Lightfall is just around the corner
[Everyone welcome Cheri Faulkner to the front page as a freelancer! They’ll be helping out with guides and more, and they’ve contributed to outlets like Cultured Vultures and GGRecon. They’ve recently been playing Fire Emblem Engage, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, and God of War: Ragnarok, as well as Destiny 2 .– Chris Carter]
Destiny 2: Lightfall is set to release on February 28, 2023, and Guardians globally are preparing their characters for the penultimate DLC in the Destiny Light and Dark saga from Bungie. There are multiple ways to do this, and over the years many have discovered the optimal way to ensure they head into Lightfall with the best jump-start possible.
With the new raid set to launch on March 10, the rapid power grind is vital to those who may be striving to beat the World’s First race which rewards players with a belt engraved with their fireteam’s name as well as the notoriety of being one of the fastest-thinking, strongest teams in the game. Others may want a slightly more leisurely ride heading through Bungie’s new legendary version of the story campaign. With handy third-party tools such as Destiny Recipes on hand to track progress, players are finding the preparation period easier than ever.
Bounty hoarding
One of the most efficient ways to prepare for any new season is bounty hoarding, as cashing in all of the experience points from completing the bounties as soon as the expansion launches will see Guardians jump a few power levels early on. The difference now is that the seasonal artifact will function in a new way meaning that new abilities will be unlocked as seasonal perks.
For example, choosing to select an Unstoppable glaive perk will see all equipped glaive weapons also functioning as a means to stun Unstoppable champions, instead of requiring the insertion of a mod as before. This effect lasts for the entire season unless players choose to reset the artifact and choose different seasonal perks. To really maximize the potential from hoarding bounties, make sure to add an XP mod to the in-game Ghost. It’s important not to hoard bounties from any seasonal vendors in the Helm. As they’re disappearing at the end of the current season, so too will the bounties from player inventories.
Focus seasonal weapons
In the Helm, every vendor now allows one focused red-box weapon per day meaning that unlocking the patterns for weapons is now easier than ever. With all of these weapons leaving the loot pool at the end of the current season, anyone wanting to be able to craft these weapons should collect as many patterns as possible. There are many suggestions on weapons to get before Lightfall drops, but some include the wave-frame solar grenade launcher Explosive Personality, and the Season of the Haunted submachine gun, Calus Mini-Tool.
Vault spring cleaning
With a lot of brand-new loot and weapons about to be released into the Destiny universe, plenty of vault space is important. Bungie has announced that Deepsight weapon focusing is leaving in Lightfall as well as the materials, so any red-bordered weapons that haven’t been used to get the materials to drop yet can either be dismantled if you have plenty of crafting materials, or used until the Deepsight progress reaches 100%.
Resource gathering
Having a stockpile of resources is imperative for infusing and upgrading armor and weapons come the start of Lightfall, when powering up quickly is important. Glimmer, upgrade modules, enhancement cores and prisms, ascendant shards, and legendary shards are the most valuable resources to be collecting. Modules are used to infuse gear whilst enhancement cores, prisms, and ascendant shards are required to masterwork armor which may be beneficial after getting a high-stat new Exotic piece. If players find their inventory is full, things like enhancement prisms and ascendant shards can be stored in the Postmaster, but be careful to regularly clear this out too, or risk losing them completely.
Finish the season pass
It may go without saying, but the season pass will also be replaced with a new one at the start of Lightfall as season 20 begins. Getting the season pass to rank 100 will ensure that Guardians are getting the most for their money, and redeeming all possible rewards. Seasonal challenges are the quickest way to progress through the season pass, and completing all of them will reward a nice pile of bright dust for use in the Eververse store. If it happens that you simply forget to redeem all the rewards on the season pass, it is now possible to do this retrospectively on Bungie’s website. Whilst it’s not possible to level up past season passes, it is possible to claim lost rewards that were already unlocked.
With the launch of Lightfall on February 28, Guardians have also been contemplating the true powers of the new darkness subclass, Strand. There’s plenty of new vocabulary, new enemy effects, abilities, and fragments to explore as well as new super abilities that seem to bring a whole new dimension to the world of Destiny.
