The Dreadnaught's shadows clung like tar as Elara-4's fireteam advanced, their footsteps echoing through derelict corridors. Strand energy crackled around them as Hive projectiles tore through the gloom. When their Titan's barrier shattered under sustained fire, Elara didn't reach for a healing grenade. Instead, she raised an intricate auto rifle pulsing with verdant light. Each bullet from her Adamantite sent healing threads stitching wounds while conjuring swirling Unraveling projectiles that disintegrated advancing Thrall. In that breathless moment, the Strand Support Frame weapon didn't just save lives—it redefined battlefield dynamics for Guardians daring to wield it.
🌀 The Unraveling Lifeline
Unlike conventional weapons, Adamantite fundamentally alters combat roles. As Destiny 2's first and only Strand Support Frame auto rifle, it occupies the Kinetic slot while performing three simultaneous functions:
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Allied Healing: Projectiles mend teammate wounds
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Damage Amplification: Temporarily boosts ally weapon output
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Strand Synthesis: Spawns Unraveling projectiles near healed allies
This trifecta creates chaotic support potential where every trigger pull might save a teammate while tangling enemies in destructive Strand energy. During Episode Heresy, fireteams quickly noticed how Adamantite transformed stationary defenses into mobile triage units. A common query arose: "Why Strand when Solar options exist?" The answer lies in loadout flexibility—Adamantite frees your Energy slot for exotics like riskrunner while synergizing with Strand subclass verbs like Sever and Threadlings.
🔍 PvE Perfection: Curating Your Roll
Building the ultimate Adamantite requires understanding its symphony of perks. For pure support dominance, Guardians swear by this combination:
| Perk Column | God Roll Choice | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Third Slot | Reciprocity | Slice |
| Fourth Slot | Circle of Life | Hatchling |
Reciprocity grants health returns when healing others, while Circle of Life rewards rapid ally healing with a 25% damage buff for 10 seconds. Paired? They create a self-sustaining combat loop where keeping teammates alive fuels your survivability and team damage output. Meanwhile, the constant Unraveling projectiles compensate for Adamantite's lack of traditional AoE clear.
For Strand specialists, Slice + Tear/Hatchling unlocks devastating synergy:
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Slice: Sever targets after class ability use
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Tear: Precision kills Sever nearby enemies
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Hatchling: Spawn Threadlings on precision final blows
Imagine severing a Champion's damage output after a dodge, then watching Threadlings shred its barrier—all while your bullets heal a wounded Warlock. This versatility makes Adamantite feel like three weapons in one.
⚔️ PvP's Dark Horse Contender
While auto rifles rarely dominate Crucible, Adamantite carves a tactical niche. Healing allies mid-gunfight can swing rounds, though its true power emerges through perk optimization. The PvP god roll centers on Reciprocity paired with damage enhancers:
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Kill Clip: 25% damage boost after reloading post-kill
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Circle of Life: 12.5% damage increase during rapid healing
Why this matters? Reciprocity's slight self-heal disrupts opponents' time-to-kill calculations. Combined with damage perks, Adamantite slashes optimal TTK:
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Base TTK: 0.7 seconds
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Perk-Enhanced TTK: 0.5-0.6 seconds
This lets a single guardian defending a zone become an unexpected anchor—healing teammates while melting aggressors. Still, questions linger: "Can Support Frames compete against Hand Cannon metas?" Situational awareness determines success; Adamantite shines in coordinated teams controlling lanes, not lone-wolf flanking.
🔮 Claiming Your Strand Artifact
The path to Adamantite winds through The Nether—a rogue-lite nightmare aboard the Dreadnaught. Health regeneration limitations and Boon buffs create tense, tactical runs. Success requires:
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Completing three encounter objectives
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Looting the final chest
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Hunting secret chests scattered through the ship
Four variants exist, with Adept versions demanding Expert difficulty clears. Solo farmers optimize efficiency by:
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Repeating single encounters via activity reloading
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Using the Tome of Want to target auto rifle drops
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Prioritizing Shiny variants for double-perk columns
💭 The Support Evolution
Adamantite represents more than a powerful weapon—it's a philosophy shift. Where traditional Support Frames like Solar's No Hesitation focused solely on healing, this Strand marvel integrates damage amplification and battlefield control. Yet it raises profound questions about Destiny 2's future:
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Will weapon roles continue blending into hybrid archetypes?
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Could healing capabilities become expected rather than exceptional?
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Does Strand's versatility risk overshadowing other subclasses?
As Guardians debate these threads, one truth endures: Adamantite proves that in the right hands, salvation and destruction can flow from the same barrel.