Artifact Breakdown: Wayfinder's Compass
Similarly to other Seasonal Artifacts, the Compass must be leveled up in order to gain access to the mods it contains, as well as adding to your total Power, by gaining XP from completing Seasonal content, Ritual activities, or completing bounties. Of the 25 mods available, only the 5 from the first column will be available, but, as levels rise throughout the season, Guardians will receive more unlocks allowing them to obtain mods from deeper in the Artifact. The further into the Compass the mod is, the more powerful it will likely be, but again the efficacy of each one is determined by how Guardians use them and in which activities they are being used.
Keep in mind, there is a 12 mod limit to the Artifact, so it is important to focus on whether you will spec for PvE or PvP. Any time that the Compass is reset, Guardians will incur a hefty fee of Glimmer that starts at 10,000 per reset, and rapidly builds up its cost each time one decides to change their mods. Be careful to not experiment too much with the Artifact if you are low on resources, but, otherwise, feel free to choose mods depending on individual playstyles or even recommendations from fellow Guardians.
Armor Slot: Arms
Energy Cost: 1
“Auto Rifles you are wielding fire shield-piercing round and stun Barrier Champions.
Auto Rifles deal bonus damage against Barrier Champions.”
Usually when using this mod you will be dealing with Fallen, Cabal, or Hive Champions. It is important to note that the mod gives increased damage against Barrier Champions, and makes it so that the best way to deal with those same Champions is by continuing fire with the Auto Rifle you are using to damage the enemy.
Armor Slot: Arms
Energy Cost: 1
“Damage by fully drawn arrows disrupts combatants, stunning them, delaying ability energy regeneration and lowering combatant damage output. Strong against Overload Champions.”
Returning once again, this mod is regarded by players as one of the best Overload mods. Every shot of a fully drawn bow is capable of disrupting Overload Champions, and, even if they do not get stunned, will keep enemies like Captains or Chieftains from using their abilities against Guardians. This mod is particularly useful with the Exotic Bow
Armor Slot: Arms
Energy Cost: 1
“Aiming down Pulse Rifle sights loads a high-impact burst that stuns unshielded combatants.
Strong against Unstoppable Champions.”
A mod that is extremely useful at long range against Unstoppable Champions such as Taken Phalanxes or Scorn Behemoths. When aiming down sights, so long as the perk is activated, any shot from an equipped Pulse Rifle will stun Champions and can also be used to stagger most enemies as well.
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.”
An alternative for dealing with Unstoppable Champions, although at a closer distance. Similarly to other Unstoppable mods, you must aim down sights until a glow appears on the Sidearm you are aiming before firing an incapacitating shot at your enemy.
Armor Slot: Arms
Energy Cost: 6
“Landing consecutive hits with any Sword you are wielding disrupts combatants, stunning them, delaying ability energy regeneration and lowering combatant damage output.
Strong against Overload Champions.”
Although a bit more difficult to use to stun Overload Champions, this mod is extremely useful for quickly dispatching Champions. Multiple hits must land on your enemy before the Overload stun is activated, but can pair well with Swords that have the
Armor Slot: Helmet
Energy Cost: 1
“Gain bonus Super energy on melee kills.”
Usually found as an Arc Affinity Helmet mod, this mod is reduced cost from 3 Energy and has a neutral affinity type so it can be slotted in any Helmet to gain additional Super energy when meleeing enemies.
Armor Slot: Arms
Energy Cost: 1
“Faster ready and stow speed for Shotguns.”
This mod is particularly useful in the Crucible as it allows players to swap to and from a Shotgun more quickly whether they are trying to confirm a kill. Energy cost down from 5.
Armor Slot: Legs
Energy Cost: 1
“Swords get larger bonus reserves when you pick up ammo.”
Any time that you find a Heavy ammo brick with a Sword equipped you will obtain additional ammo. Be aware that this mod does not stack with itself, so only one copy needs to be slotted. Reduced Energy from 4.
Armor Slot: Arms
Energy Cost: 1
“Increases reload speed of Fusion Rifles.”
Faster reload speed for only Fusion Rifles, as Linear Fusion Rifles have a separate mod. Reduced cost from 3 Energy under the general Arms mod.
Armor Slot: Helmet
Energy Cost: 1
“Improved target acquisition, accuracy, and aim-down-sights speed for Linear Fusion Rifles.”
Another reduced cost mod, down from 5 Energy, only works specifically with Linear Fusion Rifles to increase accuracy.
Armor Slot: Arms
Energy Cost: 1
“Increases reload speed of Auto Rifles.”
Reduced cost down from 2 Energy, this mod is very niche but can be important for Nightfalls as Auto Rifles are the only weapons that can be used to disrupt Barrier Champions.
Armor Slot: Arms
Energy Cost: 1
“Increases your chance of finding ammo while you have a Shotgun equipped.”
This mod gives you a higher chance to obtain ammo corresponding to any Shotgun you may have equipped, has a reduced cost down from 3 Energy.
Armor Slot: Class Item
Energy Cost: 6
“Receive less damage from combatants that are close to you while you are wielding a sword.”
This mod allows players to take reduced damage from enemies around them so long as they currently have a Sword out. Blocking with a Sword is not necessary, but can also reduce damage further. Be aware that the range at which this protection is granted makes it less effective against faraway enemies.
Armor Slot: Legs
Energy Cost: 3
“Fusion Rifles get bonus reserves when picking up ammo used by that Fusion Rifle.
Linear Fusion Rifles get bonus reserves when picking up ammo used by that Linear Fusion Rifle.”
On top of being reduced Energy cost (both Fusion and Linear Fusion Rifle Scavenger are a 4 Energy cost) this mod also combines the two weapon archetypes and allows one to gain additional ammo for both Special and Heavy weapons. Like all other Scavenger mods, from this Season on, this effect does not stack with additional copies.
Armor Slot: Arms
Energy Cost: 1
“Faster ready and stow speed for Sidearms.”
Allows one to swap between a Sidearm much faster, reduced cost from 3 Energy. Particularly good in Crucible, and pairs well with the Exotic Arms
Armor Slot: Arms
Energy Cost: 6
“Aiming down Fusion Rifle and Linear Fusion Rifle sights loads a high-impact burst that stuns unshielded combatants. Strong against Unstoppable Champions.”
Another Unstoppable mod that requires aiming down sights to stun Champions. Works with both Fusion and Linear Fusion Rifle weapon archetypes and can be helpful for bursting down Champions at a distance.
Armor Slot: Class Item
Energy Cost: 6
“Causing damage with a Solar ability weakens Champions for a short duration.”
Although it is only specifically useable on Champions, this mod is particularly useful as it allows Solar powered melees, grenades, and Supers to cripple Champions in order to defeat them quickly in high-tier activities.
Armor Slot: Class Item
Energy Cost: 2
“Gain Stasis ability energy whenever you or a member of your fireteam stuns a Champion.”
This mod will allow Stasis subclass Guardians to recharge all of their abilities up so long as they are continuously stunning a Champion. As it also triggers off of fireteam members, it allows teams to alternate their abilities or simply allow them to recharge all their energy before moving on to the next challenge.
Armor Slot: Class Item
Energy Cost: 3
“Solar and Stasis melees disrupt combatants, stunning them, delaying ability regeneration and lowering combatant damage output.
Strong against Overload Champions. Refresh your melee ability whenever you or a member of your fireteam stuns an Overload Champion.”
Allows Guardians running either Solar or Stasis subclasses to use their powered melees to stun Overload Champions. Particularly Revenant Hunters and Dawnblade Warlocks will be able to make the most out of this mod, especially when using their ranged melee abilities. Pairs well with
Armor Slot: General (Combat Style)
Energy Cost: 1
“Defeating a Champion spawns a random array of Solar and Stasis wells.”
This mod will give additional ability energy to any Guardian that picks up the Elemental Wells that spawn, but Solar and Stasis subclasses will get the most energy out of them. The burst of wells makes this mod pair well with other Elemental Well mods, especially those that reward picking up wells matching their equipped subclass.
Armor Slot: General (Combat Style)
Energy Cost: 5
“Picking up a matching elemental well grants you Super energy.”
Encourages the use of Elemental Well mods to charge Supers quickly, and is even more useful when members of your fireteam use the same element while running those mods. Can be used in conjunction with
Armor Slot: Class Item
Energy Cost: 4
“Casting a Solar Super restores you to full health and shields.”
The use of any Solar Super will heal the Guardian using this mod. This can be particularly strong when in a pinch in both Nightfalls and the Crucible, but is dependent on having enough Super energy.
Armor Slot: Arms
Energy Cost: 2
“Defeating a combatant with a Solar or Stasis melee creates an Orb of Power.”
Using a melee that can recharge itself multiple times or increase its ability charge rate from Solar and Stasis subclasses can potentially make this mod very strong in both PvE and PvP activities. The generation of Orbs of Power can make it possible to avoid Intellect and instead make Strength-oriented builds when distributing stats on armor. The only downside is that the kills must be with powered melee kills so some classes may not be able to take as much advantage of this mod.
Armor Slot: Class Item
Energy Cost: 3
“Your Light abilities do bonus damage to combatants affected by Stasis.”
Returning from Season of the Chosen, this powerful mod is able to magnify Light abilities’ damage on Stasis-afflicted enemies. Stasis weapons
Armor Slot: Class Item
Energy Cost: 7
“Dealing damage to a combatant with a Fusion Rifle or Linear Fusion Rifle grants bonus damage with a Fusion Rifle or Linear Fusion Rifle against that combatant for a short duration. This effect stacks up to 5 times.”
Most likely on of the stronger mods this season, this mod will allow Guardians to stack bonus damage with a large variety of Fusion and Linear Fusion Rifles, both Legendary and Exotic. While it provides what is technically a debuff, this can stack similarly to Focusing Lens with other buffs and debuffs. Additionally, any tick of damage done with either weapon archetype will count towards the application of the debuff, so weapons with multiple ticks of damage such as
Note that Scavenger mods no longer stack, so only one slot should be dedicated to a specific weapon when using those mods. Ammo Finder mods have also been changed so that Primary weapons can increase chances of finding Special or Heavy ammo specified by the mod equipped.
This guide contains information on mods as they were at the time of writing. Specifically, this information was gathered as of Patch 3.3.0. Unless specified below, information or changes from later patches is not included.
