Lightfall is coming, and it'll bring an entirely new subclass to Destiny 2. The Strand is all about pulling on the interconnected strings of life and fate, like awakening a third eye or peering into the matrix. It'll have surgical precision, like when it lets Warlocks fire out a dozen telekinetic knives or when a Titan throws its twin fists to slash through an enemy's very life force.
The Strand will also offer every Destiny 2 class a brand-new grappling hook ability to swing across the neon city of Neomuna. But don't go thinking that Lightfall will be Bungie's answer to Spider-Man.
In an interview with GamesRadar, game director Joe Blackburn confirmed several details on the Strand. First, it'll have a base cooldown that prevents Spider-Man-style webslinging, although there will be certain spots in Neomuna that will instantly reset this cooldown for some high-flying swings.
Second, it'll replace the grenade ability on each subclass. While some might consider this a big sacrifice for mobility, Blackburn assured players that the Strand's grappling hook will still offer some offense on top of its mobility.
"Because it is in the grenade slot, we made sure there are some offensive capabilities with grapple," Blackburn said. "If you're the kind of person who wants to grapple in, there's a finisher on grapple that you can do. I'm going to go in, fuck somebody up at the end of this grapple, then I'll pull out my shotgun. Some Guardians are gonna use this as an escape, some are gonna use it to be aggressive."
Bungie assistant general manager Dan McAuliffe said he's a little nervous about how the Strand's massive mobility boost will affect Destiny 2's older content (and PvP), but he has "faith in our team's ability to test and vet that kind of thing."
Elsewhere in the interview, Blackburn discussed big changes coming to Destiny 2's notorious Power grind, but didn't offer a time frame or details.
"There's some good stuff that Power does for the game, and there's some really bad stuff that Power is doing to Destiny right now," he said. "I think what you're gonna see us do is some experiments that are helping us understand if we're making the right long-term plays for Power and helping us dial that in."