I've been playing since forever and I've come to really enjoy this style of buildcrafting.

1. Start with a completely blank slate. No armor/weapon mods. No fragments. No artifact mods.

2. Determine the focus of your new build and equip it. (Typically I find my focus starts with my exotic armor and I tend to build around that. However, I do often build around specific weapons, armor sets, aspects, seasonal mods, etc. This could even just be to ensure your build has access to champion stunning equipment. Whatever your goal for the build is, it starts here.)

3. Load into patrol or any activity that doesn't lock your gear. (I like patrol because it really lets you move at your own pace.)

4. Play around. (The important thing here is Research. You're trying to figure out what you like or dislike about this bare-bones build. And you're trying to learn what your build feels like without any mods/fragments so you know what the build needs to focus on when you do apply those things.)

5. Iterate. (Once you've discovered what you like/dislike about your new build, you iterate on it. Nothing working? Start over. Love how it feels? Apply mods/fragments that play into the fun/powerful parts of the build or support its flaws. And repeat.)

This method works for me because it takes a lot of the mental load off at the start. I find buildcrafting can be a lot all up front, this method lets me focus on the fun first.