Elemental damage

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Elemental damage is a modifier that exists on certain attacks and weapons. Elemental damage is one of the manifestations of Light and Darkness, and can be used to a player's advantage to make their attacks more effective. It comes into play for both Guardians and enemies.

Elemental Types

"A spark can give life...or take it."

— Grimoire Arc text.

"Sometimes the only answer is to burn it all away."

— Grimoire Solar text.

"It's fitting, then, that we have weaponized the unknown."

— Grimoire Void text.

"Darkness resides within, beckoning you. This is a truth we cannot hide from, so we must embrace it."

— The Stranger

There are five types of damage types:

• Kinetic—White—the default damage type on most weapons. Will cause basic damage to any enemy.
• Solar—Orange—causes Solar damage.
• Arc—Blue—causes Arc damage.
• Void—Purple—causes Void damage.
• Stasis—Indigo—causes Stasis damage.

Weapons

Weapons can be infused with elemental damage; by default, most weapons only do kinetic damage, but some may come with modifiers. The modifier is indicated not only on the weapon's stats but also in the weapon menu on the HUD. At the common level, only Fusion Rifles deal elemental damage, but at higher levels nearly all special and heavy weapons deal elemental damage. Only a handful of primary weapons deal elemental damage, and most of those weapons are typically acquired in Raids.

The damage type on most weapons is random, though some weapons such as Exotics or Legendary Raid weapons have a set damage type.

In Destiny 2, all Energy and Power weapons have an elemental damage type, while all Kinetic weapons exclusively deal Kinetic damage (with the exception of Cryosthesia 77K, Fractethyst and Vulpecula, which also deals Stasis damage).

Weapon Class	Solar	Arc	Void	Stasis	Kinetic
Auto Rifle	Abyss Defiant, Hard Light†, Tommy's Matchbook	Necrochasm, Zhalo Supercell, Hard Light†	Atheon's Epilogue, Hard Light†		Sweet Business, Monte Carlo, Cerberus+1, Suros Regime
Submachine Gun	Tarrabah	Riskrunner	The Recluse		The Huckleberry
Pulse Rifle	Outlast	Oversoul Edict, Praedyth's Timepiece	Graviton Lance		No Time to Explain, Bad Juju, Outbreak Perfected, Vigilance Wing, Blast Furnace
Scout Rifle	Vision of Confluence, Conspirator, Oxygen SR3, Skyburner's Oath, Polaris Lance	Fang of Ir Yût, Symmetry, Eternal Blazon	Royal Chase		Jade Rabbit, MIDA Multi-Tool, Randy's Throwing Knife, Dead Man's Tale
Hand Cannon	Sunshot, Eriana's Vow	Fatebringer	Word of Crota	Vulpecula	Midnight Coup, Sturm, The Last Word, Thorn, Lumina, Rose, Ace of Spades, Crimson, Malfeasance, D.F.A., Hawkmoon
Sniper Rifle	Black Hammer, Ice Breaker, Black Spindle, Borealis†, Whisper of the Worm, Far Future	Patience and Time, Hereafter, Borealis†, D.A.R.C.I., Cloudstrike, Adored	Eye of Sol, Praedyth's Revenge, Borealis†		Izanagi's Burden
Bow	Hush, Ticuu's Divination	Trinity Ghoul	Le Monarque, Leviathan's Breath, Imperial Needle		Wish-Ender
Fusion Rifle	Murmur †, Praetorian Foil, Pocket Infinity, Vex Mythoclast, Sleeper Simulant (D1), One Thousand Voices, Jötunn, Merciless	Murmur †, Light of the Abyss, Plan C, Queenbreakers' Bow, Loaded Question	Telesto, Null Composure		Bastion
Shotgun	Invective, Lord of Wolves, The Chaperone (D1), Felwinter's Lie, Duality	Astral Horizon, Found Verdict, The 4th Horseman, Legend of Acrius	Swordbreaker, Tractor Cannon, Python	Fractethyst	The Chaperone (D2), Perfect Paradox, Riiswalker
Sidearm	Drang, Devil's Ruin	Dreg's Promise, Trespasser, Vestian Dynasty		Cryosthesia 77K	Rat King, Traveler's Chosen (Exotic)
Machine Gun	Super Good Advice, Nemesis Star, Abbadon, Xenophage, Edgewise, Heir Apparent	Song of Ir Yût, Thunderlord, 21% Delirium, THE SWARM	Corrective Measure, Nova Mortis, Hammerhead, Shattered Cipher
Rocket Launcher	Hezen Vengeance, Hunger of Crota, Gjallarhorn, Dragon's Breath, Two-Tailed Fox‡, Eyes of Tomorrow, Code Duello	The Wardcliff Coil, The Hothead (D2)	Tomorrow's Answer, Truth, Deathbringer, Two-Tailed Fox
Sword	Sol Edge, Solar Infinite Edge, Raze-Lighter, The Young Wolf's Howl, The Lament	Arc Edge, Arc Infinite Edge, Bolt-Caster, Worldline Zero, Temptation's Hook	Dreadfang, Void Edge, Void Infinite Edge, Dark-Drinker, Quickfang, Goldtusk, Black Talon, Falling Guillotine
Grenade Launcher	Love and Death	The Prospector, Anarchy	The Colony, Fighting Lion	Salvation's Grip	Witherhoard
Linear Fusion Rifle	Sleeper Simulant (D2), Man o' War, Komodo-4FR	Tarantula, The Queenbreaker	Crooked Fang-4FR, Lorentz Driver	Reed’s Regret	Arbalest
Trace rifle	Prometheus Lens	Coldheart, Divinity	Wavesplitter, Ruinous Effigy	Ager's Scepter

† Murmur is capable of switching between Arc and Solar damage whereas Hard Light and Borealis can switch between Arc, Solar, and Void

‡ Two-Tailed Fox fires a Solar Rocket and a Void Rocket, but its in-game element is void.

Subclass Elements in Destiny

Each Guardian subclass focuses on one type of elemental damage. This extends to melee attacks, grenades, and Supers.

Class	Solar	Arc	Void
Hunter	Gunslinger	Bladedancer	Nightstalker
Titan	Sunbreaker	Striker	Defender
Warlock	Sunsinger	Stormcaller	Voidwalker

Subclass Elements in Destiny 2

Class	Solar	Arc	Void	Stasis
Hunter	Gunslinger	Arcstrider	Nightstalker	Revenant
Titan	Sunbreaker	Striker	Sentinel	Behemoth
Warlock	Dawnblade	Stormcaller	Voidwalker	Shadebinder

Enemies

Elemental damage will do bonus damage against certain types of enemies. The most obvious way to tell if an enemy is weak to a certain damage type is to see what color shield they have; for example, Fallen Captains with blue Absorption shields are weak to Arc attacks. Every race has at least one type of enemy shielded by default but will also have another type of enemy that's shielded whenever the Epic modifier is active (or during certain public events.)

In addition to the below list, Nightmare Hunts will also frequently spawn large groups of enemies (typically the lowest class associated with the Nightmare's original race, which normally should not be able to be shielded) with Solar shields that are unusually resistant to even matching elemental damage. Nightmare Breaker mods, obtained from the gamemode, are required to effectively penetrate these shields.

Race	Solar Shield	Arc Shield	Void Shield
Fallen	Noble Shank, Scorch Captain, Brutal Shank, Kell's Scourge†	Captain, Shock Captain, Brutal Shank, Kell's Scourge†	Servitor (Only in Destiny 2 in presumably certain Strikes), Null Captain, Brutal Shank, Kell's Scourge†
Hive	Wizard	Knight (Anointed variant in Destiny and higher ranks in Destiny 2), Omnigul	Savathûn's Handmaiden
Vex	x	Harpy Zealot	Minotaur
Cabal	Centurion	Bloodguard Legionary, Colossus (Destiny 2)	Epic-difficulty Psion Operant, Incendior (Higher levels)
Taken	Taken Captain, Taken Knight (During The Whisper Mission)	Taken Centurion	Taken Wizard, Taken Acolyte (On higher difficulties)
Bosses	Kolar, Psion Flayer, Valus Trau'ug† , Protheon, Modular Mind†	Omnigul, Will of Crota, Vatch, Psion Flayer, Valus Trau'ug† , Protheon, Modular Mind†	Numoc, Psion Flayer, Valus Trau'ug† , Protheon, Modular Mind†

† Indicates enemies that alternate between different shield types.

Enemy weapons and abilities typically have their own elemental damage types as well. Normally this doesn't come into play unless players are playing a mission with damage modifiers on. For example, a Nightfall mission with a 300% boost to Arc damage applies to both Guardians and enemies, so enemies that do Arc damage are especially dangerous. Note that Taken versions of enemies will do a different type of elemental damage than the original base enemy.

Race	Solar weapon	Arc weapon	Void weapon	Kinetic Weapon
Fallen	Shrapnel Launcher, Fallen Walker's main cannon, Molten Welder, Scorch Cannon	Shock Pistol, Shock Rifle, Wire Rifle, Shock Grenade, Shock Dagger, Shock Blade, Pike, Skiff, Fallen Walker's secondary armaments, Arc Spear, Melee (Wretch only)	Servitor's blasts	Melee
Hive	Acolyte Grenade, Splinter	Boomer, Thrall's melee attack, Cursed Thrall explosion, Wizard's darkness blast	Shredder, Ogre's Eye Beam attack, Shrieker, Tombship
Vex	Slap Rifle, Line Rifle, Hobgoblin's Shield	Hydra's Shield	Torch Hammer, Slap Grenade, Goblin's melee attack, Aeon Maul, Cyclops, Vex Laser Rifle	Temporal Shockwave
Cabal	Slug Rifle, Projection Rifle, Heavy Slug Thrower, Cabal Headhunter, Cabal Severus, Cabal Magma Launcher, Cabal warship Missile Fire, Harvester Missile Fire, Interceptor, Goliath Tank, Energy Shield, Cabal Melee (Legionary)	Psion Psychic Melee, Psionic Blast, Thresher Missile Fire, Cabal Slug Launcher, Cabal Slug Shotgun	Psion Void Melee, Void Orb Blast, Cabal Bronto Cannon, Cabal Melee (Centurion)	Melee (Incendior), Cabal Claws Melee (War Beast)
Splicers	Devil Splicer SIVA-infused weapons, SIVA Charge, Splicer Walker weapons (except Shock Grenades)	Shock Cannon	Null Cannon, Wretched Gaze
Taken	Taken Acolyte melee attack, Shadow Thrall melee attack, Taken Wizard Necromantic Gaze, Taken Knight Flame Bolts, Torch Hammer, Wire Rifle, Taken Incendior Magma Flame	Shredder, Acolyte's Eye, Shrapnel Launcher, Slug Rifle, Projection Rifle, Taken Ogre Eye Blast, Taken Phalanx Shield Blast, Taken Captain Darkness Bolt	Boomer, Line Rifle, Taken Hobgoblin Retaliation Swarm, Taken Centurion Axion Dart, Taken Incendior Void Fireball
Scorn	Chieftain's Solar totem, Lurker's Scorn Pistol, Scorn Walker's Armaments, Wraith's Flame Torches, Ravager's Flame Cauldron, Scorn Cannon, Scorn Blaster	Chieftain's Arc totem, Fanatic's Staff, Scorn Mine Launcher, Abomination Overcharged Ether	Scorn Rifle, Scorn Repeater Pistol, Chieftain's Void totem, Scorn Crossbow, Stalker's Scorn Grenade

Trivia

• It is unclear whether there is necessarily a distinction between the elemental damage done by weapons and the corresponding manifestation of the Light or Darkness associated with a given element; for example, a weapon which does Arc damage may not necessarily be imbued with the power of Arc Light, but rather merely fire electrified ammunition. In contrast, some weapons clearly do derive their power from the Light or Darkness, such as Salvation's Grip (which fires Stasis projectiles).
  • This is backed up by Ikora's and Drifter's notes on the elements, Ikora states we do not know what came first, the Light or the Elements, but they are fundamentally linked like Twins, and Drifter states the Pyramid's energies are getting the Elements all twisted up
• Osiris states that the Elements are a means to communicate with the Light, but recently, now with the Darkness.
• There are several types of planetary materials that responds to the Elements, Relic Crystals inside Relic Iron for Void on Mars, Zeptocyte Cores inside Spinmetal Leaves for Arc in the Cosmodrome, and Soliton Flares inside Helium Filaments for Solar on the Moon.

Gallery

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  Stasis Artwork with Description of effects

List of appearances

• Destiny (First appearance)
• Destiny 2