Very Detailed Guide on How to Play/Build Your Voidwalker in Destiny: The Taken King

Here's a guide for those Guardians who are playing as the Warlock using the Subclass, Voidwalker.

PvE - The Vortex grenade by itself is generally bad. The damage it does is reasonable, but the enemy AI knows to run the hell away as soon as it's thrown, so you barely get any damage. While not very good on its own, some perks can make this grenade pretty decent.

PvP - The same problem with this grenade in PvE comes right into PvP; They run away. Although there's also a few times where people don't realise that they're standing right on top of it and end up dying, which is always nice.

Important Note: Good grenade in theory, AI and Real Players actually being smart make it pretty bad.

PvE - Ah, the Scatter grenade. This is probably the best of the three grenades for PvE. Does the most damage out of all grenades. (unless you can actually manage to get an enemy to stay inside the Vortex AoE) Clears Trash mobs fairly well, and does a load of damage to Majors and Ultras. Good in most situations and it's what I would recommend in most builds.

PvP - An okay grenade for PvP. Not the best, not the worst. Average. Mediocre. Get the gist? Basically can kill if you hit all submunitions on the one target. Your chances of hitting all of them? Low.

Note: PvE Top Tier. PvP Eh Tier.

PvE - The Axion Bolt's smaller bolts don't do too much damage, but this is probably the easiest way to clear trash mobs. Generally it's worth using the Scatter grenade over this, but this does have it's own advantages (more range than both Vortex and Scatter, easiest to hit).

PvP - The grenade you definitely want in PvP. Scans an area and hits your target. Throw down your grenade, shoot them and wait for that bolt to ruin their day. Combined with the Voidfang Vestments which give you full grenade energy and gain another seeker. Pretty gosh dang good.

Note: PvE Eh Tier. PvP Top Tier.

So ranking the grenades, in my opinion:

PvE - Focused Control is what you want in PvE. Use this in basically every situation. Outclasses Focused Burst because let's be real, you'd rather be able to control where you go instead of being flung straight forward.

PvP - Control is great for PvP too. Since the Blink nerf, this can probably contest Blink in terms of usefulness. Althought Blink is probably just a step higher.

Note: This is the best upgrade for Glide in PvE. Without a doubt.

PvE - Yay you go faster! Yay you can fling forward! Yay I just died from catapulting into an abyss!

PvP - It's a no from me.

Note: Nope.

PvE - Don't use this in PvE. It's pretty awful. Control is so much better. Hell, even Burst is better than Blink in PvE. It causes more problems than it helps.

PvP - Since it's been nerfed, Control could be chosen over this. Although Blink is still really good, so it's ultimately better for dodging those bullets and rockets.

Note: Sucks in PvE. Even after nerf, still good in PvP.

So ranking for the Glide upgrades:

PvE - Vortex has the exact same problem as the grenade. However, the Nova Bomb variant is a lot better because of the larger radius. This is more useful against Ultras and Majors because of the initial bomb damage, and then the DoT on the bosses (well, at least until they run out of the AoE).

PvP - Probably the best out of the three in PvP. Really good as zoning off areas and is amazing to ward enemies away from control zones. Does a buttload of damage in the process.

Note: Has Enemy AI problem like grenade, is pretty much amazing in control.

PvE - This is the mob clearing god. Splitting the Nova Bomb into three projectiles increases the radius of the bomb by a huge amount. Has superiority over the other two in that aspect, which is usually what you want to use your Nova Bomb for.

PvP - Has its uses (if enemies are spread apart), but generally outclassed by Vortex and Lance.

Note: Absolute machine for PvE, probably the worst of the three for PvP.

PvE - Lance in PvE isn't very good. It shoots in basically a straight line and goes faster then the other options. While it's a good perk, the other two are much better for clearing and boss dps.

PvP - This is probably a step under Vortex, as you can pinpoint exactly where you want the Nova Bomb to explode, but you don't get the amazing Zone Control benefits that Vortex gives.

Note: Eh in PvE, Relatively good in PvP but just a bit below Vortex.

So ranking for the Nova Bomb perks:

PvE - After proccing Surge, your agility and handing stats get increased to max for 15 seconds. This is extremely helpful in a lot of situations. It lets you dart away in a pinch and the handling is always nice. It's an all round nice perk to use.

PvP - Not bad for PvP, hit someone with a melee, run, and gun. Works nicely in most close encounters. Like I said, just an all round nice perk.

Note: Perk is nice for the 15 seconds of Agility and Handling. Good in both PvE and PvP. Not much else to say about it.

PvE - Really good in a situation where you're being jumped on by a bunch of Thrall. Problem with that is, you're in a situation where you're being jumped on by a bunch of Thrall. Really good if you're dying but you never really want to be in that situation.

PvP - Seems like it would be super useful right? Kill an enemy and get your health right back! The problem with this is that it only procs when you kill an enemy. That means that if you waste your melee charge on a full health enemy, you don't get the health back and you've just used up your charge. Only really viable if you're running a shotgun and you manage somehow not to instakill them, so you melee them to save yourself.

Note: Not as good as it sounds, you have to be in bad situations to make good use out of it.

PvE - This is a beautiful perk. Synergising well with a lot of the other perks and builds that Voidwalkers have to offer, this lets you build up your mob clearing potential to full. You get a huge chunk of super back with a kill and that also gives grenade energy, which means you can clear more mobs. It's amazing in PvE.

PvP - In PvP, this is less useful, as you're probably not going to be killing an enemy with the first charge of your melee. Basically the same as the Life Steal upgrade, but this is probably worse for PvP.

Note: In PvE it has good synergy with most Voidwalker builds and helps with mob clears in the long run. PvP has the same flaw as Life Steal but isn't as good in most situations.

So ranking for the Energy Drain upgrade:

Out of these three perks, Arcane Spirit is the most useful. As stated early, you want Battle Recovery, then Armour, then Agility when playing as a Voidwalker.

Divine Order is the next perk you want. Ancestral Order is also an option, but you want more Armour than Agility so, Divine Order is perfect for that.

Note: Arcane Spirit & Divine Order for Battle Recovery & Armour.

Annihilate works really well with the Vortex grenade and the Vortex Nova Bomb upgrade for vortex build. Really nice if PvP and also makes the Vortex better in PvE (increased radius, can't escape as easily). Also really great for a huge increased blast radius. Annihilate also gives +1 Agility.

Nova Bomb tracking is pretty nice with the Nova Bomb upgrade Shatter. It gives 3 enemy seeking projectiles which can destroy large groups. Angry Magic also gives +1 Armour. While this perk is nice, other perks usually outclass this once you learn to control the Nova Bomb properly (which isn't very hard, if you don't get it, just practice.)

Increases the effect by 3 seconds. Useful for more grenades, which means more mob clears, which is what we're all about here. Combined with the Embrace the Void perk (which we will get into shortly) it can give you a whole bunch of grenades to destroy that pesky trash!

These three are all pretty evenly matched. Your choice here is based around what build you're going for. If it's mob killing mayhem you're going for, then The Hunger or Angry Magic + Shatter is what you want. If you want a crazy Vortex black hole build, then you want Annihilate + Vortex + Vortex Grenade (+Vortex Mastery, which we'll be getting to shortly). If you want an extremely precise explosion to snipe far away targets in PvP, then Lance + Angry Magic is just for you!

Note: Annihilate for vortex, Angry Magic for tracking enemies, and The Hunger for grenaaaaades.

It goes without saying that this is the key to the Vortex build. Sure, increases the range for Axion Bolts, which is nice but generally you want to play with Vortex grenades with this + Annihilate for some serious AoE DoT.

This is totally amazing! It's just so beautiful to see a fireworks show of exploding Thrall and Acolytes floating through the air. And the damage this does is pretty decent too. (Think around the same as the Firefly perk, maybe more?) Combine this with Annihilate and you can just absolutely destroy groups of enemies.

Contrary to popular belief, the Embrace the Void perk only procs the Energy Drain part of the melee (being reduced grenade cooldown) and does not trigger any of the melee upgrades (being Surge, Life Steal and Soul Rip). Goes really well with The Hunger or Skull of Dire Ahamkara for a crapload of grenades.

These perks here are what finish the Voidwalker. They can change the entire playstyle depending on what you choose. There's a lot to work with with these three perks and it's a load of fun to chop and change depending on what you want to run next.

Note: For Vortex, Vortex Mastery (obiously). For EXPLOSIONS, Bloom. And for grenaaaaaades, Embrace the Void.

Light Beyond Nemesis is just a generally okay exotic. It's Titan and Hunter equivalents are Crest of Alpha Lupi. Use this if you have nothing else to use.

This. This is probably the greatest exotic that you can get on a Voidwalker. The amount of super you can generate from the Insatiable perk is just ridiculous. Combined with Inverse Shadow and Bad Juju you can throw Nova Bombs literally every 10 seconds

The Skull is a really weird exotic. It gives increased armour when using super, making you like a striker using Fist of Havoc but at a distance. Not much use in PvE. Okay in PvP. But what's really nice about this helmet is that is gives you The Hunger perk for free. Which means you're free to use this, Annihilate and Embrace the Void all together which stacks quite nicely.

The Claws give an extra melee charge. At first glance this doesn't seem very good for a Voidwalker. That's where you would be wrong. The claws are amazing with the Soul Rip upgrade for the melee charge. Using The Hunger and Embrace the Void, you can get a whole bunch of grenades. Stack all this with max discipline you're using your grenades every 10 seconds.

These give Full grenade energy on respawn. Also gives Axion Bolts and additional seeker. Pretty awful for PvE. Decent in PvP. Not much to say about these, they don't do too much IMO.

Not good for the Voidwalker. Saving your Super is the opposite of what you want to do while using this subclass. I'd avoid this.

Bad Juju is what you want when you're a Voidwalker. Combining this with Obsidian Mind and you've got one of the best combos in the game. The amount of super you get from this is absolutely ridiculous. Use this and you'll be happy.

At first, Monte Carlo doesn't seem very good for Voidwalkers. But combined with Skull of Dire Ahamkara, or better yet the Claws of Ahamkara, you have an amazing setup. Build either max Discipline or Strength and spam your grenades a crapload.

Red Death is just always a great weapon. Not necesarrily for Voidwalkers but in general it's great. Use it if you dont' have another weapon to make an appropriate build. Obviously it's great in both PvE and PvP.

Zhalo is amazing. Everyone loves it. It gives super and ammo back on double kills. Not as strong as the Bad Juju in that regard, but it still works pretty damn well.

You never stop throwing your super in this build. Bad Juju for the super energy on kill. Obsidian Mind for more super per super kill, Inverse Shadow for even more super on kill. Scatter grenade + Bloom makes a mini Nova Bomb per grenade, and the Annihilate makes for an even bigger explosion. Let's be real, You can throw explosions all the time, and your explosions make explosions!

You get the most out of your Vortexes using this build. You get a solid amount of DoT in a huge AoE. Pretty average build. It's a lot of fun to use though. Nothing that great about it, but in PvP is has huge zoning potential.

Monte Carlo gives you more Melee, which means you get more grenades, etc. Loads of fun for melee + grenade spam. Claws give you two charges which means more grenades, while Skull gives you The Hunger for free. Give it a try if you have the exotics!

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Credits: Guide by SmearSoul