Destiny 2 Elemental Time Dilation in collections.
Image via Bungie

What Does Elemental Time Dilation Do in Destiny 2? Best Build for Mod

Add it to your toolbox or suffer the wrath of LFG.

Elemental Time Dilation is one of the best mods in Destiny 2 – but what does it do? You see high-end PvE players running it all the time for raids and Grandmasters, but if you’ve never been too into Destiny’s mod system before, its in-game description can leave you a little bit confused.

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That’s why I’m going to break down what Elemental Time Dilation does in Destiny 2. I’ll try to help you wrap your head around its effect and offer up a potential build so that you can take advantage of it for yourself.

What Does Elemental Time Dilation Do in Destiny 2?

What does Elemental Time Dilation do in Destiny 2 - timer on screen.
Image via Bungie

Elemental Time Dilation is a Stasis Well mod that lets you stack your Well buffing mods for an extended timer. If you’ve used Bountiful Wells before, it’s the same concept except instead of generating more Wells, the benefits your Wells give you will last for longer.

For example, Font of Might will give you 10 seconds of 25% more damage. Normally, running a second or third Font of Might mod would be a waste – they don’t stack with each other. However, if you have Elemental Time Dilation on, this allows your Font of Might to stack, with each additional copy of the mod adding onto the base 10-second timer.

How it adds to the timer is a bit weird. The mod, by itself, will add around three seconds to your buff timer. Running a second copy of the buff mod will add another three seconds, and a third copy extends that by another five. You can’t run more than three copies (realistically) because you need Dilation itself and a Well generation mod.

So, Time Dilation with three Font of Mights will give you a 20-second 25% damage buff. That’s a massive improvement over the base 10 seconds, especially for boss DPS strategies.

That being said, it doesn’t just work with Font of Might. It also works with the likes of Font of Wisdom. However, how much time the mod adds to the buff is dictated by the buff’s base duration. Font of Wisdom lasts for 30 seconds by default, and Elemental Time Dilation adds around five seconds to that for each additional mod.

Essentially, the longer the base buff, the more time you get with Time Dilation.

Related: Heavy-Handed Destiny 2 – What Does it Do?

Destiny 2 Best Elemental Time Dilation Build

Destiny 2 Elemental Time Dilation build inventory screen.
Image via Bungie

There are a few different ways to take advantage of Time Dilation. You can pair it with Bountiful Wells and Font of Might for some interesting results, but it’s most effective when run on its own. If you were looking to start experimenting with it, I would recommend this simple build/mod setup:

  • Elemental Ordinance.
  • Elemental Time Dilation.
  • Font of Might x3.

This mod build isn’t too demanding in terms of elemental requirements or energy costs. It keeps things simple, yet incredibly effective.

With this Elemental Time Dilation build, your grenades will generate Wells, and each Well will give you a 20-second 25% damage buff. You can pair this with whatever subclass or build you want – although grenade-focused builds take better advantage of Well generation.


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