Destiny 2: Lightfall, which launches February 28, brings players another Darkness subclass called Strand that’s all about telekinesis. Before swinging into Lightfall, we have the essential information players need about new abilities, mechanics, customizing Strand, and the grind for subclass upgrades. We had the opportunity to learn more about Strand during a group interview with Destiny 2’s combat systems design lead Kevin Yanes and gameplay feature lead Eric Smith, and the studio has also released a new trailer and blog, as outlined below.
Tangles and Grapples
Firstly, the crux of this new Darkness subclass is that the Guardian weaves Strand to unravel enemies, and that action creates a Tangle. Smith explains, “any Strand-debuffed enemy that you defeat is going to turn into a Tangle when you kill them.” Players can shoot at Tangles to damage nearby enemies or throw Tangles at targets. Also, Tangles are multipurpose, not only serving as a way to damage enemies, but also doubling as an anchor point when using the new grappling hook system.
Grappling is a new movement mechanic–available to all Strand subclasses–that lets players latch onto a surface or create an anchor point in the air, first pulling then propelling them, like swinging from paracasual vines. Although this ability uses the grenade button, players can hook onto grapple Tangles to save their grenade energy. Smith says, “I think in the Lightfall campaign specifically, [the level design] was definitely affected by grapple or grapple Tangles scattered throughout Neomuna. Grapple Tangles are like normal tangles, but they’re more ethereal, so you can’t pick up and throw them for an explosive, but you can still grapple to them for free,” making it easier chain grapples, adding “there are sections of Lightfall where we’re grappling to moving objects, vehicles to kind of pull ourselves around the environment.”
