Dawn Chorus Ignitions

Scorch is a damage-over-time stack, and enough stacks on one target detonate as an Ignition. Everything here either applies more Scorch, makes the Ignition bigger, or turns an Ignition into ability energy. The chain comes from Solar Fulmination on the Hunter’s Journal artifact, which procs twice, so the Scorch that Ember of Char spreads out of an Ignition pushes nearby targets straight past the threshold for the next one. Ember of Ashes gets them there faster and Ember of Eruption widens the blast. Those three plus Dawn Chorus are the build. Everything below is preference.

Bring it to mid or high tier content. The chain only continues if targets survive the first Ignition long enough to carry Scorch into the next one, and in low tier content everything dies to the first detonation before anything can chain.

How it plays

Start one Ignition and the chain feeds itself. Incinerator Snap into an enemy’s feet ignites instantly at point blank, Hellion gets there in about three mortars at mid range, and a precision shot from Omniscient Eye does it in two. Phoenix Dive holds the loop together: Ember of Singeing refunds class ability energy every time you Scorch, Distribution pays back the rest of your abilities, Dynamo builds Super, and Powerful Attraction drags in nearby Orbs. Dawn Chorus refunds melee energy from both Scorch and Ignition damage with no internal cooldown, so Snap returns almost as fast as you spend it, and Focusing Strike and Impact Induction top up class ability and grenade on every melee hit.

Aspects are Hellion and Icarus Dash, the latter mostly for the three extra fragment slots. Radiant comes from Radiant Orbs on the artifact rather than the subclass, and Ember of Empyrean extends it on Solar final blows. Restoration is the gap: nothing here grants it, so if you want it, drop Icarus Dash for Heat Rises and take the doubled Restoration on Phoenix Dive.

Why the gear

Dawn ChorusFocused at Rahool, or any Exotic engram is the Exotic core. Rites of Ember raises Scorch and Ignition damage, drops the internal cooldown on the melee refund, and makes every Daybreak sword projectile ignite on impact, which is what makes the Super worth casting. Dragon's BreathExotic Archive at the Monument to Lost Lights, for an Exotic Cipher runs the same engine at boss scale. One rocket leaks fuel until the target ignites and the room goes with it, and between Heavy Ammo Finder and Solar Scavenger, which pulls two rockets per brick instead of one, you can keep firing it. Corundum Hammer carries Shoot to Loot so you can grab those bricks from cover. Omniscient Eye is worth crafting with Burning Ambition: Incendiary Rifle Rounds scorches on the first precision hit and Burning Ambition adds more on the second, making it one of the only snipers that ignites in two shots.

Four pieces of Seventh Seraph add a second explosion layer. The 2-piece generates Warmind Charges off AoE damage and Solar ability kills, which is constant here, and the 4-piece detonates powerful combatants, Shuro Chi constructs and Tangles on death for area damage and a heal. Barrier on Corundum Hammer, Overload on Omniscient Eye and Unstoppable on Dragon’s Breath cover all three Champion types.

The spread

100 Melee keeps Snap available, which is the fastest way to start a chain. 100 Class Ability keeps Hellion and Phoenix Dive cycling. Super is the stat worth pushing past 100, and at 200 with Dynamo feeding it you cast Daybreak often enough for the guaranteed ignitions to matter.