Can This Exotic Finally Make Swords METAH? (Stronghold Rework Review) | Destiny 2 Season of the Deep

[@skrilldublex02]

Something to point out, running ember of empyrean with stronghold will reset the restoration timer to 12 seconds (down from the 16 or 24 seconds from the exotic). However, other ways to gain restoration (sunspots, healing grenade, and picking up a firesprite w/ ember of mercy) will refresh the duration from the exotic, letting you keep that 16 second (or 24 second) duration. Hope this helps. 👍

[@Gandalfmandalf]

Shit. I just made the same comment. Gg

[@skrilldublex02]

@@Gandalfmandalf lmaoo

[@shaynethegmann]

I'm trying it on strand/void for the DR and overshield, I'm not sure if there's really a point in the void but imagine stacking woven mail over resto x2 it's fuckin over then Plus you can either run the suspend grenade or the main strand grenade thingy for extra movement

[@h13n12]

@@shaynethegmann in the current season, the artifact mod that gives you damage reduction while amplified combined with stronghold is very powerful. arc's insane ad clear and damage potential with solar's survivability.

[@bumponalog5001]

So don't run empyrean, got it.

[@analytixna6610]

I really wish we would have sword exotic for each class since there's class specific archetypes

[@dirtyDROID74]

or make ones that work for all bladed weapons like glaives and any future weapons we may end up getting later that fit this style.

[@Obviouse]

Warlocks don't have one anymore it was whirlwind dor some reason

[@00Grimreaper00]

Swords are really left in the dust. I'm convinced bungie forgot caster frames exist

[@GavinLIVE715]

Imagine if Blight Ranger also worked for swords, and caused you to reflect projectiles while blocking(like how the knight swords do). Increasing the reflected damage and generating orbs. Then people might actually use it.

[@jaredbertoldo1047]

Would be cool. Hunters have lucky pants, and warlocks are the only ones that can synergize with weapons of sorrow with necrotic grips

[@black_nodius8177]

A loadout I recommend is strand titan with lament riptide+ any other special weapon in you energy slot. With woven mail you are night unkillable and restoration x2 is just the cherry on top. It's a double special load out so ammo is barely an issue especially since you can slot both heavy and special finder mods since you aren't killing with your abilities. (This load out also covers all champions reliably)

[@vernaltear]

So basically this is just my old Stasis damage resistance build (that got nuked with Lightfall and now nuked even harder with the stasis nerfs)

[@black_nodius8177]

@@vernaltear Exactly

[@lamagra0152]

Night unkillable.....but what if you play during the day? 😂

[@Mangoloonikus]

​@@lamagra0152you are very, very killable

[@VATROU]

I will testify to that power. Strand definitely leaves you crushing your opponents.

[@GavinLIVE715]

Strongholds with Lament were already a decent option agains Ecthar in the new dungeon, like when doing it solo. And that was back when it’s bugged. It was tricky to use on solar because solar invictus would reset you restoration x2 to a low value, but with it being fixed it sounds a whole lot better for solo activities against grounded targets.

[@Massivemachine440]

Easy fix is use consecration

[@anaproject903]

I know this exotic wasn’t the best choice for it, but using this as the divinity person for day one vow raid to be the caretaker tank basically only letting it walk 2 steps before stunning it is probably the highlight of my career as a Titan.

[@SympatheticArsenal]

Casual Stronghold user chad behaviour

[@eri_sister_of_aerial]

Try strongholds on Rhulk. You can literally keep him in one spot the entire time

[@marceletta]

Strongholds were borderline overpowered in the right hands prior to the rework, idk how they really perform now because I-frames is a lot stronger than healing

[@godslayer9000]

​​@@marcelettahe main gripe with pre rework strongholds was that if you didn't have an on demand source of healing, chip damage would eventually get to you since trying to perfect guard was kinda inconsistent even if your muscles had learnt the timing. And also that it only helped your survivability and not your sword dps, since the moment you stopped guarding, you would get whittled down in higher content. But now with the up to 16 (or 20 with the fragment) seconds of regen, you can go to town on the bosses without having to worry about dying. I first tried the sorrows Harbor lost sector on master thanks to perpetually having 2x restoration at basically no cost, and plenty of acolytes to kill to keep refreshing the buff. I could focus my mods on damage buffs, scavs and ammo finders which meant I never ran out of sword ammo. I think the reason more people don't use it is because of the jarring change in playstyle, and also that you cannot use anything else after trying it once. It's more addicting than destiny 2 itself.

[@eri_sister_of_aerial]

@@marceletta yeah but still ridiculously good even before Rework. Also uwu

[@Thetravelingmonke]

Something that i find being super fun with stronghold is a stronghold behemoth, and yes ik its probably the single worst subclass as of now but running it with chains and over-shield is amazing along with diamond lance being able to stun all champs and the tankyness you get from the block, restoration, the damage resistance from chains and the overshield is just what i imagined being a true tank is like

[@SteelShad0w_]

Stronghold has literally been part of my Titan's canon drip since Beyond Light. Really love seeing it get so much attention now :)

[@abdulrafaykhan203]

Man i joined destiny 2 light fall i pray to god it doesn't get more attention..... I don't need a nerf they are so 🔥❤️

[@dylanr.cerezo4325]

I do miss the full heal on timed block at times. With them fixing the issues with the original rework it's done a 180: with the right build it feels a tad too strong. That's not an issue as a player of course, but strong enough to think that it might just get the nerf hammer and I'll be left missing it's original form again.

[@nathanroyster1324]

try it on strand. thin precipice with unrelenting. orbs on melee kills for woven mail. sword will also proc unraveling with the right mods and fragments. quicksilver storm for ranged targets.

[@DeadCell79]

I’ve been using my Titan stasis subclass with Stronghold + lament & double specials consistently since 4/5 seasons ago when I saw a video on here by another destiny content creator. Despite how much they changed the mod system and other things like the ammo economy changed to Lead with gold it’s still a viable option. It’s such a fun build to play with

[@silly_pigeon]

they've always been insane if used correctly, people just dont like to put in that kind of effort lol

[@silly_pigeon]

@okipullup.. sword block negates the damage, swing negates the knockback

[@silly_pigeon]

@@okipullup.. I thought so too until I used it on stasis/void and could walk through gms with lament lol

[@treysmith9371]

@@okipullup..not at all. It just took you knowing enemy attack timing to get the health buff. Paired with lament your damage and survivability was insane

[@KoldKiller2016]

I've just always thought they were ugly. To make matters worse, you're in 3rd person when using a sword, so you constantly have to look at the ugliness.

[@neroamarou3256]

@@okipullup..it nullifies stomp knockback and dmg

[@dredgen0268]

I miss energy accelerant. And particle deconstruction.

[@thecookiemeister5374]

im gonna be honest, Season of the Splicer was good for two reasons: the grenade launcher, and Energy Accelerant. Just 1-banging enemies with a sword slam was euphoric.

[@JM1992]

Bruh 1k with particle deconstruction was fun

[@patrickoakley7890]

​@@JM1992Vex was ridiculously strong too, best primary ammo weapon in the game with PD

[@truekurayami]

@@thecookiemeister5374 Splicer was a great season all around. Salvager's Salvo, DMT, Energy Accelerant, fun as hell seasonal activities that were worth replays regardless of loot, we had it all and became the main reason I hate the sunsetting of seasonal content.

[@thecookiemeister5374]

@@truekurayami I FORGOT WE GOT DMT THAT SEASON YOOO that’s the best gun

[@Xerkxes]

Most fun I have with it is Gambit. You can survive most things and invader could throw at you short of supers (which most people don't get until primeval), or freeze and suspend effects. People don't expect you to survive a rocket.

[@godslayer9000]

Many people go into Gambit with six shooter goldies, thinking they will wipe the floor with the other team. Meanwhile you are just waiting for them with a single ammo in your sword, ready to tank the entire thing. Gambit really is the best of both worlds while you are using stronghold.

[@neroamarou3256]

Stronghold is fucking amazing. Using it on Arc Titan w/ Lanent, a chill clip riptide and Path of Least Resistance. You get your usual crazy ad clear that arc has, but now you have an actual reliable defensive option outside of the wet paper bag barricade and self healing without needing to use Better Already/Recouperation. The build slaps in GMs as the DR and and Restoration x2 from stronghold plus Laments innate healing makes it so good. I am hellbent on trying to fit Lament in where I can it's my favorite Exotic in the series. Glad they buffed Stronghold

[@hithere5553]

Stronghold is a great regen option for subclasses that don’t have it by default like arc, strand and stasis.

[@abneration]

Hey, share this build?! Sounds like a blast!

[@neroamarou3256]

@@abneration sure. I'll save it on DIM and drop the link. :)

[@abneration]

@@neroamarou3256 awesome 👍

[@abneration]

@@neroamarou3256 don't forget about me? 😁

[@Competent_Cobana]

Something to note is that Throne Cleaver is a solar version of Crown Splitter so it has synergy with the solar fragments and is craftable. It can also be crafted with Flash Counter and Bungie said they're going to try and make guarding feel more rewarding with this next sword rework, so Flash Counter may end up being really good and enhanced Flash Counter gives more max ammo as well.

[@godslayer9000]

Fun fact flash counter does a tiny bit of damage to apply the debuff (50-200 in PvE and 1-2 in PvP) which means you can kill an enemy, or better yet a guardian with the flash counter debuff. I've only gotten it to happen artificially after I baited a shotgun ape into my barricade and flash countered right before he punches after shooting his shotgun into the barricade.

[@kingechatronii7379]

Get Stronghold some glaive synergy like: "Move at max speed while blocking with your glaive shield, Also gives extra glaive energy" or something like that. Could be fun

[@godslayer9000]

Play avalon with stronghold equipped. You can make favours of grace which make you move at near-sprint speeds while guarding, and it is extremely fun.

[@TheFawse]

I’ve been using Worldline all season and constantly telling people how good it is now, it’s nice to see someone else bring it up. The damage is wild

[@godslayer9000]

You can basically instakill champs in legend with the right build, although managing ammo is a bit difficult with how it consumes 6 entire ammo on a single heavy attack (I know it's two but that doesn't count since damage was split). I wish it would only take 3 ammo for the 2 dashes, but.

[@1Albedo]

yup, i've been using it non-stop ever since i got my hands on it when i started playing in season of undying, or a bit after that point, and it is pretty good, and fun to see those clean swipes through hoards of enemies, especially now with the buffs.

[@abneration]

Share this build?

[@godslayer9000]

​@@abneration Head: 2 heavy ammo finders, 1 arc siphon; Arms: anything to your liking; Chest: 1 charged up, 2 lucent blades; Legs: 2 Arc Surge 1 Arc Scavenger; You can ditch the scaveger for one more surge for even more damage if ammo is not an issue. Class Item: 2 time dilation. Weapons: primary and secondary can be anything, I recommend atleast 1 arc weapons to create orbs without using your sword, and of course, timeline zero. Subclass: Arc: Any abilities/super/aspects, Fragments: Amplitude for more orbs. Resistance for survivability. Other two to your own liking. Idea is to get make orbs using amplitude and arc weapons, orbs activate damage bonus from surge mods, 17% with 2 and 22% with 3, time dilation and charged up helps keep damage bonus active for longer. Nuke everything with timeline's heavy attack.

[@abneration]

@@godslayer9000 yes! Thank you! Building now

[@quadratic5392]

I wish they made a special ammo exotic sword

[@codyshort2770]

For my solo flawless run of GotD I used stronghold and lament/bonk hammer for the first encounter. Makes it stupid easy

[@neroamarou3256]

The Lament+Stronghold was overkill tbh you can breeze through the first two encounters without shooting your gun literally at all. Just bonk bro.

[@almityace]

Quick note the forerunner pretty beast invader weapon in gambit get If you have 3-4 shots even at a good distance

[@memlordnord567]

Strongholds did it's job better before it's rework, the health it healed scaled on the damage absorbed which not only could heal you to full but made you flat out immune to things that would normally one shot you and the healing could be utilized at any distance, now not only cant you heal at a distance, you have to actually lower your guard and attack and do so within a time frame only to gain that health slowly over time which defeats the purpose as Lowering your guard while being shot at in difficult content usually results in death, and for those saying otherwise outside of difficult content there's no point to using strongholds as it's increased survivability is it's whole gimmick there's no point in using it to survive against ads you can normally survive alone against with restoration 2x or woven mail, and while aztecross says that the timing needs to be specific it's actually very, very generous to the player compared to a souls like game with parrying mechanics, there's even a sword perk that requires even stricter blocking timing and that would be flash counter, which when paired with strongholds is actually pretty good but as with all things you only get good with said things with practice, it seems to me too many players who were wanting to use strongholds but we're too lazy to learn it's gameplay loop good complained to bungo until they finally made the rework to help more it be more blueberry friendly which in turn completely nerfed the gauntlets for everyone else who'd already mastered it by diminishing it's strength in the only areas where it actually makes sense to use it as no one's gonna use strongholds in a strike or in pvp, my main ways I've enjoyed it is in gms, gambit (to duel invaders with) and master raids and dungeons to help me with survivability, some people might like it for other niche purposes but primarily strongholds won't really hold up to how powerful it once was, at least to me

[@thinklikeadoor]

Cope

[@abneration]

This sounds pretty awful man, sorry. I was going to give this exotic another try, but after reading your comment I don't think it's worth it. Am I right? Not worth it now or still good at endgame? I don't quite understand every detail about what you are saying, but I get the pic.

[@JacobCallejas-vi6su]

The most tanky sword combo with this is crown/throne splitter they give an 88.7% dmg res on top of stasis gives 96.8% with stasis crystals add a hunter with dusk field you become teddy Roosevelt and will keep on giving that speech

[@x9x9x9x9x9]

I don't think this works anymore. They neutered stasis and whisper of rime.

[@DarkwaveXaldin]

​@@x9x9x9x9x9 Long Time Stasis Behemoth main here, it still works and i am sad to see that Aztecross didnt mention behemoth since in my opinion its by far the strongest option

[@x9x9x9x9x9]

@@DarkwaveXaldin Oh sweet! I saw something the other day showing how bad the overshield is now so I assumed it was done.

[@godslayer9000]

Crown/throne alone give you 95% in pve. Chains, max resilience and rime overshield pushes you to around 97% ish. Not a big jump, but it sure makes you feel like a god.

[@preythestars]

⁠@@x9x9x9x9x9 Only thing bad about Rime now is that the health pick up is worse normal health bar wise. Yes, the Stasis over-shield in PvE is practically the same like pre-patch (it is now 50 hp instead of 100 hp but PvE combatants deal 50% less damage now) but the shard granting health is now ~5% instead of ~12.5%, meaning you’re barely getting any health back if you’ve been taking damage with your normal hp bar. Otherwise, Behemoth Stronghold with Chains fragment is pretty damn strong.

[@nautica1972]

I’ve always used them with throne cleaver and then crown splitter and then throne cleaver again in all content including GMs the perk refresh has just made them better imo

[@cashusbucks]

Been playing Exoprimal and man I wish attacking with swords worked the same. The Murasame Exo has this nice mechanic that keeps your attacks grounded, centered and in front of you even though your attack animations are very over exaggerated. SUUUUPER enjoyable👍🏾

[@Ima9ineBreak3r]

I'm kind of excited to see what sword changes we will get next season. I LOVE running swords, but so often, it is just impractical...

[@victoralcasas]

Since the buff I've been using Stronghold in nightfalls as a Titan tank build. It's great to be the last man standing and hide behind the sword block while reviving an ally while taking heavy fire.

[@mshaman86]

That's peak Titan right there.

[@victoralcasas]

It feels like peak Titan 💪😎

[@elderr9435]

I just run it with the void subclass to use verbs across subclasses. Having solar restoration with void devour and over shield is very nice, and the idea of a "sword and shield" fantasy is great too.

[@xXWyTeBreaDXx]

Hey cross, I have recently been attempting to solo ghosts of the deep (I also tried at launch but didn’t feel up to an 8 phase final boss) but I noticed that ecthar seems to have more health now. I checked other guides to see if I was crazy but I think I’m right. Before the mid season patch ecthar could be 3 phased solo using tractor cannon and bonk hammer. Post mid season patch it looks like it would be more like a 5-6 phase. I checked damage numbers and they are all the same but his health bar didn’t drop nearly as fast. I would love if you saw this and you were willing to test this to see if I’m right because if so this is actually the most tone deaf thing bungie has ever done considering everyone already had a problem with the original health pool.

[@bofa722]

You're probably just doing something wrong. I also had to 5 phase him on launch with that same setup streamers were using, doing about 3% less damage per hammer and it still took way longer than it should've

[@rRavshArkitek]

Finally someone showed the Worldline stronghold arc titan! It really deserves some love. Recommend using this with double specials.

[@ReturnToNothingness32147]

I use bubble titan with bastion aspect. If you can find a sword with energy transfer perk, you can spam overshield while blocking ! Its pretty fun!

[@CapKong]

Hehehehe throne cleaver 😍

[@stuqsnette2900]

FYI, airborne targets with lament are actually just as vuln as walking ones - to hit an airborne target you need to aim pretty far *down* towards the floor and the sword swing will rip up overhead/floaty baddies

[@MarshinLFC]

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! I’ve been keeping my immortal titan build a secret. Stronghold with an incandescent throne cleaver is absolutely busted

[@abneration]

Could you please link your build? Gonna try it, but need the help!

[@Gandalfmandalf]

Ember of empiyrean and will take you from 24 seconds to 12 seconds with a solar kill. Not optimal to run with it. But a solar spot will reset it to 24. So just throw the hammer atleast once every 24 seconds to keep up resto times 2. Or incandescent kill to get a sunspot

[@MaddixCuhming]

Wished it gave you some extra ammunition. It’s a heavy based exotic for a nitch weapon type with few swords being able to keep up with the constant use like that chainsaw sword

[@Amazmo07]

Honestly, I had always thought that they should make it so that it made swords strong against unstoppable champions. I've always felt that we should have exotic armor that can help deal with champs. For example, Necrotic Grips on Warlock could deal with overloads and Foetracers with anti-barriers. This would allow exotics that have been left out of the meta to have a functionality and allow more freedom in weapon choice.

[@srkquad4519]

This could be done due to warlocks having silicant filament exotic leg armor that gives anti overload I’m sure

[@henirfezaaie5096]

Thunderous Retort also activates when you're amplified now, you don't have to wait until your low on health for it.

[@gokkiyoutube]

My titan has been a Stronghold main since that season with the sword double damage. I've dumped my harmonizers into the crafted throne cleaver (solar) and got a solar bonk build with it. Will definitely adapt to the Resto x2 now, i know exactly how to play with it and will be attempting solo challenges with sword only. Being a legendary sword it means i can run double special with one of them being exotic. Legendary swords are better than exotic imo, since you can then tailor the specials to the challenge at hand.

[@godslayer9000]

I like to run coldheart with double arc surges to turn it into a discount chaos reach for when you can't reach something with a sword. The ionic traces also help with ability regeneration, so you can throw everything into maxing out resilience to become even tankiee.

[@perfectparadox7389]

I used stronghold with lament and a resist focussed stasis build before the rework and it absolutely smashed through most content

[@kabriii]

Sola’s scar does have synergy because it is a solar caster frame sword, and uncharged projectiles do give restoration x2

[@imafluffyjedi]

Please try this exotic with strand and heart shadow. Damage resist + invis + resto + woven mail from orbs = 🤤

[@BrianRamsey79]

Now I kind of want to play around with a black talon void devour build. The sword is void, and with the catalyst, blocking shots increases projectile damage.

[@thehale_]

As someone who’s been rocking a sick stronghold stasis build since season of the lost, it’s nice seeing a buff on this exotic. The parrying was fun to master, but the restoration stuff is nice.

[@lolvis7561]

Stronghold and a valiant charge sword has been my go-to build all season. Not as good as lament or worldline, but the extra long gap close is very very fun.

[@sc0obaka]

why dont you just use eager edge then? that closes the gap pretty quick and if you can craft it with the enhanced version its even further lunge... i grinded dares just for a sword... luckly it didnt take very long and i got hella lucky and got a purple version to drop... and it was a red border first shot... i was like welp... never doing dares again lol

[@lolvis7561]

@@sc0obaka eager edge works too, but I like the synergy with valiant charge more. You already have to block to get the restoration from stronghold, so adding a massive lunge to it makes it a 2 for 1 special on quick gap closing and survivability.

[@sc0obaka]

@@lolvis7561 that does make sense... hmm

[@dankerbell]

tbf lots of people really did like stronghold before the buff, it was THE survivability + sword exotic

[@TheChosenKey]

This my first time hearing about this Exotic. Can't wait to try it out on my Titan next week.

[@osteohiveporosis6882]

With Lament and stasis Titan it was busted, but after the Chains nerf I'm not too sure

[@adamchan9616]

Dude I didn't even know worldline zero got that second heavy I might use it just cause it looks sick af

[@Dainurian]

Personally I really do not like the changes to Stronghold. The changes make it worse in GMs since now you need to hit something to heal, which Lament could already do; the main benefit of Stronghold was the ability to heal up whenever you wanted. And then in anything below GM, Restoration x2 makes you unkillable and can be extended forever on Solar, completely trivializing combat like pre-nerf Loreley. You can even put on a different heavy after gaining your 24s of Restoration x2 and keep the buff forever while getting to use whatever heavy you want, although this comes at the expense of your exotic armor. This is because Restoration reverts to its original duration every time you apply it again. Don't use Empyrean as kills will shorten your timer to 12s and touching a Sunspot every 24s is trivial most of the time, or use a healing nade if you somehow can't get to one.

[@victoralcasas]

Also when you use Stronghold with Throne Cleaver or Crown Splitter it takes your damage resistance to 95%. Add any other damage resistance buff and you are pretty much invincible in anything under Grandmaster.

[@hithere5553]

Stronghold’s guard resistance depends on the archetype. Aggressive>adaptive>vortex>caster. Exotics all have adaptive guard resistance values with stronghold I believe.

[@godslayer9000]

You can tank every super in the game except shadebinder, silence and squall, thundercrash, more than 1 barrage of blade barrage and more than 1 seconds of direct chaos reach. It's the most euphoric feeling in the world, walking TOWARDS a golden gun while all your teammates scramble to fight it from cover, tanking ALL 6 SHOTS and then seeing the hunter just stand there, trying to understand why you are not dead, and where his super went.

[@Osprixx]

I don't have a lament, so I was just testing this using a Caretaker with Incandescent + Tireless Blade. Plentiful ammo and basically infinite restoration and Sol Invictus. Pretty fun but you're losing a lot of boss DPS in the build obviously. Great for add clear.

[@dreamingleviathan3354]

go for upgraded Flash Counter for sword ammo after guarding a melee hit free infinite heavy ammo

[@Osprixx]

@@dreamingleviathan3354 didn’t know upgraded flash counter did this. Thanks! I’ll keep levelling it

[@crrainger]

Having left the game before WQ, when I came back and played with glances, it seemed strange that they were Special, not heavy. I’d assume either some or all swords could be moved to the special slot with damage output altered accordingly.

[@tangodown7377]

as much as resto x2 would be great on other subclasses, i think the potential to gain restoration without healing grenades or sunspots makes solar titan a great contender. solar titan with lament might be nasty with all the healing and damage. run consecration melee aspect for mobbing/ignition fragment synergy and roaring flames to buff ability damage and you have the whole arsenal of solar 3.0 available while also have AB with radiant/lament, 50%dr+sword block and burst healing on kills. overshields would also be really strong with stronghold with them allowing you to engage/stop blocking and still have a full health bar.

[@Chickennuggye]

No cross, I have been playing destiny 2 before it even came out, I know the buffs that are significant and the once that are not. Hand cannons are gonna be the real meta.

[@loogiemusmaximusoftides8540]

I feel like a caster frame+ the navigator would be a great way to make a tanky solar titan. Get 24 sec of Resto 2, then proc navigators woven mail, could also just use strand

[@jonlucich2854]

@aztecross, you really should give a thought to Throne Cleaver with the Navigator exotic on a Strand subclass. The damage reduction is S tier, able to handle even Grandmaster enemies with ease. Please give it a thought.

[@abneration]

Share this build!?

[@jonlucich2854]

@@abneration Absolutely! You use Navigator to make the enemy deal 60% less damage with Sever, and you also gain Woven Mail which is something like 40% resist? Using a Strand subclass gives you access to Suspend and near 100% uptime on Woven Mail. You can run any secondary weapon as long as it is a special ammo weapon. This is so that you can constantly generate heavy ammo for Throne-Cleaver, which has the highest Guard stat of any legendary Sword you can pick. And you just guard with it to tank 99% of all damage when using Strongholds. Even in Grandmasters, i used this build in the Lightblade strike and champions/hive Guardians were dealt with easily. You can tank almost all damage from the "Sentinel" hive guardians and tank the Screebs, even. And The Lightblades attacks do almost nothing to you. And when you gain Restoration x2, combined with the leg mods that let you heal on orb pick up and the class mod that picks up nearby orbs when you use your class ability, you can't die. The only weakness is flying enemies, but usually your teammates can handle them while you take aggro and tank any attacks they deal to you. This build is especially helpful to revive teammates without worry that an exploding thrall will kill you or any other enemy since you just block all damage.

[@ThatSoto]

Made a random stronghold build because I have few arm exotics on my titan. Cool to see it'll get a lil buff

[@FireFlyMaxx]

I can't believe my Stronghold build just got better. I've got a double special build with 3X 100s on solar. Now it's gonna be better. Thank you Bungie

[@modomouse7096]

Can't you just use black talon for flying enemies??

[@abdulrafaykhan203]

Ammo economy....low damage ......

[@ChickenJoe2042]

I literally main strongholds and a crownsplitter on strand, 99% damage reduction while blocking with woven mail plus restoration x 2

[@Draithan]

if you want to run stronghold and a sword but flying or ranged enemies are an issue just being black talon, heartseeker or a caster frame legendary

[@VATROU]

As long as Bungie doesn't Butcher Swords next season, i can imagine a Hit registration rework among the changes. That's been a problem for so long it has to be on the list for reworks. I'd also hazard a guess towards Chain Kill perks or effects as Valiant Charge really seems to lean into charging across the battlefield at breakneck pace. Which suggests they're looking at how swords kill tons of adds.

[@juancamacho6154]

I have been rocking Stronghold this season with a nice solar Titan build and it has been an amazing build. It's really hard to die with it.

[@juancamacho6154]

You must use the exotic Lament or any sword with Candencent.

[@jty1999]

I love the rework, but I miss the healing on parry. It felt good to nullify a boss's stomp with good timing.

[@godslayer9000]

If you still want that feeling of countering a boss stomp try flash counter, available on basically any world drop sword and the craftable throne cleaver.

[@jty1999]

@@godslayer9000 That does something different, but I might give that a go. They must have reworked it recently, I don't remember weakening being a part of it. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@ivan_domangaming9359]

Stasis is better combination, with the overshield and damage resistance you are almost unkillable

[@pikeygo4738]

tbh we needed strongholds on hunter to really play into the dark souls feel, parrying and rolling

[@kalebdaniel596]

i ran stasis stronghold before the rework in gm’s i prefer the old version for the guaranteed full heal over restoration

[@rRavshArkitek]

You really want to pair Strongholds with a highly offensive subclass that doesn't have access to health regeneration like Arc (especially this season) and Strand. Enhancing the healing from stronghold is just not as effective when crowd control tools like Arc blind and Suspend exist.

[@lBaphometI]

black talon could be wicked ngl

[@shottytreez]

Black Talon is so underrated. Not sure how it stacks up now with all the recent changes and the ones to come, but back when Lament came out BT w/catalyst was the second most powerful sword in the game for burst DPS and actually outperformed Lament for long DPS phases due to its ammo conservation and charge rate... so underrated. SMH

[@Mcoombs4371]

I saw a video of a guardian using stronghold and lament to tank the Lightblade Boss arc attack.

[@mrliverful]

I wish Black Talon synergized a bit more. I miss the old days of massive BT damage.

[@benatlas6587]

This rework is sadly a nerf in PvE as damage reduction will never, ever topple over the damage *immunity* that the old Stronghold gave even if it was for a short duration.

[@garrytehbest]

Ever since WWz got nerf the first time for skating there has been no reason to go back, it can't replace my eager edge half truths, maybe if it had also eager edge

[@Sunfirea]

Just to day bungie has already stated that the rework for swords is specifically on the guard function. So for people expecting swords to suddenly become the number 1 option for dps temper that expectation.

[@reikaiden]

I've only been playing void or strand titan the entire season. Love it! Finally I can use my swords in higher tier content

[@William_E]

Lament is the only sword id use in the air. You can do your five hit combo for max damage on a airborn target.

[@DreHayn]

That Ed Edd and EDDY OUTRO! 🔥

[@x9x9x9x9x9]

It's weird old strongholds with stasis was insane then they buffed strong holds but it ruined the stasis build. Then they nuked stasis so that build is basically completely dead. However the buff made it so stasis is not needed which I think is way cooler. However the fact they didn't make it work with glaives is a let down but I guess they want hunters to be the glaive users. Also I'm a bit worried about the sword rework. I'm worried they are going to remove lunge while airborne. This would get rid of sword flying, shatter/well skating, and just fun movement. I don't think they would do this. But this new version of Bungie has not been the best at decision making so it's totally possible.

[@TechMaestro01]

5:21 Cap your fps to 60. I know this sucks, but you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do.

[@zairnator6410]

Would be cool to get an exotic sword that gets an enhanced version of your melee ability as the charged attack for the sword. Would make the melee charge still useful

[@joshred76]

I remember using strong hold a long time ago. I might need to pull it back out.

[@shr00m44]

I just want a good ornament for Stronghold.

[@theclassypsychopath1448]

I have used the Crown Splitter since i got it in year one, my heart broke when my 60,000+ kill baby was sunset and ive been grinding my new one to achieve the same amount of kills in it. I WOULD use strongholds (past or present version) if they weren't so ungodly ugly. Like Bungie, please. Make some good looking Titan exotics and ornaments

[@Barbariandisks]

The arc build with temptations hook, for aerial foes

[@matthewreed5988]

Strongholds is not a solo exotic. It is the best exotic to get revives in the game. Even before the changes.

[@dmruggabugga6270]

I really dislike the rework using stronghold in gms when we had mars battlegrounds was great I felt tanky with the perfect heal with stasis giving more dr on top of resil and it would of been stronger now with the rime shield giving dr as welll

[@ethanthomas1148]

Ngl I was LOVING THEM this morning in the Bonfire will be trying in Disgraced GM tonight!

[@sicknasticus]

The only way I see this being worth it is if we either get a cracked sword again (dark drinker) or if stronghold has glaives included and montecarlo gets its catalyst OR any of the exotic glaives

[@pricemedlin5651]

seems like a really good solo dungeon build for some encounters, heavy finisher seems like it would be a good touch, since youre already in the enemies face

[@EightballHimself]

There is no “heavy finisher” in the game.

[@Kotawithabeard]

I wonder how Blacktalon will feel since blocking increases heavy projectile damage?

[@mateokjitagonzalez4773]

Right now is the only way to get restoration x2 as titan so to me is really strong (not like Loreley that just gives the x1 version)

[@chipsawdust5816]

As a titan main for years I can say I don't recall ever using these gauntlets.

[@lWreyl]

I'm wondering with the sword rework if they're gonna make swords first person and make them function similar to glaives perhaps?

[@demithevampireking4285]

Bungie "We're nerfing Lorelei for being too potent" Bungie then proceeds to update an exotic to do the same restoration as Lorelei prenerf for a longer uptime than Lorelei. MAKE UP YOUR MIND. While I welcome the change, don't lie about potency being the driving force of a change. (You can hit an "Immune" enemy with a sword to proc the Restoration. It takes 1 ammo. You can chain off to refresh the timer with empryean, so you don't need to worry about the sword ammo economy.) Long story short, I do feel like this is going to get nerfed and HARD, but bungies gonna shrug it off for a bit, so until then, my fellow Doofus' abuse this.

[@vilifyahuman]

Quote cross on saying "I just want to fist everything" 🤣

[@KingN3LO]

Why no black talon ? Bonus damage on guard counters and devour on void

[@BurningMoreXP]

I wish if “Don’t touch me” exotic gauntlets and “Patience and time” exotic sniper and even the “Hereafter” sniper were in D2..

[@DustinDIY]

Would be great if it did similar effects or some effects with glaives

[@boomermorgan]

Been running this exotic for a few seasons for solo play. Never considered Worldline Zero.

[@TheFawse]

Try it out, it’s super good now. I’ve been running it all season, the damage is crazy

[@sebastian_blair6685]

Worldline zero underrated using it with Shinobus vow I beat all the gms this season several times even farming with it no lie its burst damage is faster than lament but there's several reasons why lament can be better but 2 Worldline zeros and a champ gets incenterated

[@purpleSinz]

I'm disappointed. He didn't even think about Heart shadow with it's invisibility, weakening, and ranged attack*

[@The_Laser_Kittens]

With woven mail and the maxed sword stats, you become near invulnerable to chip damage. Even to the point of Recovering *while still taking the damage* in low-mid tier activities. Take almost no damage and add Restoration and it’s a recipe for maximum survival.

[@ADoomain]

Issue is suspend kinda sucks with swords, so you really have to make use of other parts of strand, its why id rather go with stasis which still gives >95% damage resist i think