Artifact Breakdown: Paradrome Cube

Like other Seasonal Artifacts before it, the Paradrome Cube allows Guardians to gain additional Power bonuses from leveling up via XP. Additionally, you will have to level up in order to go through 12 Artifact unlocks that will allow you to claim up to 12 different mods from the Paradrome Cube. You will be able to choose out of a total of 25 mods from the Artifact, and the further you get into the available mods, the more unique mods you will gain access to. Some of these mods are simply enhanced versions of previously existing mods, and any Seasonal mods can be applied to any Armor regardless of its Elemental Affinity.

It is important to note that there are limited combinations, but, should you want to spec out a different set of mods, Guardians do have the option to reset their Artifact. At first, the cost for resetting an Artifact will be 10,000 Glimmer, but this cost will increase for every consecutive reset. Beware not to reset too many times or you may find yourself having to give up an exorbitant amount of Glimmer when trying a new build.

Armor Slot: Arms

Energy Cost: 1

“Uninterrupted fire from your equipped SMGs grants bullets that stun combatants, delaying ability energy regeneration and lowering combatant damage output.

Strong against Overload Champions.”

This mod is particularly strong against Fallen and Vex combatants as those are the enemies that will have Overload Champions in the form of Captains and Minotaurs, respectively. Unlike Sidearms and Hand Cannons, this mod will require a steady stream of weapon fire from an SMG in order to proc and stun any Overload Champions, and additional shots will further prevent Champions from healing or teleporting. While this mod does work in the Crucible, it is better to keep its use mostly in PvE activities.

Armor Slot: Arms

Energy Cost: 1

“Scout Rifles you are wielding fire shield-piercing rounds and stun Barrier Champions.

Scout Rifles deal bonus damage against Barrier Champions.”

A straightforward mod used to take down Barrier Champions, which can appear from almost all enemy races in Nightfalls. Be sure to use the corresponding weapon type to damage Barrier Champions to capitalize on the additional damage this mod gives. Can pair with Exotic Scout Rifles such as Polaris Lance or Symmetry.

Armor Slot: Arms

Energy Cost: 1

“Aiming down sights with any Sidearm you are wielding loads a powerful explosive payload that stuns unshielded combatants.

Strong against Unstoppable Champions.”

When using this mod, it is important to keep in mind that you must hold the aim down sights button for a few seconds before the Sidearm glows and an Unstoppable Round is loaded in. This mod can be strong against other enemies besides Champions, as the Unstoppable Round is capable of staggering almost any unshielded enemy when shot. Although extremely niche, the micro-stagger the mod affords can be used to prevent a singular enemy from shooting at you for a bit longer, and, sometimes, can be chained.

Overload Hand Cannon

Armor Slot: Arms

Energy Cost: 1

“Landing consecutive hits disrupts combatants, stunning them, delaying ability energy regenerations and lowering combatant damage output. Strong against Overload Champions.”

Similarly to Overload Submachine Gun, this mod is capable of stunning Overload Champions quickly. Usually 3 shots of a Hand Cannon will be enough to proc the Overload Rounds buff for about 5 seconds, but this can be expedited by using a Hand Cannon with the Explosive Payload or Timed Payload perks. Any Exotic Hand Cannons can also make use of this mod, although Thorn or Crimson in particular are capable of proccing it more quickly.

Armor Slot: Arms

Energy Cost: 1

“Auto Rifles you are wielding fire shield-piercing rounds and stun Barrier Champions.

Auto Rifles deal bonus damage against Barrier Champions.”

A straightforward mod used to take down Barrier Champions, which can appear from almost all enemy races in Nightfalls. Be sure to use the corresponding weapon type to damage Barrier Champions to capitalize on the additional damage this mod gives. Can pair with Exotic Auto Rifles such as Sweet Business or Hard Light.

This column deals mostly with pre-existing mods that have had their Energy cost lowered.

Armor Slot: Legs

Energy Cost: 1

“Grenade Launchers get bonus reserves when you pick up ammo.”

Although it is not immediately apparent, both this mod and the regular version is capable of giving additional Grenade Launcher ammo to both breech-loading (Special) and regular (Heavy) Grenade Launchers. Unlike the regular version, however, the Seasonal mod is reduced to 1 Energy cost and allows for other mods to be added in. Pairs well with the Breach and Clear mod.

Armor Slot: Legs

Energy Cost: 1

“Rocket Launchers get bonus reserves when you pick up ammo.”

For a weapon type that has small reserves and small ammo pick-ups for a Heavy weapon, having a Rocket ammo scavenger mod makes it even more worthwhile to run similar mods like Rocket Launcher Ammo Finder since those will give you just as much ammo as a normal Heavy brick. This mod is particularly abusable in Gambit, with the use of Truth or Eyes of Tomorrow. Additionally, this Seasonal mod reduces the cost from normal 3 Energy down to 1.

Armor Slot: Chest

Energy Cost: 1

“Reduces flinching from incoming fire while aiming Pulse Rifles.”

Reduced flinch while aiming down sights on a Pulse Rifle will mainly be useful in PvP, but can be useful in PvE as well when using Pulse Rifles to try to take down faraway enemies or deal out damage on a priority target while being shot at by smaller enemies.

Armor Slot: Arms

Energy Cost: 1

“Increases reload speed of Scout Rifles.”

In Nightfalls and similar PvE activities, where Scout Rifles are one of the main weapons against Barrier Champions, having less of a lull when firing at high priority targets is important so this mod will be particularly helpful to that end. In PvP, it is helpful to have your weapons reloaded for most fights that you may end up taking, and this mod is especially helpful for Dead Man’s Tale, which is currently one of the higher used Scout Rifles, as it reloads 2 bullets at a time.

Armor Slot: General (Combat Style)

Energy Cost: 1

“Become Charged with Light by rapidly defeating multiple combatants with Grenade Launchers or Rocket Launchers.”

This mod is derived from a previously existing mod that is normally only usable for 3 Energy on a Solar Affinity armor piece. Using it will allow Guardians to gain Charged with Light stacks off of rapid kills on enemies and opens up use of other Charged with Light mods such as Protective Light or High Energy Fire that make use of the stacks made with this mod. The lowered Energy use also allows for higher cost mods to be used in tandem with this particular one.

Like the second column, this one deals with reduced cost mods that have already been around for some time.

Armor Slot: Chest

Energy Cost: 1

“Greatly reduces flinching from incoming fire while aiming Auto Rifles.”

This mod is good for use in PvP when aiming down sights with weapons such as the SUROS Regime or Chromatic Rush Auto Rifles. When being used in PvE, the reduced Auto Rifle flinch will help immensely when trying to take down Barrier Champions, as both Champions and smaller enemies will be trying to shoot you while focusing on these high priority targets.

Armor Slot: General (Combat Style)

Energy Cost: 1

“While Charged with Light, readying or firing a Rocket Launcher grants it increased damage and reload speed. Damaging a combatant with a rocket consumes one stack of Charged with Light.”

Derived from a 5 Energy mod found on Solar Affinity armor, this mod is highly efficient for the Energy it takes up. As it can give you additional damage and reload speed when Charged with Light, it makes up for Rocket Launchers that don’t have Impulse Amplifier and is especially powerful when used with Exotics such as Wardcliff Coil or Deathbringer which can make use of each stack of Charged with Light. Keep in mind that this mod can be stacked and will up the use of Charged with Light stacks by one to provide additional damage, should you have the buff stacked up to the number of Agent Ordnance mods (i.e. one stack of Charged with Light per slotted mod.) Pairs well with the Blast Radius Seasonal mod.

Armor Slot: Arms

Energy Cost: 1

“Faster ready and stow speed for Grenade Launchers.”

For the most part this mod is best used with breech-loading (Special) Grenade Launchers and can be particularly useful when paired with Unstoppable Grenade Launcher since the Unstoppable Shot is loaded whenever you reload or swap to a Grenade Launcher. Additionally, this mod pairs well with Grenade Launchers that have the Quick-Access Sling weapon mod as it will allow a player to shoot once and quickly swap to their Primary weapon and continue fighting, which is especially helpful in the Crucible.

Armor Slot: Arms

Energy Cost: 1

“Increases reload speed of Rocket Launchers”

For Guardians that like to be able to shoot Rocket Launchers as quickly as possible, this mod is able to stack with itself and pairs well with weapons that already have Impulse Amplifier to increase their reload speed. Can also be stacked and used in tandem with Argent Ordnance to get an even faster Rocket Launcher reload.

Armor Slot: Helmet

Energy Cost: 1

“Gain bonus Super energy on grenade kills.”

This is an extremely useful mod that was normally only available on a Solar Affinity Helmet piece for 3 Energy. Any kills with a grenade, regardless of subclass, will provide Guardians with additional Super energy, and can be used to greater effect with high Discipline builds and negates the need for Intellect. Pairs well with the Impulse Recycler mod and is particularly well suited for use with weapons that have the Demolitionist perk.

This column provides more tools for use against Champion enemies that appear in Nightfalls and high-tier PvE activities.

Armor Slot: Arms

Energy Cost: 7

“When you ready or reload a Grenade Launcher, for a short period, that weapon stuns Unstoppable Champions.

Strong against Unstoppable Champions.”

When using this mod, you will, for the most part, have access to an Unstoppable Shot so long as you have ammo. Anytime that a Grenade Launcher (Special or Heavy) is swapped to or reloaded, there will be about 3 seconds on the Unstoppable Shot that will allow you to stun any Unstoppable Champions you hit. Be sure to swap in and out of the held Grenade Launcher to refresh the cooldown whenever you are aiming at or waiting on an Unstoppable Champion to spawn.

Armor Slot: General (Combat Style)

Energy Cost: 1

“The detonations from Warmind Cells you destroy cause disruption, stunning combatants, delaying ability energy regeneration and lowering combatant damage output.

Strong against Overload Champions and Unstoppable Champions.”

For those that run Warmind Cells builds add clear is usually not much of an issue, and, with good RNG, this mod will make Champions just as easy to clear out. So long as you run a Seventh Seraph or IKELOS weapon such as the SSOR or the IKELOS SMG you will be capable of spawning in Warmind Cells, and with this mod that ability will be supplemented so long as the Cells spawn at the right time. It is not recommended that you replace Champion mods on your weapons with just this mod, since Warmind Cells are not as consistent when there is low enemy concentration.

Armor Slot: Class Item

Energy Cost: 2

“Stunning a Champion creates an explosive blast.”

For activities that contain Champions, Sundering Blast is capable of inflicting additional damage to the Champion being stunned or clear out minor enemies that may be in the vicinity of said Champion. This mod can be particularly useful in enemy dense areas or against enemies that like to cluster around Champions (e.g. Fallen around Barrier Servitors.) When stacked, Sundering Blast will deal additional explosive damage to the Champion and enemies affected, so it may be beneficial to run multiple copies when you are struggling to take Champions down.

Armor Slot: Class Item

Energy Cost: 2

“Arc grenades disrupt combatants, stunning them, delaying ability regeneration and lowering combatant damage output.”

If you are ever in need of additional tools against Overload Champions and you are running an Arc subclass, this mod will potentially be very useful. For the most part, this mod will be used on Titans and Warlocks as their options on Arc subclasses work much better in PvE. This mod should not replace Overload weapon mods and instead should be a supplement to your build when getting ready for activities involving Fallen or Vex Champions.

Armor Slot: Class Item

Energy Cost: 2

“Void melee abilities stun unshielded combatants.

Strong against Unstoppable Champions.”

Overall, this mod is a bit niche, but can be used to great effect by Hunters and Titans to excel in their positions while taking care of Unstoppable Champions. Hunters have the capacity to throw smoke bombs from a distance, but it may be better to save them for invisibility depending on their subclass tree, whereas Titans may be in an unfavorable position by having to move up close to Champions despite their defensive capabilities. Several weapons and exotics such as Leviathan’s Breath or Athrys’s Embrace may be better options than this mod, but at the very least there is no need to take up an Exotic slot should you use it.

The mods in this column are by far the strongest tools you'll have through the Season of the Splicer, and can be used to switch up your playstyle in almost any activity, depending on your preferences. You will only be able to hold two at a time, so choose wisely.

Armor Slot: Class Item

Energy Cost: 9

“When using a Grenade Launcher, damaging a boss, damaging a Champion, or breaking a combatant’s shield reloads your stowed weapons and causes the combatant to take an increased damage for a short duration.”

This mod is by far the strongest toll for PvE this season as it allows you to debuff specific enemies to deal additional damage. Although it is not as universal as previous seasonal mods, such as Oppressive Darkness, Breach and Clear is capable of making childsplay out of bosses and Champions. It works especially well with Grenade Launchers such as Anarchy and Witherhoard as they have damage-over-time that buffs itself while you switch to a different weapon to continue doing multiplicative damage and continuously reloading stowed weapons. The downside this mod has is the Energy cost of 9 which crowds out almost all other Seasonal and standard mods from the Class Items’ slots, but is still something each member of a fireteam may end up running regardless. Additionally, as it is a debuff, it will not stack with other debuffs such as that of Divinity, Tractor Cannon, Hunters’ Tethers, or Titans’ Hammer Strike.

Armor Slot: Class Item

Energy Cost: 6

“Defeating targets with your Stasis Super refunds Super energy.”

A particularly strong mod that works only for Guardians running a Stasis subclass. Similarly to Super recharging Exotic armor, this mod will grant Super energy back on kills which allow for faster chaining of Stasis Supers depending on how many kills you get. Be mindful that only kills with the Super itself will count towards the energy refund as Shatter and Stasis shard kills will not count.

Armor Slot: General (Combat Style)

Energy Cost: 3

“Void splash damage final blows have a chance to create Warmind Cells.”

This mod works similarly to the Wrath of Rasputin mod, but requires Void damage instead of Solar to create Warmind Cells. Pairs well with other Warmind Cell mods and allows Guardians to use weapons other than those in the Seventh Seraph and IKELOS series to generate Warmind Cells. Note that the damage that summons Warmind Cells with this mod must specifically be area of effect or splash Void damage, such as explosions or grenades, so using weapons such as Graviton Lance will be beneficial as it will have a higher spawn rate compared to normal Void weapons. 

Armor Slot: Arms

Energy Cost: 3

“Grenade final blows grant grenade energy. Multiple copies of this mod increase the amount of energy gained.”

Essentially, this mod will recycle grenade kills into grenade energy and benefits long-lasting or high area of effect range grenades. Pairs well with the enhanced Ashes to Assets Seasonal mod and can be further augmented by running this with a high-Discipline build. With good grenade placement, this can be extremely strong in PvP so long as you chain kills on your opponents to receive more grenade energy and potentially Super energy if you are also running Ashes to Assets.

Energy Accelerant

Armor Slot: Class Item

Energy Cost: 2

“Your Dragonfly, Chain Reaction, and Firefly explosions deal more damage.”

Use of this mod will increase the damage from Dragonfly, Chain Reaction and Firefly and will stack on weapons that have Dragonfly Spec slotted as well. This can be particularly useful when facing large groups of enemies or when running Control in the Crucible. Most weapons from the Vault of Glass are capable of rolling with Firefly, so that is a good place to farm a weapon that works with this mod, although it can work well with weapons like Salvager’s Salvo or Sojourner’s Tale so long as they have the associated perks. Like Sundering Blast, this mod can stack with itself to deal increased damage per each slotted version of itself.

The Champion weapon mods from the first column, for example, should be used primarily by players engaging in PvE activities throughout the Season. Players who spend most of their time in PvP modes would instead focus on the second and third column with some choices in the fifth column also being strong when used against other Guardians. This, again, is to prevent the need to reset the Seasonal Artifact and keep the Glimmer cost low should it ever be necessary to re-spec the mods any given player is using throughout the Season of the Splicer.

With the Sundering Blast mod, it is possible that the explosion caused by stunning a Champion may immediately un-stun the same enemy. This happens more commonly with weapons that have perks like Explosive Payload.

As of Patch 3.2.0.2, Energy Accelerant stopped doubling damage from other explosive weapons and now focuses only on those weapons with its mentioned associated perks.