Previews and demos of Destiny 2 have shown off the new Dawnblade Warlock subclass, but as promised, Bungie is showing off another fresh subclass to Destiny 2—the Hunter Arcstrider.

The Arcstrider will replace Destiny 1's Bladedancer as the Hunter's Arc-based subclass. Similar to what has been seen with the other subclasses so far, the grenade and jump abilities have stayed the same from Destiny 1, but now the subclasses are getting two new four-perk build trees for players to choose between.

One big note about the Arcstrider's jump ability, however, is that Blink has been taken out as an option. Blink, which was a jump that caused the player to do a short teleport through the air, proved to be a tricky ability to balance. It drew the ire of many fans, and went under the scalpel in numerous balance patches. Instead the Arcstrider has the same jump abilities as the other Hunter subclasses. The jumps are now High Jump, Strafe Jump (the renamed but analogous option to Directional Control from Destiny 1 that gives more mobility while mid-air), and Triple Jump. The Arcstrider's grenades remain the same to the Bladedancer: Skip, Flux, and Arcbolt Grenades.

The big focus of the Arcstrider is the new Super, called Arc Staff. Like the Bladedancer, it is a roaming Super where the Hunter summons a staff of lightning and engages enemies in close-quarters combat.

destiny 2 arcstrider hunter

As mentioned in our breakdown of the Gunslinger, all Hunters now have a class ability called Dodge, with two variations to choose from. Dodge is similar to the Nightstalker's Shadestep, except it is more of a sidestep than a dive/roll. Besides a nifty way to avoid incoming fire or juke enemies, the Marksman's Dodge perk instantly reloads the player's weapon during the Dodge (a là McCree from Overwatch) while the Gambler's Dodge which instantly regenerates melee energy.

Now for the two builds from which players can choose: Way of the Warrior and Way of the Wind. Way of the Warrior contains the following perks:

  • Combat Flow: Recharges Dodge ability upon a melee kill
  • Deadly Reach: Extends range of a melee attack after a Dodge
  • Lethal Current: Arc Staff hits twice after a Dodge
  • Shocking Blow: Emit lightning on a melee hit

Way of the Warrior looks to be very focused on getting into a group of enemies, using melee attacks and dodging while working through enemies. There's a pretty perfect synergy between Combat Flow, Gambler's Dodge, and Deadly Reach that will help such a playstyle.

The other build, Way of the Wind, has these perks:

  • Disorienting Blow: Striking an enemy with a melee attack disorients them. Killing a disoriented enemy instantly recharges Disorienting Blow.
  • Lightning Reflexes: Take less damage while dodging while Arc Staff is active
  • Battle Meditation: When critically wounded, melee and grenade abilities recharge faster
  • Focused Breathing: Sprinting reduces Dodge cooldown and Sprint speed is increased

The class looks to be a comfortable fit for those who are fans of the Bladedancer subclass, and is hopefully as effective or more so than its Destiny 1 cousin.

Gamers will be able to get their hands on the Arcstrider on the floor of E3. For those unable to attend the industry event, we will have to wait to see if the subclass is included in the Destiny 2 Beta later this summer.

Destiny 2 will launch September 8, 2017 on PS4 and Xbox One, with a release on PC at a later unannounced date.

Source: Game Informer