Helhest is an Arc Hunter introduced to Destiny: Rising with the second act of Season Daybreak. She’s a powerful support who’s already dominating Calamity Ops leaderboards. If you’re tired of running Tan-2 and his Well, Helhest is a solid alternative for activities that require Arc.
Here’s the best Helhest build in Destiny: Rising.
All Helhest abilities in Destiny Rising
Helhest is a long-range support who heals and provides a damage boost to allies, similar to Tan-2. Her gameplay loop revolves around using drones to support the team and firing an occasional rocket to deal damage.
Here are all of Helhest’s abilities in Destiny: Rising:
- Data Conversion (passive): Buffing or healing allies grants them the Assisted Calculation buff that allows them to generate Data Fragments by killing enemies. Helhest always has Assisted Calculation active. Helhest can use Data Fragments to interact with Rapid Deployment drones and generate Heavy ammo for the team.
- Rapid Deployment (Signature): Deploys either a Boosting/Healing Drone to buff/heal allies. Only one of each drone can be present at a time. Casting the ability again increases the drone’s level to level two. Drones attack the same target as Helhest.
- Salvo (Signature): Fires a mini missile to deal damage and confine enemies. When casting Salvo, Rapid Deployment drones also fire a DoT/healing projectile. If the maximum number of drones hasn’t been deployed, the main missile deals more damage.
- Full Frepower (Super): Summons a Super Drone, which increases the effects of Rapid Deployment drones by 300 percent. The Super Drone continuously marks the nearest combatant within a 70-meter radius and fires Arc rockets at it. Super Drone also links to the ally with the lowest health within range and heals them.
When engaging enemies, deploy both drones near yourself and your teammates. This gives you maximum benefit from all abilities and Artifacts. Casting Salvo also grants Overclocked Shot via Weapon Mastery, increasing the damage and reducing charge time for both of your weapons.
Best Helhest weapons in Destiny Rising
Helhest uses a bow and a linear fusion rifle, and, unfortunately, there are very limited options for both weapon types.
Bow
| Weapon | Rarity | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Trinity Ghoul | Exotic | Battle pass |
| Yoshimoto | Mythic | Gauntlet: Blitz |
Bows were introduced to Destiny: Rising alongside Helhest, so there are only two viable options. Trinity Ghoul is an Exotic weapon from the battle pass. It chains lightning after getting precision kills, similar to Riskrunner. Trinity Ghoul gets substantially better with its first catalyst, which allows you to chain lightning using any final blows with this weapon or abilities.
The other option is Yoshimoto from Gauntlet: Blitz. It can roll perks like Archer’s Tempo to reduce the draw time by 40 percent after a precision hit and Ensure Yields to get a 60 percent damage buff when reloading after a kill.
Linear fusion rifle
| Weapon | Rarity | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Contravene | Exotic | Gauntlet: Blitz Gauntlet: Onslaught |
| End of the Line | Mythic | Gauntlet: Blitz Gauntlet: Onslaught |
There are also only two options for linear fusion rifles. Royal Contravene is an Exotic from Gauntlet and works almost identically to Queenbreaker from Destiny 2. Once again, its first catalyst is a significant DPS increase thanks to its ability to reload ammo based on the number of hits when the magazine is empty.
End of the Line is the Mythic option, with perk combinations like Fraternity and Searing Mark. These perks substantially increase the weapon’s DPS, and with Helhest’s ability to generate Heavy ammo, you can use the linear fusion rifle more generously.
Best Helhest Artifacts in Destiny Rising
| Slot | Artifact | Effect | Attributes |
|---|---|---|---|
| First slot | Inspiring Axion | The wielder takes less damage from sources more than 15m away when affected by both healing over time and damage bonus effects. | Healing Bonus Ranged Damage Resistance Shield Boost Health Boost |
| Second slot | Resonating Axion |
When the wielder is healed over time by their own abilities, healing is increased up to five stacks. A maximum of one stack can be gained every two seconds. | Healing Bonus Ranged Damage Resistance Shield Boost Health Boost |
| Third slot | Calming Token Inverted Fury |
Shots fired while stationary grant bonus accuracy and precision damage. Gain increased weapon damage while shielded. |
Ability Strength Signature Boost Damage Bonus Boost Weapon Enhancement |
| Fourth slot | Belicose Planetesimal | Casting Signature Abilities grants increased weapon damage. | Ability Strength Signature Boost Damage Bonus Boost Weapon Enhancement |
Among Artifacts, Axion pieces have been designed to work with Helhest’s kit, granting buffs when being healed over time or receiving damage bonuses. Inspiring Axion reduces incoming damage from farther sources when receiving both healing and damage bonuses, which come in the form of using both drones at the same time. Similarly, the Resonating Axion improves incoming healing from your own abilities.
The last two slots are a bit more flexible. In the third slot, you can use Calming Token or Inverted Fury. It all comes down to whether you move a lot when firing or not. If you prefer standing still, use Calming Token; otherwise, go for Inverted Fury.
At the time of writing, United Axion doesn’t seem to be working properly and provides significantly less damage than stated. The overall benefit is less compared to pieces like Inverted Fury, if you can take advantage of it.
In the fourth slot, Belicose Blanetesimal is the most consistent one to trigger, granting an up to 30 percent increase in weapon damage when casting Signature abilities. Both Hawkeye Token and Confined Action are also decent. Hawkeye Token requires you to always be farther away from targets, and Confined Action only works with targets confined by Salvo.
In lower-end content, you won’t be able to take advantage of Confined Action much, but it can become more useful in Grandmaster activities.
