With the next chapter of Destiny 2 less than a few weeks away, developer Bungie briefly lifted the neon-colored veil around the Lightfall expansion. Last week, I and other members of the press got a chance to experience a hands-off preview of this expansion. This included a walkthrough of a single campaign mission, a short Q&A, and a brief breakdown of the various systems arriving on February 28th. We also got to see the new subclass, Strand, in action and learned a little about how players will unlock this in Destiny 2’s Lightfall expansion.
During the preview, Bungie explained that Strand would not be accessible upon instantly logging into the game or by visiting Ikora in The Tower. Instead, as players progress through the Lightfall campaign they will be slowly given access and learn how to use Strand. This was demonstrated in a level where the player got to interact with a column of Strand and briefly gain all the abilities of this subclass. After killing all of the enemies that then spawned, the Guardian would collapse in exhaustion and lose the temporary Strand subclass.
While this does mimic how Stasis was introduced, Bungie explained that unlocking both the Aspects and Fragments will be far less tedious. Bungie remarked during the preview that players should be “fully operational” before the new raid releases on March 10th. Players will have more freedom in which Fragments and Aspects they unlock first, which will help immensely with the greater shift towards build crafting.
We also know that some enemies will have Strand elemental shields, such as the Shadow Legion’s Centurions. Neomuna will also be a unique destination to use Strand in, as it will feature multiple grapple points that players can use. Even though users can use the Strand grappling hook in any activity, Neomuna’s grapple points will instantly refresh this ability. Players will be able to unlock and play the new Strand subclass when Destiny 2’s Lightfall expansion launches on February 28th.
