenophage too — another multiplier the gun never has to earn twice.

Stats & mods

Weapons 200 → Super → Class. Weapons maxes Xenophage's PvE damage and stacks with On Your Mark / Rampage / Radiant; Super feeds Star-Eater's overcharge economy and Knock 'Em Down's longer Golden Gun; Class keeps Gambler's Dodge (and the melee refund) charged. Health is the dump stat — Star-Eater's overshield plus Restoration carry survivability. Lean a Weapons/Super archetype piece in the exotic leg slot.

Mods:

• Boots: Heavy Ammo Scavenger + Orbs of Restoration ("Picking up an Orb of Power grants… energy to your ability with the least energy") — keeps Xenophage fed and recycles the Orb flood into ability energy.
• Arms: Firepower ("Your grenade final blows create Orbs of Power") for Incendiary/Gunpowder Gamble → more Orbs for Star-Eater; a heavy loader as context.
• Chest: Solar/elemental resist mods — you traded Health away, so buy survivability back here.
• Class item: Powerful Attraction (dodge vacuums nearby Orbs → Star-Eater overcharge) + Bomber (dodge → grenade energy for more Incendiary scorch).
• Surge: Solar Weapon Surge ×2 (≈+17% Solar weapon damage, straight onto Xenophage and your Solar special).
• Anti-Champion: Unstoppable is covered by Xenophage's intrinsic stun and again by the artifact's Energy Acceleration; Barrier/Overload come from the frames on your other two weapons (9.7.0 has no armour anti-champ mods). Helmet Solar Siphon + Ashes to Assets round out the Orb/Super economy.

Artifact — Implement of Curiosity

Picks (2/3/2): Fever and Chill + Semi-Auto Striker / Cauterized Darkness + Energy Acceleration + Elemental Coalescence / Radiant Shrapnel + Shieldcrush

• Fever and Chill (T1): "Rapid precision hits with Solar weapons grant Radiant" — Xenophage's forgiving crits keep Radiant up without leaning on the knife.
• Semi-Auto Striker (T1): tops off Armor Charge from precision shots, feeding the Powerful Attraction / surge economy.
• Cauterized Darkness (T2): debuffed non-boss combatants take increased Solar damage — an on-element amp on everything the ignition chain has already touched.
• Energy Acceleration (T2): the artifact-side Unstoppable coverage for GMs, stacked alongside Xenophage's intrinsic stun.
• Elemental Coalescence (T2): defeats drop Elemental pickups matching your Super element, feeding the Solar/Super economy.
• Radiant Shrapnel (T3): sustained damage while Radiant (or a scorched-target kill) releases Solar projectiles that scorch — paying off the exact Radiant + Scorch loop. Shieldcrush (T3): Star-Eater's overshield speeds and buffs the Knife Trick melee that re-applies Radiant.

Where it shines

• GMs / −30 to −40 content: Xenophage handles Unstoppable outright; the ignition chain clears the packs guarding it, and Star-Eater's Super is your reset button. Bring Barrier/Overload on the other two weapon slots.
• Boss / miniboss DPS: forgiving full-damage crits + Rampage 3× + Radiant + the On Your Mark Weapons stat + Solar surge ×2 stack into respectable sustained heavy DPS that holds up while moving.
• Add-dense rooms: Chain Reaction + Ember of Char ignition spread is a room-clearer; over-penetration lines adds up for the explosion.
• Champion coverage: Unstoppable = Xenophage (intrinsic) + Energy Acceleration (artifact). Barrier/Overload = frames in the other two weapon slots. Scorch/ignition and Golden Gun thin the elites the gun doesn't personally execute.

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: straight onto Xenophage.