Destiny 2: Lightfall drops new Strand trailer

A new Destiny 2: Lightfall trailer dropped today which gives players a closer look at the game’s latest in the Darkness subclass, Strand. With this subclass, players will have access to fun new abilities including the Grappling Hook which, as its name suggests, gives players the power to swing around the neon city of Neomuna.

Accompanying the Strand trailer is an “Inside Strand” post on the Destiny 2 blog outlining more of what players can look forward to both in terms of Lightfall, as well as the Strand subclass abilities.

To understand Strand, let’s first start with some vocabulary. Creating an object using Strand is weaving. Defeating an enemy affected by Strand will unravel them, disconnecting their lifeforce from the Weave, and creating a Tangle. Left behind after a Strand-debuffed-enemy is defeated, a Tangle is a swirling bundle of Strand fibers. These bundles of Strand explode when shot, causing area damage to nearby enemies. Guardians can also pick up Tangles and throw them to deadly effect. On the debuff side, there are three new terms to know: suspend, unravel, and sever.

Suspend – A suspended PvE enemy is lifted off the ground for a brief duration and is essentially disabled. In PvP, suspended players are lifted off the ground but can still move (albeit slowly) and fire their weapon to fight back.

Unravel – Attacking an unraveled enemy will cause threads to burst out of the target and attack other nearby targets. Once hit, that target will also become unraveled.

Sever – A severed enemy is less capable of affecting the material world, reducing their damage output as a result. The major buff coming with Strand is Woven Mail. With this ability, the Guardian is sheathed in a protective mesh of Strand matter, reducing incoming damage. Note that in PvP, Woven Mail will only reduce damage taken on the body; head damage and melee damage will continue as normal.

The post goes on to talk about how one of the most exciting new abilities in the Strand toolkit is the Grappling Hook, which can be used when players press the grenade button causing their Guardian to “weave a hook from Strand matter which they can grab onto an anchor point.”

Not only can you grapple onto physical points, it’s noted that “Strand’s grapple can create its own grapple points out of thin air, so you can always propel yourself through the sky even if there’s not a solid surface to latch onto.” Additionally, Guardians will have the ability to execute melee strikes both during and at the end of a grapple “known as a grapple melee, which will deal bonus damage, unravel an enemy, or push them backwards.”

In terms of how the Strand subclass will look different for Hunters, Warlocks, and Titans, the blog post then goes on to share more information, such as each class having two unique Strand Aspects. In terms of what these are for each, they are as follows:

WARLOCK BROODWEAVER

Weaver’s Call: On Rift cast, the Warlock weaves three Threadling eggs, which hatch into Threadlings when they hit a surface. Any perched Threadlings are converted to additional eggs.
Mindspun Invocation: This Aspect improves several of the Warlock’s abilities:
Grapple: When you execute a grapple melee, the Warlock weaves three Threadling eggs from the target.
Threadling Grenade: You can consume your Threadling Grenade to generate a full complement of perched Threadlings.
Shackle Grenade: You can consume your Shackle Grenade to gain a buff, creating a suspending detonation on every kill.

HUNTER THREADRUNNER

Ensnaring Slam: While in the air, press the air-move input to slam downward, suspending all nearby enemies.
Widow’s Silk: This Aspect grants an additional grenade charge. The Hunter’s grapple ability creates a persistent grapple Tangle when it latches, which fully refunds grenade energy when grappled to. Hunters can use this ability to set up chains of grapple points that their entire team can use, greatly enhancing their ability to quickly move around in combat and/or traverse the environment.

TITAN BERSERKER

Into the Fray: Destroying a Tangle weaves Woven Mail unto the Titan and nearby allies. In addition to reducing damage taken, this Aspect also increases the Titan’s melee energy regeneration while wearing Woven Mail.
Drengr’s Lash: When the Titan casts their class ability, the Titan will blast forward a powerful ripple in reality, suspending enemies that are caught in the shockwave’s path.

Overall, Destiny 2: Lightfall is shaping up to be quite an exciting experience for players, especially with its introduction to the new Strand subclass. For more on Destiny 2: Lightfall, and the Strand subclass in particular, be sure to check out the new trailer and read through the full “Inside Strand” post on the Destiny 2 blog. Also check out some of our previous coverage, including Destiny 2 Season 20 weapon tuning to nerf Linear Fusion Rifles and buff Heavy Grenade Launchers, and how Bungie is changing blue engram drops in Destiny 2 again.