Destiny 2: Beyond Light is finally here after months and months of waiting. Acting as the next major chapter in this FPS/RPG hybrid, players will embark on a journey to Europa to battle against a Fallen leader called Eramis and learn more about the true nature of the Darkness. This expansion includes new characters, missions, endgame activities, weapons, exotics, and enemy types. Of course, this means we have a bunch of new builds to test for Destiny 2’s endgame activities. One of the most intriguing is tied to the Titan’s Icefall Mantle exotic, which revolves around turning our Guardian into a goddamn tank.
However, this exotic comes with some limitations, so we will need to build around the Icefall Mantle’s mobility penalty and the long cooldown. Keep in mind, this is simply our suggestion for those looking to build around Icefall Mantle. You should always customize and experiment with other mods that fit your preferred playstyle. Consider this a foundation to craft your own custom Guardian. So if you’re looking to soak up a ton of damage while protecting your team, here’s my build for the new Icefall Mantle gauntlets.
Icefall Mantle Build
Weapons
- Kinetic – Heritage
- Energy – IKELOS_SMG_V1.0.2
- Power – The Lament
The bread and butter of our build will be creating Warmind Cells, so I strongly recommend running either the IKELOS_SMG_V1.0.2 or Seventh Seraph VY-7. Both of these have a chance to create cells upon killing an enemy, making them some of the best weapons in the PVE meta. Our Kinetic slot will be the new Heritage shotgun from the Deep Stone Crypt raid. Not only does this weapon deal a ton of damage, but it can roll with some terrific perks such as Reconstruction, Thresh, and Recombination. You can really use any special weapon here, but we will be getting close so shotguns are definitely a fantastic choice.
Finally, our exotic will be The Lament, which is the current king of boss DPS (damage-per-second). When combined with Icefall Mantles we are capable of staying up close to a target while easily absorbing any stomp damage they cause. If we do get knocked back, you can actually “sword skate” to circumvent the drastically slowed movement. This is done by hoping and performing a light attack, which causes our Titan to quickly lunge forward. We can use this to quickly close the gap on a target or escape before our shield breaks. If you don’t have The Lament, consider using Falling Guillotine or even the new raid sword.
Core Mods
- Warmind’s Protection – Void: One of the best Warmind mods for high-level content, Warmind’s Protection causes enemies around a cell to deal reduced damage. This allows us to just produce a cell and leave it on the ground, acting as a debuff for any foe around it. When combined with Icefall Mantles, we will be able to tank even more incoming damage.
- Global Reach – Any Element: This mod simply extends the effects and blast radius of our Warmind Cells. It’s a simple, but potent mod that is found in almost any Warmind build.
- Fireteam Medic – Solar: Our final Warmind Cell mod is Fireteam Medic which causes these cells to give us and our allies a burst of healing when destroyed. This doesn’t negate the actually explosive damage but acts as an additional effect when detonated. Great for keeping us alive when our shield cracks or healing any allies who are low, Fireteam Medic can easily save you if you’re diligent about not blowing up Warmind Cells the second they appear.
- Swift Charge – Arc: Along with Warmind Cells, we will also be using the Charged With Light mechanic as a failsafe. This mod allows us to become Charged With Light whenever we rapidly defeat multiple foes with our IKELOS_SMG. Given we will almost always be battling in close quarters, this is pretty easy to achieve once you get a handle on this weapon’s recoil pattern.
- Protective Light – Void: Now that we’re Charged With Light, what do we do with it? With Protective Light we will gain a large damage resistance buff when our shields are destroyed. This means if something goes wrong and enemies break our Icefall Mantle and normal shield, this will trigger and give us a chance to flee. It’s a terrific mod that greatly increases our survivability, allowing us to back-off, regenerate our health, and resume fighting.
Additional Mods
These are simply some armor mods to consider running if you need to use up additional Energy. None of them are key to the build, so don’t feel forced to hunt down and run them.
- Bolstering Detonation – Void: This mod gives us class ability energy whenever we damage an enemy with our grenade. Given Icefall Mantles relies on class ability energy, we will want to run this to ensure we almost always have access to it.
- Recuperation – Solar: If you’ve masterworked your IKELOS_SMG consider using this mod. It will give you some health every time you pick up an Orb of Power. This won’t always be useful, but it can definitely help if you’re surrounded by foes and quickly need a burst of healing.
- Pyretic Embrace – Solar Class Specific: This mod is for those who like to run the Sunbreaker subclass. Essentially, this mod gives us full health and shields any time we activate our Super. This can be used to top yourself off in a hectic fight or as a way to escape a scenario where you’d surely perish.
- Sword Reserves – Any Element: Since we will be relying on The Lament for both mobility and damage, you’ll want to run at least one Sword Reserves mod.
