Destiny 2‘s Season 18 is on the horizon, and along with a continuation of the storyline, a returning raid from the original Destiny, and a peek at the upcoming Lightfall expansion, players will have access to Arc 3.0, the final set of reworked subclass abilities. These are only a piece of Destiny‘s continued success and the buildup to the final chapters of the game’s current era. Between a new approach to storytelling, gameplay innovations, and a slew of quality of life changes, Bungie’s sci-fi MMO shooter has managed to stay fresh and fun.
A major element aiding that continual freshness is Bungie’s frequent updates to player subclasses – the space magic abilities of the Light wielded by Guardians and, as of The Witch Queen expansion’s big story revelations, the Hive. When the original Destiny launched in 2014, each of the game’s three main classes (Titan, Warlock, and Hunter) only had access to two of the three Light elemental powers. A year later, The Taken King rounded out the ability options with a third subclass for each, giving every class equal access to each element and establishing a new paradigm moving forward. Destiny 2: Forsaken didn’t introduce new subclasses, but provided alternative super ability options within the existing elements, providing even more flexibility to players. The biggest change yet has been the introduction of Stasis, a fourth element – and one tied to the Darkness, rather than the Light – in Beyond Light.
This was the beginning of a so-called “Subclass 3.0,” a new model that broke from Destiny 2‘s existing model of pre-built sets of abilities and returned to something closer to the original game’s mix-and-match feel. Stasis gave players real customization options on their abilities, opening the door to deeper build crafting and a sense of ownership over their powers. Bungie also announced an intent to rework the existing subclasses – an intent delivered upon, starting with The Witch Queen. Void, an element of dark matter and gravity, was first, followed by Solar – fire, light, and life. Now it’s Arc’s turn, and this rework might be the most exciting one yet.
Destiny 2’s Arc 3.0 Redefines Several Key Features
While each class is getting unique changes, several components of Arc are being changed across the board. Ideally, this will give the entire element a coherent identity and feel, tying three roughly-overlapping sets of abilities together. The fantasy of Arc is frenetic and rapid, emphasizing a Guardian’s ability to move fast and hit hard. Three buffs and debuffs aid in this fantasy – the new amplified and jolted, and the reworked blinded.
Players used to tackling Destiny‘s difficult late-game PvE content will likely be familiar with blinded – effectively, blinded enemies will struggle to fight back. The debuff works slightly differently against PvE enemies compared to fellow Guardians; the former can’t see or fire weapons, while the latter (players) will have to deal with a flashbang-like effect, a temporary absence of their HUD, and a distorted audio effect. Jolted enemies periodically send out small bolts of lightning to other nearby enemies, dealing more damage.
Arc-wielding Guardians who rapidly defeat combatants with Arc damage become amplified. This buff temporarily makes Guardians fast and agile, able to rapidly ready and aim weapons and slide long distances. Additionally, an amplified Guardian who sprints for a few seconds gains a massive speed boost, which persists as long as they continue sprinting, even if amplified ends. For players looking to repeatedly grind content, amplified will likely provide a huge boost of efficiency and speed.
Previous Seasons’ Subclass 3.0 reworks have maintained each subclass’s core identity while better realizing the associated gameplay fantasy; Arc 3.0 looks to be no different. The changes coming to each individual subclass push into new space, but feel like natural extensions of the existing mechanics. Players should expect to be more than satisfied with their new toys.
Destiny 2 Arc 3.0’s Titan Is A Terrifyingly Mobile Powerhouse
Back in the days of old, the Striker was the original Titan subclass. As the name suggests, Strikers have always excelled in close-quarters, but eight years of updates have made them faster and more lethal. Arc 3.0 cranks this up even further, giving Titans a new set of tools to close gaps and punch their foes. While the existing super abilities, Fists of Havoc and Thundercrash, are largely unchanged, the two existing melee attacks are joined by a third called Thunderclap. By charging this melee, Titans are capable of dealing an insane amount of damage – at full charge, enough to one-shot a Guardian – though players remembering Stasis’s effect on Crucible game balance need not fear. Charging Thunderclap is slow, and requires Titans to remain stationary.
Titans are also gaining a new class ability option – a Thruster akin to the Hunter’s dodge ability, or the Dawnblade Warlock’s Icarus Dash. This short-range burst of mobility only works on the ground, but will likely run double-duty by getting Strikers both into and out of fights quickly and letting them quickly return to cover if threatened. As a class ability, Thrusters replaces a Titan’s barricade.
Each 3.0 subclass includes a number of Aspects – more class-specific abilities to mix-and-match that aren’t necessarily tied to melee, grenades, or other existing abilities. Players can choose two to use at any given time, and Arc 3.0 gives each class three each. Aspects can provide even more customization, cementing certain tactics or making atypical playstyles viable.
The first Titan Aspect, Touch of Thunder, continues a pattern established by of a Warlock Solar 3.0 Aspect, and initially introduced in Stasis. “Touch of” Aspects modify the effects of grenades, and Touch of Thunder is no different – Flashbang grenades gain an additional flash, Lightning grenades have two charges and jolt targets on the initial blast, Storm grenades create a slow but mobile thundercloud and Pulse grenades generate Ionic Traces (formerly unique to Arc Warlocks) that track to the Titan and restore a small amount of ability energy. The Juggernaut Aspect gives Striker Titans a front-facing shield when they sprint with full ability energy, effectively shrinking and mobilizing their barricade; the shield dissipates and consumes ability energy when it takes enough damage. Lastly, the Knockout Aspect rewards Titans for punching – melee kills trigger health regeneration and amplify the Titan, allowing them to stay close to their foes, and heavily wounding or breaking an enemy’s shield empowers melee attacks, adding Arc damage and increasing range and damage.
Destiny 2 Arc 3.0’s Hunter Is A Graceful Close-Quarters Combatant
At launch, Destiny 2‘s subclasses differed from the original game. In addition to changes to the systems, several subclasses were completely altered, including the Hunter’s Arcblade, which was replaced with Arcstrider. Gameplay-wise, the changes were subtle but relevant – Arcstrider traded the blade for a staff, losing some survivability and damage potential in exchange for more mobility. Unfortunately, these changes ultimately led to a somewhat underwhelming and fairly inflexible subclass.
Arc 3.0 looks to fix this not by reintroducing Arcblade, but making Arcstrider significantly better at getting and staying close. Rather than the immovable object of Striker Titans, Arc Hunters should be graceful, nimble, and hard to pin down. The super ability, Arc Staff, previously had three distinct versions with only slight differences; these are being consolidated, allowing all Arc Staff users the ability to dodge with an armor boost and to deflect projectiles. Additionally, a new super called Gathering Storm gives Arc Hunters a one-shot shutdown ability, akin to the Void Hunter’s Shadowshot. Gathering Storm throws the Hunter’s staff, spear-like, into the ground or an enemy, then sporadically emits a small jolting burst of damage until a massive bolt of lightning strikes it, creating a damaging zone that sends arcs of lighting into any enemy nearby.
Veteran Hunter players have another reason to rejoice – Blink is returning. In addition to a double- or triple-jump, Destiny‘s Arcblade had a short-range teleport option that it shared with Voidwalker Warlocks. In Destiny 2, it was dropped from Hunters entirely; now, five years later, it returns (along with a general buff to Blink, for both Warlock and Hunter).
Arc 3.0’s two Hunter melees seem largely unchanged from their current versions, though subtle numbers balancing is possible. While Arc 3.0 introduces a bunch of new options to Destiny 2, the Hunter Aspects are also slight reworks of existing abilities. Tempest Strike is almost identical to the previous version – performing a charged melee attack while sliding releases a shockwave along the ground, though it now jolts enemies. Lethal Current is no longer limited to Arc Staff and applies the aftershock to normal melee attacks after dodging, though doing so in Arc Staff causes light attacks to hit twice; additionally, jolted enemies can be blinded via melee attacks. Lastly, Flow State adds new effects to the amplified buff, improving dodge recharge rate, reload speed, and damage resistance. It also provides amplified for defeating a jolted enemy, making the improved buff easier to activate. Ultimately, these modified abilities will allow Arcstriders to chain their abilities together far more effectively.
Destiny 2 Arc 3.0’s Warlock Is A Lightning-Channeling God
Of the three subclasses revealed ahead of the 2022 Destiny 2 showcase event, Stormcaller may be the most complex. Originally released in The Taken King, Stormcaller has seen remarkably few changes over the years. Arc 3.0 looks to give the subclass some much-needed love. Like Arcstrider, Stormcaller’s distinct versions of the Stormtrance super ability are being rolled into one, giving all Stormcaller users the damage burst of Landfall and mobility of Ionic Blink.
Stormcaller’s melee abilities are being mostly left alone, though both are modified by a new feature for the subclass – being amplified significantly powers up abilities. Ball Lightning will release three projectiles, rather than the standard one, and Chain Lightning releases an additional burst, potentially doubling the ability’s effect. While Bungie is working to prioritize the importance of Destiny‘s gunplay and weapons, Stormcallers may be able to rely on their abilities a fair amount.
Of the three Aspects for Stormcallers, two are familiar. Arc Soul is a beloved ability that modifies the Warlock’s healing or damage rift – allies that pass through it gain an “Arc buddy,” essentially a little turret that targets whatever the Guardian shoots at. Electrostatic Mind causes enemies defeated with Arc abilities, or debuffed with Arc effects, to drop Ionic Traces on death, allowing significantly more ability use.
The final Stormcaller Aspect gives Warlocks a unique movement ability. With Lightning Surge, activating a charged melee attack while sliding briefly transforms the Guardian into a ball of lightning that jumps forwards and hits nearby targets with lightning. Whether this ability is useful remains to be seen, though it certainly sounds entertaining.
Destiny 2 Arc 3.0’s Fragments Have Yet To Be Revealed
Fragments are the final piece of the Subclass 3.0 puzzle – passive abilities that are less flashy than Fragments and shared between all three classes. In the past, Bungie has handed out Fragments slowly, and while this look at Arc 3.0 is earlier than anticipated, most of the Fragments will remain a mystery until the rework goes live. Still, four Fragments have been revealed so far:
- Spark of Beacons turns amplified kills into flashbang-like explosions
- Spark of Momentum auto-loads weapons and restores some melee ability energy when Guardians slide over ammo bricks
- Spark of Resistance gives Guardians damage resistance when surrounded by foes
- Spark of Shock makes all Arc grenades jolt enemies.
Destiny 2 players should get excited – this final set of Light subclass reworks will breathe new life into a powerful element. Arc 3.0 releases as part of Season 18, coming on August 23. On that day, Guardians can ride the lightning and call the thunder like never before.
