Another season inDestiny 2means a brand-new set of artifact mods for players to buildcraft with, and season 19 has introduced some interesting mods that spice up the PVE sandbox in particular. Since this season isn’t dedicated to a specific subclass, the mods are much more varied and encourage players to use different subclasses depending on the content and mods they need.
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That said, one weak aspect of the Season of the Seraph’s mods has been its anti-champion mods. Unstoppable mods in particular are the worst they can be, with Unstoppable Hand Cannon having a long charge time and the only other weapon option being Unstoppable Grenade Launchers, which require 7 armor energy. Luckily, the rest ofDestiny 2’sseason 19 artifact mods make up for the anti-champion mods with their inventiveness.
9Low Entropy Superconductor
Speaking of Unstoppable champions, if players despise the idea ofusing hand cannonsin PVE and don’t wish to spend 7 energy to use grenade launchers have the opportunity to unlock this 1 energy-costing artifact mod in the second last column.
Low Entropy Superconductor is a class item mod that turns Arc and Stasis melees into staggering abilities that stun Unstoppable champions. This can be incredibly useful for endgame Arc and Stasis builds, even if it means having to build more around charged melees and reducing their cooldowns. Still, they seem more reliable as of right now than Unstoppable Hand Cannons.
8Counter Charge
Charged with Light builds have a chance of making a return this season thanks to this interesting little artifact mod, Counter Charge. When a champion is stunned by a member of the fireteam, the player will become Charged with Light.
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Given that champions will be a staple in the seasonal activity that puts players five lights below the actual enemies themselves, this could be a decent mod for players who wish to return to thegood old days of Orbs of Power. And of course, in endgame PVE like Master raids and dungeons and Grandmaster Nightfalls that are riddled with champions, Counter Charge will be a huge boon for builds that rely on getting Charged with Light.
7Energy Diffusion Substrate
Since the release ofThe Witch QueenDLC, elemental resistance armor mods have been a staple in the game. Since this season there isn’t a particular subclass, it was in Bungie’s interest to release this tiny but powerful mod, the Energy Diffusion Substrate, which provides 5% resistance.
But beware, because apparently this mod is currently buggedas shown by Esoterickk. It is likely that this will eventually be fixed, in which case it can be stacked up to 10% of resistance against enemies. For now, however, only apply a single piece of this armor mod in order to get at least 5% of damage resistance.
6Sharp Shooting
One of the community-favorite foundries is Veist and its Origin Trait Veist Stinger. When players deal damage with a Veist weapon, the Origin Trait kicks in and has a small chance of reloading the magazine automatically and buffing the player’s movement speed while they’re aiming.
Now, with the introduction of the Tex Balance Stock Origin Trait (causing damage while firing from the hip buffs the player’s reload speed and weapon handling) this Sharp Shooting artifact mod has become quite desirable. It increases the effectiveness as well as the duration of the Veist Stinger and Tex Balance Stock Origin Traits, so players who have already fallen in love withweapons from Spire of the Watcheror who just love a good Funnelweb should play around with this mod.
5Lord Kelvin’s Basilisk
So, Overload champions continue to be the bane ofDestiny 2players' existence, especially with auto rifles and SMGs returning as anti-champion mods for Overloads. Scout rifles are also anti-Overload this season, which is better than last season’s Overload Bow, but for players looking for something a little different for endgame PVE, there are options, luckily.
Lord Kelvin’s Basilisk turns Stasis and Void grenades into glorified anti-Overload stun nades. Given the absolute powerhouse that Warlocks are, with Vortex grenades having the ability to weaken and being back on the menu in full force again, as well as Stasis Coldsnap grenadesstill powerful thanks to Osmiomancy glovesand a mild buff, this mod is just a must-have in endgame content.
4Advance Scout
Still on the topic of champions, if a team is struggling to take these pesky mini-bosses down, then the Advance Scout class item mod that costs only one energy might be worth the investment. When the player stuns a champion, it takes extra damage from the player’s teammates, which makes blasting them down far easier.
This will be an incredibly powerful toolin Grandmaster Nightfallsin particular, so it’s nothing to scoff at, but it will likely be equally useful in the Heist Battlegrounds where champions will also occasionally spawn and can cause an unprepared team grief. At the time of writing this list, it’s still unclear how much damage boost this mod provides to teammates.
3Lucent Finisher
A favorite of the community, Lucent Finisher is returning this season to ensure no one goes without heavy weapons. This mod allows players to drop heavy ammo for their teammates whenever they finish a champion or a Lucent Hive Lightbearer.
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The utility of a mod like this especially in endgame PVE content can’t be overstated. Heavy ammo is key in boss DPS phases, and Master raids, dungeons, and Grandmaster Nightfalls will require players to do tons of damage outside of just ability spam and damage Supers. This will be a go-to option to replace Aeon gauntlets.
2Solo Operative
A brand-new concept for an artifact mod is the Solo Operative, which Bungie already teased prior to the season starting. This mod provides powerful bonuses to a player who’s alone in their fireteam and completing an activity solo, namely a solo dungeon, a solo lost sector, and so on.
Given how popular solo challenges and completions are (and given that some of these completions,like with dungeons, give bonus Triumphs and advantages), this mod is definitely worth unlocking. Solo Operative has players deal increased damage to every combatant type when they are the sole member of their fireteam.
1Monochromatic Maestro
Another interesting artifact mod this season is the Monochromatic Maestro, which encourages players to buildcraft around their specific subclass even further. While this mod is equipped, using weapons matching their subclass will buff the abilities of the same element for a brief time. Likewise, using abilities that match the damage of the weapon equipped will buff the damage of the weapon.
This is the perfect mod to pairwith any elemental buildsfor a boost of extra damage. It’s likely it will also stack with mods like Font of Might, which should further encourage players to stick to a single element type when planning their builds.
Destiny 2is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
