The Lucent Brood will soon be the main focus for many Destiny 2 players. The latest in threats levied by the Hive, they are a brood of Savathun’s Hive that has been bestowed with the powers of the Light. With the perversion of the Light and its power now accessible to the Lucent Brood, they will serve as formidable enemies when the Witch Queen releases in February. While fans have gotten a couple of looks at the Lucent Brood so far, information about what they’ll be like in Destiny 2 is scattered, with many theorists trying to work out how they’ll interact with the greater universe of Destiny 2.
One thing that Guardians can be sure of when the Lucent Brood does appear in-game is that they will likely be one of the most difficult enemies that players encounter. Many of the enemies in Destiny 2 have different powers and abilities at their disposal, but the Witch Queen expansion will be the first time players have fought against the Light outside of the Crucible game mode. The use of the Light by the Lucent Brood will make them unique amongst the Hive and set them apart from their relatives that served Oryx, the Taken King, and Xivu Arath, the God of War.
Hive Ghosts
The first power that Guardians should be aware of before the Lucent Brood is introduced in Destiny 2 is resurrection. While the Hive have been resilient since their introduction and their use of throne worlds has offered the likes of Oryx, Savathun, and Xivu Arath immortality in the past, the Witch Queen expansion will be the first time this trait has been accessible by more common Hive. This will make Hive that fall into the middling ranks of the species’ hierarchy more dangerous and harder to kill.
The new Witch Queen trailer is one of several videos since the expansion’s reveal to show off the new Ghosts that will be used by the Hive, with one being crushed by a Guardian. If this tracks into the game, more and more Guardians should expect that they will need to kill the Ghosts that the Lucent Brood uses to guarantee a final death. This action is incredibly grim considering the history of Destiny 2, and the implications that come with killing the Ghost of anyone that’s been imbued with the Light.
The Lucent Brood
The need to kill the Hive’s Ghosts is necessary, though. The promotional materials for the Witch Queen expansion have done well when it comes to highlighting the power that the Lucent Brood will wield. The first mission of the Witch Queen that was shown off in the trailer from The Game Awards shows a Lucent Brood member that appears to wield the powers of a Titan class Guardian, making the Hive Knight particularly resilient and lethal.
The Hive Knight throws what looks like an Arc grenade, which in itself is worrisome, but it’s what follows that is of particular interest. After throwing the grenade the Hive Knight puts up a barrier that appears to match a Titan’s Towering Barricade class ability. Normally this ability is little more than cover for players trying to avoid damage, but with certain pieces of exotic armor, the nature of the barricade changes. For the Lucent Brood’s Hive Knight, it looks like the powers of the Light will allow it to establish Titan Barricades that carry the same perk that Citan’s Ramparts offers. This means that while the Lucent Brood member will be shielded from damage, it will still be able to shoot through its barricade in contrast to both Titan class Guardians and other Hive Knights that use shields.
On top of this, the Hive Knight's Ghost brings it back to life after it is killed, allowing for a new ability to be shown off. This time, a Void class that looks to be derived from the Titan’s Sentinel Shield is used, but in tandem. With two shield options, the Lucent Brood Knight can slam them together, sending a Void wave forward or throwing Void shields as projectiles for ranged combat. While not as devastating as the Titan's Thundercrash subclass, there's still potential for more Lucent Brood abilities.
In different trailers, other Lucent Brood members have also shown traits used by other Guardian classes. One casts what appeared to be the Blade Barrage super used by Destiny 2’s Hunter class, while another used what looks like a version of the Warlock’s Stormcaller subclass. With three possible classes, the Lucent Brood could now round out its own fireteams and pose a completely different threat than what players have seen before.
The use of these abilities alongside one another makes the Lucent Brood orders of magnitude more dangerous than their counterparts in other Hive populations. They can wield the Light but keep the overwhelming numbers that the Hive are known for in their favor, dwarfing the combat potential of their predecessors. While Savathun's Hive still aren’t likely to match the strength of the Traveler’s chosen, they aren’t the only Hive threat to come in The Witch Queen.
Savathun, the Witch Queen
An aspect of the Destiny 2 trailer that aired during The Game Awards that some may not have caught onto right away is Savathun’s use of the Light. To some, it might have been a given that after Season of the Lost concludes, the Witch Queen would take the Light for herself, but what class she would adapt for her use hasn’t been formally answered. The Game Awards trailer, however, appears to address this.
Towards the end of the trailer once the Guardians in question have made it into Savathun’s throne world, it appears that she casts a Nova Bomb at the fireteam. If this is in fact what’s being shown, then Savathun seems to have been reborn into the Light as a Warlock. This class feels fitting for the Witch Queen, and the magical connotations that come with her place as a Hive God and from the Warlock character class compliment Savathun well.
The power that the Warlock subclasses can wield is of great concern, however. While entirely possible that Savathun’s perverse form of the Light might allow her to access the powers of the other Guardian classes, her stepping into Ikora Rey’s class could make her a greater threat than players realize. While the Sunsinger subclass has been retired in Destiny 2, the possibility of Savathun tapping into its power to self-resurrect could make her particularly difficult to defeat. How this could translate into the campaign of the Witch Queen expansion will be just as important as how the Lucent Brood interacts with the rest of the Destiny universe, and is a challenge the Guardians should prepare themselves to face.
Destiny 2 is now available on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.