Woven Mail is one of the newest buffs that arrived with Destiny 2 Lightfall. On paper, it’s supposed to be a very strong sub-class buff along with Void Devour. But it’s more complicated than that. The buff is actually quite balanced, maybe that’s why most players don’t get excited about it too much. This Woven Mail Destiny 2 guide is set to deepen your understanding of this unique buff.
What is Woven Mail in Destiny 2?
According to its Destiny 2 description, “Your body is encased in a protective mesh of tightly woven Strand matter, greatly reducing any incoming non-precision damage.”
These Destiny 2 subclass buff grants players a significant amount of non-precision damage reduction for a short period of time. In terms of PvE content, players have 60 percent more damage resistance for around 10 seconds. In PvP, that number is closer to 30-40%. That’s all well and good. But there’s a catch to that.
The damage resist only applies to your Guardian’s body and limbs. It does not alter damage numbers to your head, aka your Guardian’s critical weak spot. They will still go down a sniper headshot, with or without Woven Mail.
Interestingly enough, Woven Mail can reduce poison damage from sources like Le Monarque and allows Guardians to live through certain Solar grenades albeit within an inch of their lives. Unfortunately, it does not allow you to survive a head collision with a charged Jutonn shot.
Does Woven Mail stack with other damage resist sources?
The answer to that is a resounding, yes. But here’s the rub. The way buffs stack in Destiny 2 right now is always with smaller and smaller returns.
For example, let’s say that your Guardian has their shield broken and Emergency Reinforcement gets activated. The temporary damage reduction will result in Woven Mail’s effectiveness being reduced from 60% to somewhere around 40%. Think of it as reduced benefits per buff stacked on top of each other.
Does that mean you shouldn’t stack buffs? No. There is an advantage to stacking more and more buffs. It just won’t be as much as you were initially expecting there would be.
How do you get Woven Mail Destiny 2?
As of the launch of Lightfall and Season 20, there are only a few to activate Woven Mail: Guardian Aspects, Fragments, and Exotic Armor.
All three classes have access to the Thread of Warding fragment. With this equipped, the Guardian gains Woven Mail whenever they pick up an Orb of Power. And with builds solely focused on generating Orbs of Powers, there’s never been a better time for this fragment to be in the game.
Unfortunately, that’s the extent of Warlock’s potential with Woven Mail. In fairness, they have lots of options when it comes to Threadlings, so there’s that. The other classes, on the other hand, have a bit more in terms of gameplay options.
For Titans, they have:
- Thread of Transmutation Fragment: While you have Woven Mail, weapon final blows create a Tangle.
- Into The Fray Aspect: Destroying a Tangle or casting your Super grants Woven Mail for nearby allies. While you have Wove Mail, your melee regeneration rate is increased.
Into the Fray is very important for every Strand Titan. The Aspect gives Tangles a tactical edge that isn’t available to the other classes. Titans can play around Tangles, picking them up and throwing them into walls and other Guardians for instant Woven Mail. The same happens when they cause the Tangles to explode.
If you thought Arc Titans were oppressive, try shooting into half a clip into a charging Strand Titan that can choose to suspend you anytime when they use their class ability.
They also have access to the Abeyant Leap Exotic Leg Armor. This Exotic piece comes with the perk Puppeteer’s Control that allows Drengr’s Lash to spawn two additional projectiles, track targets more aggressively, and travels farther. Gain Woven Mail when suspending targets.
Check out this video from YouTuber Destiny Fun Police showing the potential of Woven Mail on a Strand Titan.
Hunters have access to the Cyrtarachne’s Facade Exotic Helmet. Through its Acrobat’s Focus perk, they gain Woven Mail when activating grapple. They also have increased flinch resistance while Woven Mail is active.
Loaders are good for general combat. But Cyrtacachne’s Facade is the definition of Strand Hunter – live or die with Strand Grapple. In higher levels of PvP, really good Strand Hunters will set up strategic grapple points in key areas of engagement. They also set up anchor points because of our Aspect that allows for two grenade charges. You can get back your grenade energy quickly by spamming your Grapple on the grapple point. This comes with the added benefit of near-unlimited Woven Mail. In the right places, you will be an unmoveable rock against any outside of a headshot.
Check out this video from YouTuber CoolGuy where he shows off the strengths of the Cyrtarachne’s Facade in the Crucible.
And those are some more interesting facts on Woven Mail in Destiny 2. For more Destiny 2 Lightfall content, check out our other articles on the topic. Have fun out there, Guardians.