The beginning of the end
With Destiny 2: Lightfall releasing on February 28, the game is at its most exciting point yet. Lightfall is the franchise’s penultimate expansion in the Light and Dark saga, meaning this story arc will soon be coming to an end, but there are plenty of loose threads to tie up before then.
On February 16, Bungie shared a 16-minute video documentary that gave fans of the series a deeper look at Lightfall and what comes next. There was plenty of information to sink our teeth into, and we’ll dissect the Lightfall ViDoc and bring you all you need to know about its contents.
Osiris, the strand weaver
The beginning of the ViDoc shows the Traveler, which had an important cut-scene featured in the second week of February 2023, surrounded by The Witness’ pyramids as well as Osiris wielding Strand fibers. Strand, as we now know, is the new subclass coming to Destiny 2 with the launch of Lightfall. Osiris himself no longer has the Light, the power which keeps Guardians alive, so it’s interesting to note here that he is the one wielding Strand and teaching Guardians about it. It is described as something that everyone has within them and is not related to the Light, which is important for the narrative ahead.
Our end begins
The Witness’ ship is shown in the ViDoc and we’re informed that they will finally materialize physically to face off against the Traveler. This will be the first time players have seen the physical manifestation of The Witness in the game, and when it’s followed by the quote, “Big shit is going down,” we can’t help but feel that’s somewhat of an understatement. Involved in that “big shit” will be Crow, Amanda, Petra, and Devrim Kay. This is the first time in a while these characters have been heavily involved in an expansion’s storyline, but it remains to be seen in which context.
New weapons incoming
Several new weapons were shown off in the trailer, somewhat indirectly. In various cutscenes and stills new weapons and armor could be seen. Firstly, an Exotic stasis bow called Verglas Curve that looks to freeze enemies at rapid speed, should make an interesting addition to most builds. We were also shown a short clip featuring a purple sword which we now know is the season’s ritual weapon. This is the weapon Guardians can earn by taking part in ritual activities such as Crucible, Gambit, and Vanguard Ops.
In a loading in screen, there is some Lightfall-themed armor with plentiful bullets and a red and green aesthetic. The Titan’s helmet seems new and could be an Exotic we haven’t seen yet. The Quicksilver Storm from the pre-order bonuses is shown off, as well as a Strand tracking pistol that Bungie has previously revealed.
Guardian ranks and loadouts
Guardian ranks have been announced by Bungie already, but a new screen shows how this system will look when logging in after Lightfall releases. There are 11 ranks to achieve, and each rank has individual sections of suggestions for ways in which players can achieve the next rank. This is not locked to specific content, and Bungie stipulates that these are only suggestions and not requirements.
The new loadout screens show all equipped mods and all armor pieces on one screen as well as some new weapon perks and armor mods. The seasonal sword is Solar energy and can roll with Incandescent, meaning that it can spread scorch stacks to enemies resulting in igniting them and causing huge damage. The seasonal grenade launcher has the ability to roll with the Volt Shot perk. If Guardians gain the ability to use blinding grenades and volt shot it could quickly enter the new meta, especially in PvP. Circular Logic, another seasonal weapon, is shown to roll with the Hatchling perk which we can assume is related to the new Strand subclass and the threadlings connected to it.
In terms of armor mods, one new addition is the Font of Vigor arms mod which causes players to gain a temporary armor charge when collecting an orb of power. Armor Charge is shown to give a bonus to the strength statistic, and decays over time. Melee Kickstart now also gains a temporary Armor Charge. Font of Agility gains one temporary Armor Charge as well as a bonus to the mobility statistic. Void Weapon Surge causes one temporary Armor Charge as well as bonus damage to Void weapons.
Aside from these finer details, the remainder of the ViDoc focused on showing more of Neomuna as a city and detailing some patrol zones, as well as shedding a little light on some multi-guardian activities that will be coming to Destiny 2 when Lightfall releases on February 28.
