Xenophage — Pyroclasm (Hunter)

Weapon: Xenophage (Machine Gun · Heavy · Solar) · Subclass: Gunslinger · Role: Precision heavy DPS + Unstoppable-stun + ignition spreader Sandbox: 9.7.0 · Created 2026-06-16

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

The weapon

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

Catalyst — Chain Reaction: "Each final blow with this weapon creates an elemental damage explosion." / 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's forgiving DPS that still rewards aim. Its rounds over-penetrate and the explosion has a small AoE — it punches through a line of adds and chunks majors/minibosses. The catalyst layers a Solar elemental explosion on every kill (the "Chain Reaction" AoE) and a stacking Rampage buff (up to 3×) that ramps its own sustained damage. Because the explosion is Solar, it interacts with the entire Solar verb stack — scorch and ignition — which is the whole reason to run it on a Solar subclass.

Loadout

Slot	Pick	Why
Subclass	Gunslinger (Solar)	Solar weapon → Solar subclass: scorch/ignition synergy with Chain Reaction, and the dodge/Super economy keys off Solar kills.
Super	Golden Gun: Marksman	Stays on-theme; precision shots make Orbs (fuels Star-Eater) and over-penetrate. Knock 'Em Down extends its duration.
Class ability	Gambler's Dodge	Refunds melee for the Radiant loop; reposition between Xenophage bursts.
Melee	Knife Trick (or Lightweight Knife)	Precision-knife kills → Radiant (Ember of Torches); scorch from the throw.
Grenade	Incendiary Grenade	Direct scorch application — seeds ignitions that Chain Reaction then chains.
Aspect 1	On Your Mark	Class-ability/precision hits stack reload + Weapons stat ×10 — direct PvE weapon-damage boost on Xenophage's precision rounds.
Aspect 2	Gunpowder Gamble	Kills charge a Solar explosive you throw for a guaranteed ignition; the explosive's detonation is one more scorch/ignition source feeding the loop.

Exotic armour — Star-Eater Scales (Leg Armor)

Feast of Light: "You gain additional Super energy from Orbs of Power you pick up. While your Super energy is full, picking up an Orb of Power overcharges your Super, causing you to gain a burst of healing when cast and a bonus to your Super damage. At maximum overcharge, you also gain an overshield."

Why Star-Eater over Celestial Nighthawk: this is a weapon build, not a Super build. Celestial converts Golden Gun into one big shot — great, but it makes the Super the centerpiece and does nothing for Xenophage. Star-Eater instead pays you for the Orbs your weapon already generates (On Your Mark precision hits, Marksman Golden Gun precision hits, masterworked gear on kills) and turns your Super into a panic burst of healing + overshield + bonus damage you cast between heavy DPS windows. The weapon stays the star; the Super becomes survivability and a free overcharged finisher when the room gets dense.

The other two weapon slots

• Kinetic Primary — any scorch-or-ignition-adjacent or simply high-uptime add-clear gun to keep On Your Mark stacked and bodies dropping (which charges Gunpowder Gamble and makes Orbs for Star-Eater). A Solar primary lets Ember of Empyrean and the surge mods double up, but Kinetic keeps a reserve-ammo economy — pick by feel.
• Energy Special — a Solar special (e.g. a Solar fusion/shotgun/glaive) so your surge mods and Ember fragments cover both your special and your heavy with one element. This also gives a second Solar source to keep Radiant/Restoration alive via Empyrean when Xenophage is holstered.

Both non-heavy slots exist to (a) feed Orbs → Star-Eater, (b) keep On Your Mark at 10×, and (c) clear chaff so you can dump Xenophage into the priority target.

Why this works (the mechanics)

• Xenophage is your Unstoppable answer — for free. Anti-Champion 2.0 makes most stuns intrinsic to weapon archetypes, but a handful of exotics carry a bespoke stun, and Xenophage stuns Unstoppable Champions intrinsically (confirmed in the artifact knowledge doc). You get a heavy DPS gun and champion coverage in one slot, with no archetype tax — so your other two weapons are free to cover Barrier/Overload by frame.
• Chain Reaction + Solar subclass = an ignition engine, not just an explosion. The catalyst's per-kill Solar explosion lands on enemies you've already scorched (Incendiary Grenade, Knife Trick, Ember of Ashes stacking faster). Scorch + Solar detonation → ignition; Ember of Char makes that ignition spread scorch 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: defeating a scorched target returns melee energy + a Firesprite → re-arm Knife Trick → re-apply Radiant (Ember of Torches) and more scorch. Gambler's Dodge refunds the melee too. You almost never wait on the knife.
• On Your Mark double-dips into Xenophage damage. Its ×10 stacks add the 9.7.0 Weapons stat, which is a flat PvE weapon-damage multiplier vs minors/majors — stacked just by landing precision hits, exactly what Xenophage's forgiving explosive crits do. Rampage (catalyst, 3×) stacks on top as a second multiplier from the same kills.
• Star-Eater turns the build's Orb spam into a free heal + overshield. Marksman Golden Gun makes Orbs on precision hits; On Your Mark + masterwork kills make more. At full Super, every Orb overcharges it — so casting Golden Gun mid-fight is a heal, an overshield, and bonus Super damage, letting you DPS aggressively and reset with the Super instead of retreating.
• Radiant is always up via Ember of Torches (knife) + Empyrean (Solar kills extend it) + Solace (longer duration). Radiant is a ~25% weapon-damage buff that rides on Xenophage too — another multiplier the gun never has to earn twice.

Stats & mods

Weapons 200 → Super 100+ → 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; Class keeps Gambler's Dodge (and the melee refund) charged. Health is the dump stat — Star-Eater's overshield + Restoration carry survivability.

Archetypes/mods:

• Boots: Solar Weapon Surge ×2 (≈+17% Solar weapon damage — straight onto Xenophage) · Orbs of Restoration (Orb pickup → ability energy).
• Helmet: Harmonic/Solar Siphon (Solar kills → Orbs for Star-Eater) · Ashes to Assets (Super on grenade/explosion kills — Chain Reaction feeds this).
• Gauntlets: Heavy Ammo Finder / Scavenger context, Firepower (grenade kills → Orbs) for Gunpowder Gamble + Incendiary.
• Chest: Resistance mods as needed (you're trading Health away).
• Class item: Powerful Attraction (dodge vacuums Orbs → Star-Eater) · Bomber (dodge → grenade energy) for more Incendiary scorch.
• Heavy ammo: Heavy Ammo Finder + a Heavy Scavenger so Xenophage stays fed — it's your damage and your champion stun, so reserves matter.

Set bonuses are garnish, never a driver. If your rolls already carry the stats, a Solar-flavoured 4pc (orb-on-kill or weapon-damage-on-orb) is on-theme — slot it only after the stats above are met.

Where it shines

• GMs / −30/−40 content: Xenophage handles Unstoppable Champions outright; pair Barrier/Overload coverage in your kinetic + special by frame. The ignition chain clears the packs that protect them; Star-Eater's Super is your reset button.
• Boss / miniboss DPS: forgiving full-damage crits + Rampage 3× + Radiant + Weapons-stat (On Your Mark) + Solar surge ×2 stack into respectable sustained heavy DPS — no precision-reliant fragility, so it holds up while moving.
• Add-dense rooms: Chain Reaction + Ember of Char ignition spread is a room-clearer; over-penetration lines up adds for the explosion.
• Champion coverage summary: Unstoppable = Xenophage (intrinsic). Barrier/Overload = pick frames in the other two slots. Scorch/ignition + Golden Gun thin elites and minibosses the gun doesn't personally execute.