When Destiny 2 launched into Season 17 yesterday, it literally set the house ablaze. Players were able to try out the new subclass focus Solar 3.0 for the first time, and it really shines across all three classes. MeinMMO joined in and gives you an overview.
For three years, the subclasses Void, Solar, and Arc remained unchanged in Destiny 2. Only with Witch Queen, when Bungie released Void 3.0, did things change.
In Season 17, the “Season of the Haunted”, everything revolves around the ability Solar 3.0, which is supposed to melt your face off, as Kevin Janes, Sandbox Discipline Lead at Bungie, put it. So say goodbye to your eyebrows.
- Titans can now literally “burn the world”. They unleash the power of the Sun’s Wrath with the enhanced Hammer. Confronting a Solar 3.0 Titan feels like the end of everything.
- The Hunter scores with radiant weapon damage and generates a few improvised Solar bombs with the Light of the Traveler if anything wants to crawl away.
- The Warlocks become Archangel-Pyromancers, triggering chain detonations and throwing lava grenades while applying healing patches to their fireteam.
All new Solar 3.0 aspects at a glance
Hunter
| HUNTER ASPECT “Gunpowder Gamble” | Defeat targets with abilities, Solar debuffs, or Solar weapons to charge an improvised Solar explosive. Throw a solar explosive that can be launched to create an ignition. | |
| HUNTER ASPECT “Take Them Down” | Your Solar Supers are enhanced. Golden Gun – Deadshot has increased duration, Golden Gun – Marksman has increased damage resistance and duration, and Blade Barrage fires more projectiles. While you are radiant, final hits with the equipped throwing knife fully refund your melee energy. | |
| HUNTER ASPECT “On Your Mark” | Precision final blows grant you and nearby allies increased weapon handling and reload speed for a short duration. Stacks 3 times. Activating your class ability grants immediate maximum stacks of “On Your Marks”. |
Titan
| TITAN ASPECT “Consecration” | Activate your charged melee ability while gliding to launch a wave of solar energy forward that damages and scorches targets in front of you while you jump into the air. Activate your charged melee again in the air to slam down and create a second larger wave of harmful solar energy. If the wave hits a scorched target, they ignite. | |
| TITAN ASPECT “Roaring Flames” | Final blows with solar abilities or ignitions increase the damage of your solar abilities. Stacks 3 times. | |
| TITAN ASPECT “Sol Invictus” | Final blows with solar abilities, impacts with Hammer of Sol, and defeating scorched targets create sunspots. Your abilities recharge faster and your super consumes slower while standing in a sunspot. Sunspots scorch and deal damage to targets inside. Entering a sunspot applies restoration. |
Warlock
| WARLOCK ASPECT “The Heat Rises” | You can fire weapons, melee, and throw grenades while gliding. Consumes grenade. Final blows in the air increase the duration of Heat Rises and grant melee energy. | |
| WARLOCK ASPECT “Icarus Dash” | Dodge quickly in the air. While Heat Rises is active, you have an extra dodge. | |
| WARLOCK ASPECT “Touch of Flame” | Healing, solar, firebolt, and fusion grenades have enhanced functionality. Healing grenade has improved healing and restoration, solar grenade increases duration and fires lava clumps, firebolt grenade increases target-seeking radius and amount, and fusion grenade explodes twice. |
Players have received several options through the new Solar 3.0 aspects to create burning good builds and test them against the enemies of humanity and other guardians.
Additionally, there is a variety of new Ember Fragments, such as Ember of Eruption or Ember of Torches. Bungie also has four unknown fragments in the game, which will likely be revealed only after the release of the new dungeon “Duality”.
What the best options will ultimately be is already being discussed on reddit.
I can’t emphasize enough how damn cool the gameplay loop looks, putting a foe down with the [Hunter] grenade and then igniting them with the knife. […]
writes Destiny 2 player Stiel33r via reddit
Bungie has brought Solar in Destiny 2 to an uncomfortable yet engaging level. In the latest Bungie Insight, the developer also gave a behind-the-scenes look at the development of Solar 3.0. We have linked the video for you here:
New movement for all three classes: In addition to the hot new abilities, the movement of all three classes has also changed with Solar 3.0.
- The Hunter tumbles in the air to make his teammates shine.
- The Titan makes a sliding uppercut to then slam his two Solar hammers down for fiery AoE damage.
- And the Warlock probably “snaps” one of the deadliest sparks in the game from their fingers.
Old raid becomes a patrol area: Guardians can currently try out their new abilities on the returned Leviathan. While NewLight players wander around in awe, Destiny veterans are already quite familiar with the area.
Bungie has refurbished the “Leviathan raid”, which was old and vaulted, for the “Season of the Haunted” along with Circus, Throne Room, Underbelly, and pleasure gardens. It has become a large, overgrown patrol area that can be explored. However, not much of the former glory is left, as the Egregora plants of darkness have spread everywhere.
Additionally, the activity “Separation” is a mix of the vaulted exotic mission “Forerunners” and the content of the Shadowkeep expansion.
What do you think of the new Solar 3.0 abilities in Destiny 2? Which class did you start with and which aspect do you like best? What do you think? Which class will become the strongest damage dealer with Solar 3.0 in Season 17? Feel free to let us know in the comments.
