Destiny Rising Best Finnala Build

Introduction to Destiny Rising Best Finnala Build

Finnala is a Solar Defensive focused character in Destiny Rising. Check out this guide for the top builds, weapons, and artifacts that you can equip for Finnala in both PvP and PvE along with recommended alternatives and ideal teammates!

PVP Defense

Recommended Weapons

Primary Weapon	Heavy Weapon
Sworn Oath	Nobunaga

Recommended Artifacts

Slot 1	Bulwark Evolution
Slot 2	Unrelenting Evolution
Slot 3	Predator Evolution
Slot 4	Sympathetic Evolution

Since Finnala relies heavily on healing to survive, note that she’s vulnerable to characters that has a lot of anti-heal effects. To keep her alive in PvP, you’ll need to equip an Artifact et that provides damage reduction.

PVE Defense

Recommended Weapons

Primary Weapon	Heavy Weapon
Sworn Oath	Partridge Sky

Recommended Artifacts

Slot 1	Chiaroscuro
Slot 2	Inverted Tenacity
Slot 3	Upright Vengeance
Slot 4	Inverted Survival

Finnala specializes in inflicting debuffs like Scorched and Suppression on nearby enemies. While she has access to a wide range of weapons, her potential shines in close combat, so we recommend equipping her the strongest sword you have.

PvP Weapons

Primary

Heavy

Recommended

Sworn Oath

A well-rounded weapon that’s simple and reliable to use. Avoid reloading too soon to take advantage of the bonus damage in the second half of the magazine. Lacks any significant drawbacks, but also doesn’t offer a standout strength.

Alternative

Sweet Business

Huge magazine and Intrinsic Trait reduce the need for frequent reloading. Can shred enemies once the Rate of Fire ramps up. Aside from damage and magazine size, other stats feel weaker until the weapon is fully spun up.

Recommended

Nobunaga

Her heavy attack dash compensate for her melee only limitation with swords. Bonus movement speed from her final blows help her close gaps on enemies. Requires a good trait rolls to fully maximize her potential.

Alternative

Partridge Sky

Her heavy attack AoE ensures reliable damage output. Her battle cry is extremly strong, but it’s toned down in PvP. She generally struggle with swords in PvP unless you can consistently close the gap.

In PvP, Sworn oath is your most reliable Primary weapon. It offers consistency without the spin up drawback of sweet business. For your heavy slot, Nobunaga stands out as the best choice. Its heavy attack dash lets you close gaps effectively, whereas most other swords struggle to reach skilled opponents.

That said, if you can stay alive long enough, sweet business can still be a strong primary option, since it becomes extremely powerful once fully spun up.

PvE Weapons

Primary

Heavy

Recommended

Sworn Oath

A well-rounded weapon that’s simple and reliable to use. Avoid reloading too soon to take advantage of the bonus damage in the second half of the magazine. Lacks any significant drawbacks, but also doesn’t offer a standout strength.

Alternative

Sweet Business

Huge magazine and Intrinsic Trait reduce the need for frequent reloading. Can shred enemies once the Rate of Fire ramps up. Aside from damage and magazine size, other stats feel weaker until the weapon is fully spun up.

Recommended

Partridge Sky

Her heavy attack AoE ensures reliable damage output. Her battle cry is extremly strong, but it’s toned down in PvP. She generally struggle with swords in PvP unless you can consistently close the gap.

Alternative

Makeshift Ending	Always remember to use Heavy Attacks with full energy to deal maximum damage. Note that broken shields are risky, but the final blow buff makes them rewarding. Strong Trait rolls are super essential to unlock her full potential.
Nobunaga	Her heavy attack dash compensate for her melee only limitation with swords. Bonus movement speed from her final blows help her close gaps on enemies. Requires a good trait rolls to fully maximize her potential.
CLY2 Kakalik	You gain a charge rate boost just by moving towards your enemies. This relies on strong Trait rolls to reach full effectiveness. The culture clash’s perk upgrade is especially effective in encounters with either the fallen or cabal forces.

In PvP, her weapon options are far more flexible than in PvE. While any Primary can work, we recommend using Sword Oath since it pairs well with Partridge sky as her heavy weapon.

Alternatively, if you’d rather prioritize a strong firearm over melee combat, you can swap partridge sky for sweet business and equip any mythic sword you’d like instead.

PvP Artifacts

Slot 1

Slot 2

Slot 3

Slot 4

Best Artifact

Bulwark Evolution

This provides up to ~36% damage reduction at maximum stacks. This can technically be countered by slow, heavy-hitting attacks, though this is not that common. You need to exercise caution at the start of fights before Armored is fully stacked.

Alternate Options

Chiaroscuro	A strong emergency option when your HP gets dangerously low. The added damage reduction this provides is helpful, but the reduced healing can be a drawback. Since being under 50% HP is risky, it’s best to avoid reaching that threshold whenever possible.
Healing Radiation	Excellent for melee-focused characters who benefit from extra healing. Becomes more effective when paired with teammates that apply multiple debuffs. Can be countered by enemies or characters that block healing effects.

Best Artifact

Unrelenting Evolution

It is always nice to have damage reduction. Encourages stacking multiple sources of damage reduction for greater survivability. This can limit build variety since you’ll want to prioritize other ways of gaining armored.

Alternate Options

Inverted Tenacity	This can be a reliable emergency tool if your HP drops too low. This will give your supports more time to react and heal you. Since being under 38% HP is already risky, we recommend avoiding reaching that threshold whenever possible.
Resolute Radiation	Damage reduction is always nice to have. Much more effective in PvP, where the debuffs are applied more frequently. Less impactful if you have a team that can protect you and prevent debuff from landing.

Best Artifact

Predator Evolution

This boosts damage output in defense focused builds. It can also restrict build options if you lack multiple sources of damage resistance. This is best used by spreading out damage reduction gains during long fights to maintain max stacks.

Alternate Options

Upright Vengeance	This is a high risk, high reward playstyle. You’ll need to rely on consistent healing to stay effective. Often outclassed by a much more safer and more reliable sources of damage buffs.
Bellicose Radiation	Valuable in situations where you’re constantly under damage-over-time effects. Works best when triggered by a weak DoT for safer activation. Less effective in PvE since a strong team can often prevent DoT effects altogether.

Best Artifact

Sympathetic Evolution

Provides a damage boost while supporting a more defensive playstyle. Becomes stronger when both the user and allies can consistently generate overshields. Aim to maintain an overshield-to-HP ratio between 36–100% to maximize the damage bonus.

Alternate Options

Inverted Survival	A reliable damage buff that’s always valuable to have. Needs good cooldown management to maintain effectiveness. Effective whether the movement ability is used offensively or defensively.
Rampaging Radiation	Encourages a high-risk, high-reward playstyle. Demands careful cooldown management to avoid excessive HP loss. Works best with builds or teammates that can provide strong support, since sacrificing HP is always dangerous.

In PvP, we recommend equipping an ARtifact that’s focused on stacking damage reduction. Since some of the characters can apply anti-heal, Finnala can’t always rely on her healing, making damage reduction the most reliable way to stay alive.

PvE Artifacts

Slot 1

Slot 2

Slot 3

Slot 4

Best Artifact

Chiaroscuro

A strong emergency option when your HP gets dangerously low. The added damage reduction this provides is helpful, but the reduced healing can be a drawback. Since being under 50% HP is risky, it’s best to avoid reaching that threshold whenever possible.

Alternate Options

Bulwark Evolution	This provides up to ~36% damage reduction at maximum stacks. This can technically be countered by slow, heavy-hitting attacks, though this is not that common. You need to exercise caution at the start of fights before Armored is fully stacked.
Healing Radiation	Excellent for melee-focused characters who benefit from extra healing. Becomes more effective when paired with teammates that apply multiple debuffs. Can be countered by enemies or characters that block healing effects.

Best Artifact

Inverted Tenacity

This can be a reliable emergency tool if your HP drops too low. This will give your supports more time to react and heal you. Since being under 38% HP is already risky, we recommend avoiding reaching that threshold whenever possible.

Alternate Options

Unrelenting Evolution	It is always nice to have damage reduction. Encourages stacking multiple sources of damage reduction for greater survivability. This can limit build variety since you’ll want to prioritize other ways of gaining armored.
Resolute Radiation	Damage reduction is always nice to have. Much more effective in PvP, where the debuffs are applied more frequently. Less impactful if you have a team that can protect you and prevent debuff from landing.

Best Artifact

Upright Vengeance

This is a high risk, high reward playstyle. You’ll need to rely on consistent healing to stay effective. Often outclassed by a much more safer and more reliable sources of damage buffs.

Alternate Options

Predator Evolution	This boosts damage output in defense focused builds. It can also restrict build options if you lack multiple sources of damage resistance. This is best used by spreading out damage reduction gains during long fights to maintain max stacks.
Bellicose Radiation	Valuable in situations where you’re constantly under damage-over-time effects. Works best when triggered by a weak DoT for safer activation. Less effective in PvE since a strong team can often prevent DoT effects altogether.

Best Artifact

Inverted Survival

A reliable damage buff that’s always valuable to have. Needs good cooldown management to maintain effectiveness. Effective whether the movement ability is used offensively or defensively.

Alternate Options

Sympathetic Evolution	Provides a damage boost while supporting a more defensive playstyle. Becomes stronger when both the user and allies can consistently generate overshields. Aim to maintain an overshield-to-HP ratio between 36–100% to maximize the damage bonus.
Rampaging Radiation	Encourages a high-risk, high-reward playstyle. Demands careful cooldown management to avoid excessive HP loss. Works best with builds or teammates that can provide strong support, since sacrificing HP is always dangerous.

Unlike in PvP, PvE encounters don’t usually feature anti-heal effects unless specifically noted in the activity details. This gives her a much more flexibility with her artifact set. That said, since she’s a Defense character who naturally draws enemy aggro, we still recommend to lean toward defensive options.

Recommended Teammates

PVP

Gwynn	She’s a great diving partner who can help redirect enemy aggro with Signature 1 chaining into Signature 2 for strong combo potential. Other than that, Signature 2 is useful for dealing with enemy gunfire outside of her melee range which adds flexibiliti n different combat situations.
Attal	She can heal Finnala more easily since she doesn’t need to stay stationary to do so. Also, she brings added safety by applying Blind, though Finnala has a harder time protecting her compared to other Defense characters.

These characters synergizes well with Finnala in PvP, but their value is specific to her playstyle. Depending on your team composition, other characters may serve as stronger teammates overall.

PVE

Jolder	She’s a great diving partner who can help redirect enemy aggro with Signature 1 chaining into Signature 2 for strong combo potential. Other than that, Signature 2 is useful for dealing with enemy gunfire outside of her melee range which adds flexibiliti n different combat situations.
Attal	She can heal Finnala more easily since she doesn’t need to stay stationary to do so. Also, she brings added safety by applying Blind, though Finnala has a harder time protecting her compared to other Defense characters.

These character pair well with Finnala in PvE, though their effectiveness vary depending on the mission you’re doing. Just make sure to evaluate whether they’re a solid overall pick before committing to them.

Conclusion

Overall, Finnala shines as a durable Defense character who thrives in PvP and PvE if supported with the right builds, weapons, and team. While her reliance on healing can be a weakness against anti-heal effects, note that stacking damage reduction and pairing her with synergistic allies ensures she remains a reliable frontline presence. With the right setup, she can control aggro, apply impactful debuffs, and create opportunities for her team to secure victory.

Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q)