Avid Destiny 2 players had an idea of what Strand would do when the new subclass launches in Lightfall. But today’s Strand preview trailer (and the accompanying blog post) gave guardians a clear picture of what the subclass will look like later this month.
The trailer showcased a bit of what players can expect from Strand, bringing in some gameplay footage to go with the descriptions Bungie has given in the run-up to Lightfall. The official description of Warlocks’ Broodweaver subclass, for instance, said “these telekinetic sorcerers can even twist Strand into sentient creatures to do their bidding.” Pairing the trailer with the blog post, however, creates a concrete image of what the Strand classes will look like in practice.
The blog post outlines some Strand keywords that permeate the subclass: Suspend, Unravel, Sever, and Woven Mail.
Suspend is relatively simple: a suspended enemy is lifted off the ground and has little space to react (in PvP, players move more slowly, but can still fight back). Severed enemies have reduced damage output, and Unraveled enemies seem somewhat reminiscent of Void 3.0’s Volatile. “Attacking an unraveled enemy will cause threads to burst out of the target and attack other nearby targets,” the blog post reads. Hitting targets with this effect will also unravel them.
Woven Mail reduces incoming damage to a guardian, and players can access it in a plethora of ways. The upcoming Cyrtharacne’s Façade helmet, for instance, grants them Woven Mail as they grapple, while Titans have quick access to it through their Aspects. All subclasses can also access it through Fragments. Woven Mail behaves differently in PvP, though, only reducing damage to body shots (not headshots or melee attacks).
Much like other subclasses, all classes will have access to most aspects of Strand, including the long-anticipated grapple ability. That said, some classes will have a better affinity with certain parts of the subclass—a common theme throughout the 3.0-ification of the Light-based subclasses over the past year.
Warlocks, for instance, are adept at summoning Threadlings, and their Aspects lean strongly into that role. The Broodweaver excels at creating Threadlings—”explosive minions woven from Strand matter,” according to the blog post. “All Threadlings will run forward, jump on enemies, and explode. But only the Warlock’s Threadlings will return to the Warlock and travel with them if they can’t find a target.”
Likewise, the Warlock Aspects double down on that role even further. Weaver’s Call allows players to create Threadling eggs (which hatch into full-on Threadlings) when casting a Rift, while Mindspun Invocation enhances several elements of the subclass with extra Threadlings.
Strand Hunters (aptly named Threadrunners) will make Arc Hunters look slow. A Threadrunner “takes movement and speed to an entirely new level,” according to the blog post, making the most out of the subclass’ grapple ability. Strand Hunters also have a new melee: the Threaded Spike, which “has the Hunter hurling out a rope dart that bounces between enemies” before returning to its wielder. Catching the rope dart at the correct time will grant extra melee energy.
With their Aspects, Threadrunners can use the Air Move button to slam downward and suspend affected enemies. The Widow’s Silk Aspect grants an extra grenade charge and lets the Hunter create a permanent Tangle that “fully refunds grenade ability if grappled to.” Teammates can also use the Tangle.
“From the start, the fantasy for the Strand-wielding Titan Berserker was wild, untamed power,” Bungie wrote in the blog post—and the subclass might just deliver. The Berserker mixes offense with… well, more offense. Its melee attack, Frenzied Blade, will let them sever enemies and comes with three charges by default.
Warlocks lean into Threadlings and Hunters lean into mobility, so the Titan excels at pure resilience. With the Drengr’s Lash Aspect, casting the class ability will cause a shockwave that suspends enemies. Titans can also use the Into The Fray Aspect to generate Woven Mail when destroying a Tangle.
In addition to a quick rundown of the classes, Bungie also gave fans a taste of some of the Fragments that will be available for all classes. Thread of Fury gives players melee energy whenever they damage targets with a Tangle, while Thread of Warding grants them Woven Mail upon picking up an Orb of Power (which has more importance in the Lightfall sandbox due to the upcoming changes to buildcrafting). Thread of Ascent reloads a guardian’s equipped weapon and boosts handling and airborne effectiveness, and Thread of Finality creates Threadlings on finishers. Bungie only shared four Fragments, though, meaning there will be more of them to discover and test with the new expansion.
Players can try out Strand after Lightfall releases on Feb. 28.
