So far, players in Destiny 2 have always been the most powerful fighters, in the form of their Light-infused Guardians. But with the expansion “The Witch Queen,” that will change, as we will face equal competition. Bungie says this will be “a fight against a mirror.”
For a while now, many Destiny 2 players have wished for a new enemy class to enter the universe.
When was the last time new enemies were introduced? Destiny 2 has not received a new alien enemy type since 2018. The last new enemies were the Taken, who came with Forsaken. Before that, there were only a few variations of existing enemies, which hardly changed the combat encounters drastically.
That is set to change soon:
- The strike “Savathun’s Song” has already announced the plans of the cunning Hive goddess.
- Just recently, the Witch Queen found a way to use the Light for her purposes.
- Savathun now has her own “Army of Light”: “The Radiant Brood”.
- Hive Guardians are equal in abilities to the players’ Guardians.
When can you fight the new enemies? On February 22, 2022, the “Hive Guardians,” also known as “The Radiant Brood,” will be introduced in Destiny 2. From then on, we will need to enhance our own abilities to compete against this new Light-bearing and equally immortal Hive hybrid race.
In an interview, Destiny 2 Game Director Joe Blackburn and General Manager Justin Truman discussed the new enemy type and the challenges it brings.
Players are now fighting against themselves
“We want it to feel like you are fighting against yourself,” said Joe Blackburn, becoming more specific, “We want it to feel like you’re fighting against something you understand.”
The main idea behind the Hive Guardians is to give players the feeling of facing a reflection of themselves. This sounds a bit like Star Wars, where we are the good Jedi and they are the evil Sith.
This is what the new enemy race can do: Bungie has already allowed us a first impression of what will come to players in February 2022 in the trailer for “The Witch Queen”. There, we see how the evil counterpart of our Guardians throws something that looks like the Sentinel shield of the Void Titan. Apparently, they are capable of using the same class abilities as we are – all of them.
Killing a Hive Ghost will change the gameplay
Bungie has not stopped at pure abilities. Our evil counterparts are also immortal.
Enemy ghosts are a new experience, as up until now, we have only watched as good ghosts were killed. Back then during Sundance, Cayde’s ghost, and later with Sagira, Osiris’s ghost.
That’s why this is important: Ghosts make you Guardians immortal. The new “Hive Guardians” will also have their own ghosts that will revive them after a short time. Players will then need to change their previous priorities in gameplay.
After the first kill of these new enemies, you won’t have much time to eliminate their ghost before it revives them. Whether and how quickly you succeed will likely be crucial for every fight from the launch of the new expansion onward.
In “The Witch Queen,” it will be us who kill a fighter’s ghost. In the gameplay trailer, a player can be seen taking the ghost in their hand and destroying it into pieces.
Are we seeing a new kind of finishers? Based on what we’ve seen, it seems that killing works similarly to the current use of a finisher on an enemy fighter. If a player is close enough to a ghost, they can take it in their hand and “squeeze” it.
Players will fear the new Hive Guardians
With the Hive Guardians, a new challenge enters the game for players, and Bungie wants us to consciously fear these enemies at all times. They are not at all comparable to Champions.
What changes because of this? Justin Truman, General Manager of Destiny 2, describes it this way: Until now, there were only enemies who feared the sight and arrival of a Guardian. Now it is time for new challenges to come into play that we have to fear, especially when one or more Hive Guardians interrupts our perfect run of an activity.
This week, players can complete the final steps in the seasonal quest, and so far Savathun, our so generous “friend,” has said nothing about her army.
What do you think about “The Radiant Brood” and the fact that a new enemy type is coming to the game? Are you excited for the expansion in February 2022, or is the wait just too long for you?
What are your thoughts on Savathun? Do you trust the Witch Queen? Share your opinions in the comments.
