Combination Blow is one of the most satisfying melee abilities in Destiny 2, turning the Arcstrider Hunter into a close-quarters powerhouse. When you chain kills with this charged melee, your damage ramps up dramatically, melting through adds and even chunking bosses. But if you are building around this ability, you have probably stared at your armor stats wondering: do I really need 70 Strength? And what about Mobility, the class stat that fuels your dodge? This guide breaks down exactly how much of each stat you truly need to make your Combination Blow build shine, so you can stop guessing and start punching.
The short answer is no, 70 Strength is not a hard requirement, and Mobility is actually far more important. However, the full picture depends on your playstyle, the content you are running, and the specific combat loop you want to sustain. Below, we dissect how Combination Blow works, why certain stats matter more than others, and how to min-max your build for maximum lethality.
How Combination Blow Works
Combination Blow is the Arcstrider Hunter’s melee ability. Landing a final blow with this charged melee grants a stack of Combination Blow, temporarily increasing your melee damage. The buff stacks up to three times, with each stack refreshing the duration. At maximum stacks, your melee attacks hit incredibly hard, capable of one-punching red bars and putting serious hurt on tougher enemies.
The key to keeping this engine running is not waiting for your melee to naturally recharge. Instead, the standard combo loop relies on the Gambler’s Dodge class ability. When you dodge near an enemy, Gambler’s Dodge instantly refunds your melee charge. So the ideal gameplay flow is: get a melee kill, dodge near the next enemy to regain your melee, punch again, repeat. This loop is why stat priorities for a Combination Blow build differ from generic setups.
The Role of Strength in a Combination Blow Build
Strength is the stat that governs your melee cooldown. The higher your Strength, the faster your melee ability recharges on its own. At tier 10 (100 Strength), the cooldown is around 31 seconds for most melee abilities, while tier 3 (30 Strength) gives you about 57 seconds. Naturally, you might think you need a lot of Strength to keep Combination Blow available, but that assumes you are relying on the passive cooldown, which you should not be.
Because Gambler’s Dodge instantly recharges your melee when used near enemies, your melee uptime depends far more on your dodge cooldown than on Strength. If you are executing the loop correctly, you will almost never wait for the natural melee recharge. Thus, Strength becomes a safety net, not a core requirement. It helps when you mess up the loop or are forced into ranged combat, but you can absolutely run low Strength and still punch constantly.
Do You Really Need 70 Strength?
The specific number 70 comes up often because, at 70 Strength, your melee cooldown is around 41 seconds, which feels reasonably short, and some build guides used to recommend hitting that threshold for consistency. In practice, however, you can go much lower without any noticeable downside if you play the loop correctly.
Many experienced Arcstriders run Strength as low as 20 or 30, investing those points into Mobility, Recovery, or other combat stats. A Strength tier of 30-40 (cooldown of 57-51 seconds) is more than adequate for most PvE activities. The only scenario where higher Strength might be beneficial is when you spend extended periods without close-range enemies to dodge near, such as certain boss fights or platforming sections. Even then, you can simply wait for your melee or toss a grenade. So, no, you do not need 70 Strength. It is a nice-to-have, not a must-have.
Class Stats and Combination Blow: The Priority of Mobility
For Hunters, the class ability stat is Mobility. This stat reduces the cooldown of your dodge, which is the linchpin of the Combination Blow loop. At 100 Mobility (tier 10), your Gambler’s Dodge cooldown is a blistering 11 seconds. At 50 Mobility, it is about 18 seconds. Those extra seconds add up when you are trying to chain melee kills, and they can cause the loop to break if you cannot dodge in time to refresh your melee before the Combination Blow stacks decay.
Because of this, Mobility is far more important for this build than Strength. Most optimized Combination Blow setups aim for at least 80 Mobility, with 100 being ideal. You can reach these high numbers through a combination of armor stats, mods like Powerful Friends (which grants +20 Mobility), and subclass fragments that boost Mobility. If you have to choose between a piece of armor with high Strength or high Mobility, pick Mobility every time.
Balancing Other Stats
While Mobility is king, you should not neglect Recovery. Recovery determines how quickly your health regenerates, and in the thick of melee combat you will take hits. A tier 7-8 Recovery (70-80) gives you a comfortable buffer. Resilience is less critical in PvE unless you are tackling endgame content where damage resistance matters, but 30-40 Resilience is a nice base. Discipline and Intellect are personal preference; a decent Discipline helps with grenade uptime for blinding or area control, while Intellect affects your Super energy. A common stat spread for a Combination Blow build is 100 Mobility, 70-80 Recovery, 30-40 Resilience, 30-40 Discipline, and 20-30 Strength, leaving Intellect wherever it falls.
Build Crafting Tips
To elevate your Combination Blow build beyond stats, lean into exotics and combat style mods. Liar’s Handshake is the classic pairing, letting your melee hit twice when triggered, and healing you on powered melee kills. Assassin’s Cowl grants invisibility and health on melee kills, adding survivability. For sheer tankiness, Wormhusk Crown heals you on every dodge.
Combat style mods like Melee Wellmaker and Well of Ions (Arc wells increase melee damage) are essential. Elemental Charge turns those wells into Charged with Light stacks, which you can spend on High-Energy Fire for even more damage or Protective Light for defense. The Lethal Current aspect causes your dodge to increase melee range and trigger a jolting aftershock, while Flow State makes you amplified on melee kills, boosting reload speed and dodge recharge. Together, these synergies make the build nearly unstoppable.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the minimum Strength I need for a Combination Blow build?
You can comfortably run as low as 20-30 Strength. The loop relies on Gambler’s Dodge, not passive melee recharge, so Strength is not critical. A tier 3-4 (30-40) is a good safety net for most players.
Can I run 100 Strength and low Mobility?
It is not recommended. High Strength without high Mobility means you cannot dodge frequently to refresh your melee, so you will often be stuck waiting for the cooldown regardless. Mobility is the engine of the build; Strength is just a backup.
Does Combination Blow benefit from One-Two Punch shotguns?
Yes, and it is a massive damage boost. After landing every pellet of a One-Two Punch shot, your next melee attack deals significantly increased damage. This stacks multiplicatively with Combination Blow stacks, enabling some of the highest melee burst damage in the game.
Is a Combination Blow build viable in high-end content like Grandmaster Nightfalls?
It can be, but it requires careful play. The close-range nature is risky against enemies that can one-shot you. Use invisibility from Assassin’s Cowl or protective mods, and do not overcommit. Many players prefer safer builds, but skilled Arcstriders can make it work.
Experimentation is the best teacher. Start with high Mobility, moderate Recovery, and low Strength, then tweak based on how often you find yourself waiting for melee. Once you dial in your stats and master the dodge-punch rhythm, you will be a whirlwind of Arc energy that few enemies can withstand.
