The Sigil of the Striker
At close quarters a fist is better than any gun.

Striker is an Arc-based Titan subclass featured in Destiny and Destiny 2. This subclass of Titan is associated with pure offense and facing the enemy head-on and at melee range.

Overview

"The dream of the City. Its Walls keep it together. Its spears—the Strikers—are what keep it alive."
— Commander Zavala

According to Zavala, Striker Titans are considered the figurative "spears" of the City; going on the offensive and charging with Arc energy at their foes in full on melee combat. While they lack the velocity of the Hunter Bladedancers or the mastery of the Warlock Stormcallers, Strikers are known for their strength charging their bodies with Arc energy and unleashing it with the burst and the lingering Arc impact for maximum disruption and destruction. Their subclass ultimately follows the principle of charge and chance in Arc energy, the Striker embodying the concepts of haste and perpetuity often found in electromagnetic forces. Because of this, Striker Titans often rush headlong into danger so others would not have too; turning their fists and even their entire body into an Arc-powered weapon to cause the most damage with.

Lore

 
"And my vanquisher will read that book, seeking the weapon, and they will come to understand me, where I have been and where I was going."
The following is a verbatim transcription of an official document for archival reasons. As the original content is transcribed word-for-word, any possible discrepancies and/or errors are included.

Grimoire

Striker Titans charge into close combat, armored in Light and wielding fistfuls of thunder.

Striker tactics depend on shock and disciplined aggression. They must awe and scatter the enemy, or risk being overwhelmed. Fellow Guardians prize their ability to draw fire as they shatter the enemy line.[1]

Destiny 2

You'd think the problem with showing up empty-handed to a gunfight would be the bullets. And yes, turning a gunfight into a fistfight is an awful lot of work, tactically speaking, but really I just don't have the patience for all the hiding, and all the fumbling for batteries or flechettes or whatever when it's time to reload, which seems to happen the moment I start to enjoy myself.

Hiding and reloading. Hiding and reloading. Sounds amazing; you all have fun. My fists don't need reloading.

Back to the problem. The problem with fists is hygiene. Paint your armor fist to shoulder in alien ichor, toxic robotic lubricant, and ashes. Now take a good look at yourself. That's the only reason I envy the hiders and the reloaders. They get to stay clean.

Season of Plunder

"Would you please just shoot them?!"

Of course a Hunter would put it that way. As if I didn't have a perfectly viable alternative.

Beams of energy blasted around us as we quarreled from behind our cover.

"Look, I'll have this whole place cleared out in 20 seconds."

"And if you're overwhelmed? I suppose you expect us to simply charge into the fray to save you?"

Leave it to a Warlock to look for the safe way out.

"You just don't get it," I grumble.

"What?" they yell in frustrated unison amid the din of the battlefield.

"Let me guess," the Hunter quips, "your fists don't need reloading."

Chuckles all around. Time to set them straight.

"The space the bullet travels is a chasm of disconnection that can't be bridged by a gun; no amount of firepower has the means to shoulder the responsibility of personal impact." Now everyone rolls their eyes, but I press on.

"There is no distance between my fist and my target, captivated by a gift of sparks. It's very personal—one final chance to connect."

Silence.

"You want to connect with the Hive?"

All right, argument over. My fists can do the talking.

Notable Strikers

Upgrades (Destiny 1)

Tier 1—Grenades

  • Flashbang Grenade—an explosive grenade that disorients the enemies it damages
  • Pulse Grenade—a grenade that periodically damages enemies inside its explosion radius
  • Lightning Grenade—a grenade that sticks to any surface, periodically emitting bolts of lightning

Tier 2—Movement

  • Lift—Jump and then press again while in the air to activate Lift
  • Increased Height—upgrades Lift to travel to greater heights
  • Increased Control—upgrades Lift for better directional control while in the air
  • Catapult—upgrades Lift to provide a strong initial burst of momentum

Tier 3—Super

  • Fist of Havoc—smash the ground and dissolve nearby enemies in a maelstrom of Arc Light
  • Aftermath—Fist of Havoc leaves a damage-dealing field in its wake
  • Death from Above—after jumping, Fist of Havoc can be aimed at enemies below
  • Shockwave—Fist of Havoc unleashes a wave of devastating energy which travels along the ground

Tier 4—Melee

  • Storm Fist—a punishing melee attack that deals bonus damage.
  • Overload—hits with Storm Fist have a chance to immediately reset its cooldown
  • Discharge—hits with Storm Fist deal area of effect damage around the target
  • Amplify—kills with Storm Fist significantly reduce the cooldown of Fist of Havoc

Tier 5—Training 1

  • Titan Codex I—training focused on battle recovery and toughness
  • Titan Codex II—training focused on speed and toughness
  • Titan Codex III—training focused on battle recovery and speed

Tier 6—Perks 1

  • Headstrong—sprinting increases the leap distance of Fist of Havoc
  • Aftershocks—increases the duration of Pulse Grenade, Lightning Grenade, and Aftermath
  • Transfusion—kills with Storm Fist or Shoulder Charge immediately trigger health regeneration

Tier 7—Training 2

  • Titan Codex IV—training focused on all attributes
  • Titan Codex V—training focused on maximum battle recovery
  • Titan Codex VI—training focused on raw speed

Tier 8—Perks 2

  • Unstoppable—you are harder to kill while using Fist of Havoc
  • Shoulder Charge—after sprinting for a short time, press to unleash a devastating melee attack
  • Juggernaut—after sprinting for a short time, gain a protective shield

Upgrades (Destiny 2)

 
Striker 2.0 subclass splash art

Super

  • Fist of Havoc: Charge your fists. Once activated, you can shoulder charge or ground slam until Super energy is depleted.

Grenades

  • Flashbang Grenade: An explosive grenade that disorients enemies upon detonation.
  • Pulse Grenade: A grenade that periodically emits energy pulses that damage enemies within radius.
  • Lightning Grenade: A grenade that sticks to any surface and periodically emits pulses of lightning that damage enemies.

Movement

  • High Lift: Upgrades Lift to reach greater heights
  • Strafe Lift: Upgrades Lift to provide better directional control.
  • Catapult Lift: Upgrades Lift to provide a strong initial burst of speed.

Class Abilities

  • Towering Barricade: Create a large barrier that can be used to reinforce a position with cover from enemy fire.
  • Rally Barricade: Create a small barrier that you can peek over while aiming down sights and that increases reload speed for your equipped weapon when you stand behind it.

Code of the Juggernaut

  • Frontal Assault: Strike an enemy with this melee ability to reload your weapon and increase both your weapon stability and weapon damage.
  • Reversal: Melee kills immediately trigger health regeneration.
  • Knockout: Critically wounding an enemy or breaking their shields increases your melee range and damage.
  • Trample: Destroying enemies with Fists of Havoc extend its duration.

Code of the Earthshaker

  • Seismic Strike: After sprinting, for a short time, use this melee ability to slam shoulder-first into your target and release an Arc explosion on impact.
  • Aftershocks: Damaging enemies with Seismic Strike recharges your grenade.
  • Magnitude: Gain an additional grenade charge. Increased the duration of grenade effects.
  • Terminal Velocity: Fists of Havoc's ground slam attack leaves a damage-dealing field in its wake and deals more damage the longer it's in the air.

Code of the Missile

  • Thundercrash: A new Super that hurls through the air like a missle and crash into enemies to inflict meteoric damage.
    • Replaces Fists of Havoc as subclass Super.
  • Ballistic Slam: After sprinting, leap into the air and press the melee button to slam into the ground and damage nearby targets.
  • Impact Conversion: Hitting enemies with Ballistic Slam grants Super energy and activates Inertia Override.
  • Inertia Override: Picking up ammo during a slide reloads your equipped weapon and increases weapon damage for a short time.

Upgrades Arc 3.0 (Destiny 2: Witch Queen)

 
Striker 3.0 subclass background

Super

  • Fists of Havoc: Supercharge your fists and slam the ground with the force of a maelstrom. While active:
    • Grenade button: Quickly charge forward, dealing damage to any impacted targets.
    • Melee Button: Slam your fists to the ground, blinding targets and dealing damage in an area around you and leaving aftershocks in your wake. Performing a slam from the air deals additional damage.
  • Thundercrash: Hurtle through the air like a missile and crash into targets in inflict meteoric damage.

Grenades

  • Skip Grenade: A grenade which splits on impact, creating multiple projectiles which seek targets.
  • Flux Grenade: An explosive grenade that attaches to targets.
  • Arcbolt Grenade: A grenade that chains bolts of lightning to nearby targets.
  • Pulse Grenade: A grenade that periodically damages targets within its explosion radius.
  • Storm Grenade: A grenade that calls down a focused lightning storm.
  • Flashbang Grenade: An explosive grenade that damages and blinds nearby targets.
  • Lightning Grenade: A grenade that sticks to any surface and emits bolts of lightning.

Melee

  • Thunderclap:
    • Melee button (Hold): Hold while grounded to plant your feet and begin charging your fist with Arc energy.
    • Melee button: Release to unleash a devastating blast in front of you, dealing damage that increases with longer charge time.
  • Ballistic Slam: After sprinting and while airborne, activate your charged melee ability to slam to the ground, dealing damage to nearby enemies.
  • Seismic Strike: After sprinting for a short time, activate your charged melee ability to slam shoulder-first into your target, damaging and blinding enemies in an area around them.

Movement

  • Catapult Lift: Jump while airborne to activate Lift and launch into the air with a strong initial burst of momentum.
  • Strafe Lift: Jump while airborne to activate Lift and launch into the air with a strong directional control.
  • High Lift: Jump while airborne to activate Lift and launch into the air to greater heights.

Class Abilities

  • Towering Barricade: Create a large barrier that can be used to reinforce a position with cover enemy fire.
  • Rally Barricade: Create a small barrier that you can peek over while aiming down sights and that increases weapon reload speed, stability, and range when you stand behind it.
  • Thruster: While grounded, quickly evade in a lateral direction.

Aspects

  • Touch of Thunder (A bell that shakes with the remembrance of its final toll. It will sound again with the proper touch.): Your Flashbang, Pulse, Lightning, and Storm Grenades have enhanced functionality. Fragment Slots (2).
    • Flashbang Grenade: Emits an additional blinding flash on bounce.
    • Pulse Grenade: Creates Ionic Traces periodically as it damages targets over time.
    • Lightning Grenade: Grants an additional grenade charge and jolts targets hit by the initial blast.
    • Storm Grenade: After detonating, creates a roaming thundercloud that tracks nearby targets and fire bolts of lightning at foes.
  • Knockout (An orb of dancing plasma, you hold the power of raw lightning in your fist. One strike is all you need.): Critically wounding a target or breaking their shield infuses your melee attacks with Arc energy and increases your melee range and damage for a short time. Defeating targets with melee attacks starts health regeneration and makes you amplified. Fragment Slots (2).
  • Juggernaut (A championship ring, dented and dirtied. They'll try to stop in your tracks. Get up close and personal.): With full class ability energy and after sprinting for a short time, you gain a frontal shield that blocks incoming damage. When the frontal shield breaks, your class ability energy is depleted. While amplified, the shield blocks significantly more damage before breaking. Fragment Slots (2).

Fragments

  • Spark of Amplitude: Rapidly defeating targets while you are amplified creates an Orb of Power.
  • Spark of Beacons: While you are amplified, your Arc Special or Heavy ammo weapon final blows create a blinding explosion.
  • Spark of Brilliance: Defeating a blinded target with precision damage creates a blinding explosion. +10 Intellect.
  • Spark of Discharge: Arc weapon final blows have a chance to create an Ionic Trace. -10 Strength.
  • Spark of Feedback: Taking melee damage briefly increases your outgoing melee damage. +10 Resilience.
  • Spark of Focus: After sprinting for a short duration, your class ability regeneration is increased. -10 Resilience.
  • Spark of Frequency: Melee hits greatly increase your reload speed for a short duration.
  • Spark of Haste: You have greatly increased mobility, resilience, and recovery while sprinting.
  • Spark of Instinct: When critically wounded, taking damage from nearby targets emits a burst of damaging Arc energy that jolts targets.
  • Spark of Ions: Defeating a jolted target creates an Ionic Trace.
  • Spark of Magnitude: Your lingering Arc grenades (Lightning Grenade, Pulse Grenade, and Storm Grenade) have extended duration.
  • Spark of Momentum: Sliding over ammo bricks reloads your equipped weapon and grants a small amount of melee energy.
  • Spark of Recharge: While critically wounded, your melee and grenade energy regenerates more quickly.
  • Spark of Resistance: While surrounded by combatants, you are more resistant to incoming damage. +10 Strength.
  • Spark of Shock: Your grenades jolt targets. -10 Discipline.
  • Spark of Volts: Finishers make you amplified. +10 Recovery.

List of appearances

References

  1. ^ Bungie (2014/9/9), Destiny, Grimoire: Striker