A Strand Bootcamp That Wasn’t
In addition to Neomuna and the Cloudstriders, Lightfall also offers players a new ability: “Strand.” A large part of the campaign is only about that.
The new subclass ability Strand should not only keep the Guardians busy in the first Season 20. Because it will be developed seasonally, similar to Stasis, throughout the entire expansion year 6.
Britta: Using Strand for the first time in Lightfall was strange and not exciting. I was just as skeptical during Beyond Light with Stasis. In the meantime, I can say: Strand is not a bad subclass that Bungie has put together.
It was time for something new. Always just Void, Solar, Arc, or Stasis can get boring over time. It needed something engaging, and that’s exactly what Strand does, and we now know, with strong synergies. In contrast to the campaign, Strand is, in my opinion, one of the best things in Lightfall.
Strand should have been earned: I just found Bungie’s campaign approach for Strand a bit too loosely chosen. I never felt even for a second during Osiris’s coaching for Strand that I was even remotely dependent on it. Especially since Strand was only presented in its Light version during the campaign. Sure, sometimes you needed a tangle to open something. But Strand could never stand up to the tried-and-true ultis in its standard version. So you often stuck with the old reliable.
In my opinion, Calus should have hit the Guardians right at the beginning of Lightfall with a mega-darkness signal around their ears instead of temporary mini disruptions here and there. Like this, our old Light abilities would have been blocked on Neptune until the completion of the 7th campaign mission in Lightfall.
In essence, it would have been like: No Light. No Power. Only the option Strand would have been there, and then every player in Lightfall would have had to undertake a heroic journey like Rocky Balboa to survive all the campaign rounds. The scenario in which Osiris trains the Guardians would have been cooler.
I don’t know how others see it, but personally, I would have liked that, and it would have made me appreciate “Strand” more from the start.
What are your experiences with Strand, Christos?
Christos: I also thought Strand was pretty cool, and Neomuna is just made for swinging back and forth. Maybe it’s also because I always have my little friends with me as a Warlock, and they do the work for me, but strand was simply fun. Bungie did a good job creating a new ultimate ability with that.
Britta: The Strand leaf bugs of the Warlock are really not bad, that’s true. But the mod system is something that works well with both Strand and the old classes in Lightfall, I think.
However, you have to be willing to experiment with mods and especially understand them. I think we will definitely be able to present some good builds for easy replication at MeinMMO soon.
Our Conclusion on Lightfall
The MeinMMO editorial team agrees: Destiny 2: Lightfall is not bad, but so far there is also nothing super exciting there – aside from Strand.
Christos: In my opinion, Lightfall highlights the problem that Destiny 2 has been carrying for a long time:
- Little content, a lot of recycling, and resources are being spent where they aren’t needed. (Eververse, Guardian ranks, and feedback tabs)
As someone who knows Destiny 1 well, I have watched how Destiny 2 has gradually become a game that is just a shadow of its former self for years. Nonetheless, I don’t think the DLC is completely terrible.
It has its pros and cons, which every player must explore for themselves. For my part, I don’t find the DLC bad, but for 50-100 € it is actually way too expensive. What Lightfall offers simply does not justify the price Bungie is asking for it.
With Witch Queen, there were still 2 new strikes and 1 new event. I currently miss that a bit in Neomuna. Here there is only one new strike, no new PvP map, nothing new for Gambit, and the events in Neomuna are the same ones you know (except for Terminal Overload). So I would actually advise you against buying it.
The Light Beginning of the End
Britta: If I were to base it on my long experience as a Destiny 2 player, I would rank Lightfall in the middle. Forsaken was good, Witch Queen topped that, and Lightfall is actually only okay.
You have to see it for what it is: a beginning – comparable to part 1 of The Lord of the Rings. It’s just the introduction and not an extremely thrilling and gripping DLC that tells a story to completion. Understandably, this makes Lightfall a disappointment for players who expected more.
Essentially, we now have a complete storytelling year that will ultimately connect the campaigns of “Lightfall” and “The Final Shape.” However, you have to play it for that. Anyone who only wanted to experience the campaign now has more question marks than answers and is left with a DLC that doesn’t continue and is merely the beginning of the end.
However, there are also players, especially new guardians, who are currently enjoying exploring Neomuna and trying out Strand and the new discoveries.
Therefore, I recommend considering your own expectations before buying. If you look at it casually, enjoy shooting and want to play the entire year 6 of Lightfall – all good. Then the end can come. But anyone who wants just a taste of the legendary conclusion of a great saga in the loot shooter will not be well served with “The Light Beginning of the End.”
Could Bungie still change something about Lightfall? Unlikely. Much in year 6 of Lightfall cannot be changed or “adjusted” anymore. Especially since the upcoming seasons are likely already completed and their stories are “in the can.” One could say the path to the end is already set.
Nevertheless, Bungie will have to listen closely for the future in order to repair the deep fall of this light. And it’s best to do so before the Destiny universe completely collapses. Also, the fact that so much was announced in advance in 2023 took away many big wow moments from the DLC. Perhaps the new Lightfall raid this week will bring new insights. We are certainly excited.
What is your conclusion after a week of Lightfall? Is it as bad as many critics rate it? Or have you, like our authors, still not lost your fun in the expansion after the campaign?
Perhaps you could pay an old acquaintance in Lightfall another visit. He would surely be happy if someone stopped by to insult him:
The grumpiest character in Destiny 2 is not dead at all – you can get insulted by him again
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