Destiny 2 Warlock BuildThe PERFECT Mataiodoxia Build!

When Ash and Iron launched, Bungie gave Threadlings a 20% damage boost against all enemies. On top of that, we got some new Artifact mods that really focus on Strand builds.

Because of this, a lot of players started using the Swarmers exotic boots, since they create Threadlings from Tangles. They were fun, effective, and a go-to choice.

But today, we’re looking at a different exotic that’s now much stronger thanks to these changes. That exotic is the Mataiodoxia chest piece.

What Mataiodoxia Does

This exotic upgrades your Arcane Needles—a Strand melee ability.

Your needles can now pierce enemy shields, even Barrier Champion shields.

You get 3 charges of Arcane Needles. In lower-level activities, one needle can break a Barrier shield. In tougher activities like Grandmasters, it might take two.

Arcane Needles also:

Unravel enemies (causing damage over 8 seconds).

Mark enemies when you hit them.

If a marked enemy dies, it creates a suspending explosion that locks down nearby enemies.

If you hit a marked enemy with another needle, it instantly suspends them.

This means you can constantly Unravel, Suspend, and damage enemies, keeping them locked down.

On top of that, every kill with Arcane Needles—or kills on suspended enemies—gives you back bonus melee energy.

Regular enemies: 15% melee energy back.

Stronger enemies: Up to 100% back instantly.

So you basically have a near-endless supply of needles.

Why Your Melee Stat Matters

Your Melee stat controls both the damage and the cooldown of Arcane Needles, so this is the most important stat to build into.

At 100 Melee, you get a 190% bonus to all melee energy gains.

Example: the perk Pugilist normally gives 10% melee energy on a weapon kill. At 100 Melee, it gives 19% instead.

At 200 Melee, your Arcane Needles deal 30% more damage—making them even stronger against Champions and shields.

If you can’t hit 200 naturally, you can use Font mods for an extra +50 Melee while Armor Charge is active. But a more consistent option is Paragon armor, which boosts melee, super, and either class or grenade stats. Both class abilities and grenades can create Threadlings, which ties into this build perfectly.

Strand vs. Prismatic

On Strand subclass, Mataiodoxia is already strong, especially with the Thread of Evolution fragment (+33% Threadling damage and range).

But on Prismatic subclass, it becomes even better.

Prismatic lets you pair Arcane Needles with:

Threadling Grenades

Needle Storm Super

Weaver’s Call (Rift Threadlings)

Phoenix Dive (heals you and spawns Threadlings)

Since Threadling damage now generates class energy, you can use Phoenix Dive much more often. And with Devour from Feed the Void, you’ll also get healing and grenade energy back. This massively increases your Threadling grenade uptime, letting you spawn tons of little green allies.

With Transcendence active, your melee and grenade recharge even faster. While grenades switch to combination form during Transcendence, Arcane Needles regenerate insanely quickly, so you’ll still be spamming them nonstop.

Key Fragments & Mods

Here are the most important pieces of the setup:

Facet of Dawn → 20% weapon damage buff after hitting with a Needle.

Facet of Hope → Bonus class energy when Radiance or Woven Mail is active.

Facet of Purpose → Gain Woven Mail from Orbs of Power.

Facet of Balance → Bonus melee energy from Light kills and grenade energy from Darkness kills.

Facet of Awakening → Creates pickups (often Threadlings) when you defeat enemies.

Artifact mods like Tightly Woven, Shield Crush, Pack Tactics, and Threaded Blast make Threadlings stronger, give them Champion-stunning power, and further improve your melee/gunplay synergy.

Best Weapons for the Build

Strand weapons with Hatchling, Tear, or Slice are excellent.

Legendary weapons with Pugilist (for melee energy), Grave Robber (reloads from melee), or Demolitionist (grenade energy) all fit well.

Attrition Orbs is also great for generating Orbs of Power to keep Woven Mail active.

Exotics that work well:

The Final Warning

Quicksilver Storm

Wish-Keeper

But the standout option is Monte Carlo → gives melee energy from sustained damage, works with Kinetics, and helps fuel Transcendence energy.

Pair this with Tech Sec armor for insane shield damage (200% with 2 pieces) and explosions on high-value enemies (with 4 pieces). Or mix 2 Tech Sec + 2 Smoke Jumper for more survivability.

👉 In short: Mataiodoxia turns Arcane Needles into a barrier-breaking, enemy-suspending, energy-regenerating machine. On Prismatic, it goes even further by creating an army of Threadlings, giving you near-endless abilities, constant healing, and Champion-stunning power.

It’s easily one of the strongest Strand exotics in the game right now.