Quick Links
Loads of changes have arrived to Destiny 2 with the new Lightfall expansion. On top of an action-packed campaign and the vibrant patrol area of Neomuna, the game's UI and buildcrafting have received a ton of upgrades. With many old mod systems changed or deleted, players will need to understand, going forward, how buildcrafting works in Destiny 2's Lightfall era.
Buildcrafting Changes In Lightfall
Lightfall has introduced what Bungie calls buildcrafting 2.0. Buildcrafting overall has been simplified and streamlined, to ensure that players spend less time adjusting their builds and more time enjoying activities.
The Character screen has gone through significant UI changes, with now two new side-screens: loadouts and mod customization.
In-Game Loadouts In Lightfall
This screen is accessible from the left side of the Character screen. Here, players can save any loadouts they have currently equipped into empty loadout slots, apply loadouts by clicking on a slot, view the contents of a specific loadout, or edit their existing loadouts. Players can unlock more loadout slots as they progress through the guardian ranks system found in the new Journey tab.
Mod Customization Screen In Lightfall
On the right side of the Character screen is now the mod customization screen. This screen has two tabs accessible from the top right: armor and weapons. For armor, it shows the currently applied mods and available slots for each armor piece, making viewing mods at once glance easier. Players can cycle through armor pieces by clicking on them to quickly apply mods.
In the weapon screen, players can view information about their weapons, including perks and applied weapon mods. They can also cycle through the weapons easily to apply mods or to switch out perks as needed.
What Armor Charge Is & How It Works
Previously, Destiny 2 had two major mod systems: Charged with Light mods and Elemental Well mods. Both required players to create and pick up either Orbs of Power or Elemental Wells to activate the effects of specific mods they had equipped.
Both of these systems have now been merged into a single system called Armor Charge. This system is most similar to Charged with Light mods. Players must now create Orbs of Power and pick them up, which grants them Armor Charge. Armor Charge is seen on the left side of the screen where buffs and debuffs appear.
While players have Armor Charge, mods that require Armor Charge are activated. For example, the mod Emergency Reinforcement will consume three stacks of Armor Charge when a player's shield is broken, but grants the player damage resistance, similar to the old Protective Light mod.
Subclass Specific Pick-Ups
Elemental Wells were essentially done away with or turned into Armor Charge mods. They were also somewhat replaced by subclass-specific pick-ups, which, depending on the fragments the player has equipped, can grant various bonuses and ability energy.
- Solar subclasses can now pick up Firesprites.
- Void subclasses can now pick up Void Breaches.
- Arc subclasses will continue to use Ionic Traces.
- Stasis subclasses will continue to use Stasis Shards.
- Strand's equivalent is Tangles.
Everything New With Mods & Armor In Lightfall
Armor Charge being the single system of buildcrafting, mods have gone through huge changes in Lightfall. Players might feel overwhelmed initially, but the majority of the mods are all inspired or similar to old Charged with Light or Elemental Well mods.
On top of the Armor Charge system, mods and armor have also gone through the following changes:
- Mods and armor no longer have energy types. This means armor pieces are no longer Solar/Void/Arc etc. in nature. The same goes for mods.
- There are no combat style mod sockets. An average piece of armor will now have four armor slots, one for stat mods and three for general armor mods. Artifice armor has an additional slot for a +3 stat boost of choice.
- Mods can now be stacked more liberally, up to three times per armor piece depending on the mod's energy cost.
- Overall, the energy cost of mods has been reduced.
- Mods dealing with weapons are now energy specific rather than archetype-specific. For example, rather than having a Hand Cannon Reloader mod, players now have a Solar/Arc/Kinetic, etc. loader mod.
To illustrate, the following tables briefly explain the mods and mod types available for each armor piece.
Helmet Mods Explained
Heavy/Special Ammo Finders & Scouts |
These are the new ammo finder mods, now divided by ammo type rather than weapon type. |
---|---|
Dynamo |
Unchanged. Reduces Super cooldown when using class ability. |
Ashes To Assets |
Unchanged. Grenade kills grant extra Super energy. |
Hands On |
Unchanged. Melee kills grant extra Super energy. |
Power Preservation |
Unchanged. Super kills make more Orbs of Power for allies. |
Radiant Light |
No longer grants a stat boost. Casting a Super grants nearby allies +1 Armor Charge stack. If allies are on a different subclass, they gain +2. |
Powerful Friends |
No longer grants a stat boost. Picking up an Orb of Power grants nearby allies +1 Armor Charge stack. |
Font of Wisdom |
Picking up an Orb of Power grants an Intellect boost. Previous required an Elemental Well to activate.* |
Siphon Mods |
Players can now pick from any energy type. Siphon mods allow rapid kills with a specific energy type to create an Orb of Power. |
Targeting Mods |
Targeting mods are now divided by damage type, not by weapon archetype. |
Gauntlet Mods Explained
Fastball |
Unchanged. Lets players throw grenades further. |
---|---|
Firepower |
Grenade final blows create Orbs of Power. |
Momentum Transfer |
Unchanged. Grenade damage reduces melee cooldown. |
Bolstering Detonation |
Unchanged. Gain class ability energy with grenade damage. |
Grenade Kickstart |
Unchanged. Players gain additional grenade energy when their grenade energy is fully depleted. |
Font of Focus |
While players have Armor Charge, they gain a boost in Discipline.* |
Heavy Handed |
Powered melee final blows create Orbs of Power. |
Impact Induction |
Unchanged. Damage with melee reduced grenade cooldown. |
Focusing Strike |
Unchanged. Gain class ability energy with melee damage. |
Melee Kickstart |
Unchanged. Players gain additional melee energy when their melee energy is fully depleted. |
Font of Vigor |
While players have Armor Charge, they gain a boost in Strength.* |
Shield Break Charge |
Using matching damage to destroy an enemy shield grants Armor Charge. |
Loader Mods |
Increases weapon reload speed. Now divided by weapon energy type, not by archetype. |
Dexterity Mods |
Increases ready and stow speed for weapons. Now divided by weapon energy type, not by archetype. |
Chest Armor Mods Explained
Resistance Mods |
Players now have access to all types of energy resistance mods. |
---|---|
Unflinching Mods |
Reduces flinch in certain weapon energy types, not divided by archetype anymore. |
Reserves Mods |
Increases ammo reserves in certain weapon energy types, not divided by archetype anymore. |
Emergency Reinforcement |
While players have at least 3 Armor Charge, they gain increased damage resistance when their shield is broken, consuming 3 stacks of Armor Charge. |
Font of Endurance |
While players have Armor Charge, they gain a boost in Resilience.* |
Charged Up |
Increases the number of maximum stacks of Armor Charge a player can have. |
Lucent Blades |
Swords gain an increased energy recharge rate. The glaive archetype gains more energy when dealing ranged damage. |
Leg Armor Mods Explained
The first six Orb of Power mods were previously armor energy specific but are not available to everyone.
Recuperation |
Unchanged. Picking up an Orb of Power grants a bit of health. |
---|---|
Better Already |
Unchanged. Health regeneration starts when picking up an Orb of Power. |
Innervation |
Unchanged. Picking up an Orb of Power reduces grenade cooldown. |
Invigoration |
Unchanged. Picking up an Orb of Power reduces melee cooldown. |
Insulation |
Unchanged. Picking up an Orb of Power reduces class ability cooldown. |
Absolution |
Unchanged. Picking up an Orb of Power reduces cooldown for all abilities. |
Orbs of Restoration |
Picking up an Orb of Power gives energy to the lowest charged ability. |
Stacks on Stacks |
Grants one additional Armor Charge stack when picking up an Orb of Power. |
Weapon Surge Mods |
Previously Font of Might. Receive a damage boost to weapon damage of a specific energy type.* |
Holster Mods |
Reloads weapons while holstered, now divided by energy type rather than by archetype. |
Scavenger Mods |
Grants bonus reserves to weapons when picking up ammo, now divided by energy type rather than by archetype. |
Class Item Mods Explained
Distribution |
Unchanged. Using class ability near enemies reduces all ability cooldowns. |
---|---|
Outreach |
Unchanged. Reduces melee cooldown when using class ability. |
Bomber |
Unchanged. Reduces grenade cooldown when using class ability. |
Reaper |
After players use their class ability, their next kill spawns an Orb of Power. |
Utility Kickstart |
When all class ability energy is depleted, players gain class ability energy faster. Any Armor Charge stacks are consumed and increase recharge rate. |
Font of Restoration |
While players have Armor Charge, they receive a boost in Recovery.* |
Time Dilation |
Decaying Armor Charge decays slower. |
Finisher Mods |
All finisher mods are available now regardless of energy and either provide or require Armor Charge. |
* When these mods are equipped, the player's Armor Charge decays over time. Without them, players retain their Armor Charge indefinitely or until it is consumed (similar to Charged with Light).
How Artifact Mods Work In Lightfall
Artifact mods in Lightfall era of Destiny 2 no longer need to be slotted into armor. Once an artifact mod is unlocked from the seasonal artifact, it's a passive buff that is constantly available and active for players—within the limitations of the mod, of course.
Players can only have a total of 12 artifact mods active at once, but resetting the artifact is now free, which should make it easy to switch artifact mods around quickly.
How Artifice Armor Works In Lightfall
Since artifact mods are no longer slotted in, the extra armor slot found in Artifice armor has been repurposed. This slot now lets players choose one stat that receives a +3 boost. This should help players round out the stats in their builds.
Destiny 2. Lightfall is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.