Destiny 2's new Lightfall expansion has finally arrived, and with it, many changes to various underlying game systems. From difficulty overhauls to a new Loadout system to mods being reworked and even the ability to recognize other players' achievements via post-match commendations, Destiny 2's Lightfall has accomplished a lot. Where Lightfall failed to deliver a good story, it nailed the moment-to-moment gameplay of the new Strand subclass.
Half of Lightfall's story was dedicated to the player, Osiris, and Nimbus learning about Strand as an element, taming it, and ultimately mastering it as a subclass by the end of the new campaign. Regardless, Strand feels good to play, and it lives up to that statement. Strand abilities and builds can debuff enemies out-going damage with Sever, shut them down with powerful crowd control via Suspension, and Unravel enemies, turning them into Tangles that can be shot, thrown, and even grappled to. Even Strand's non-grapple grenades feel useful and can be the focal point of viable Suspension or Threadling builds.
Strand is One of Lightfall's Best Qualities Unlike the Campaign
Ultimately, Bungie did well with Strand's design, including its grapple mechanic, keywords, Aspects, and Fragments. The Strand grapple hook connects to different moving objects and has some hidden properties that players have enjoyed discovering. For example, players can use a tangle as a mobile grapple point that completely refunds the grenade energy used to grapple, allowing for many grapple melee attacks in quick succession. Suspending enemies is also a powerful part of Strand, as it will even make bigger enemies and bosses stagger and take extra damage. The fact that suspending enemies ties into creating Tangles too helps complete a powerful gameplay loop of crowd control, grappling, and damage.
Unfortunately, many players dislike other aspects of Destiny 2's Lightfall. Things like The Veil were not properly explained up-front, making players feel like they had missed several cutscenes. While Strand has achieved positive feedback through its adoption, it's possible that Lightfall's story could have done the same if it had focused less on learning about Strand and grappling. More scenes focusing on the Witness or Calus possibly interacting with other characters like Eris Morn, Zavala, and Ikora could have helped Lightfall nail a more dire delivery for Destiny 2's penultimate expansion of the Light and Darkness saga.
Some of Lightfall's Other Additions and Changes Don't Feel as Thought Out as Strand
Some of Lightfall's system overhauls have also failed to garner a positive reception. Difficulty feels better in places like the Neomuna destination. Still, it falls short of feeling fair in other areas like Legend Lost Sectors, which are 20 Power higher than the pinnacle cap, limiting many who had been previously doing Legend Lost Sectors easily.
Additionally, the new Guardian Rank system starts most players off at rank six regardless of how much a player has achieved over years of play. For Bungie to create such a fun new subclass in Strand around an innovative grapple mechanic and effective crowd control, it's odd to look at Lightfall's other shortcomings and wonder how it could have fallen short while other parts flourished.
At the end of the day, Destiny 2's Lightfall expansion has left a lot of players with mixed feelings. The new Strand-based gameplay is fun solo and with friends and breathes new life into older maps and modes. While Lightfall's reviews are mostly negative and not something one can ignore, no matter how much fun Strand and grappling everywhere is. Whether Bungie can turn 2023 into a positive year for Destiny 2 remains to be seen.
Destiny 2 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.