Players can access the elemental power called Strand in Destiny 2 as a new subclass for Hunters, Titans, and Warlocks filled with special abilities.
As part of the Lightfall expansion in Destiny 2, the Strand elemental power gives players a new subclass for the Titan, Warlock, and Hunter that they can unlock and use by weaving objects into existence with powerful abilities. Strand becomes available for players to use in every mode of the game once they have fully beaten the Lightfall campaign. The skill kits and fragments tied to the progression of each Strand class may be used throughout Destiny 2‘s various modes, allowing players to enjoy and experiment with builds based on their style of play.
Once the final mission of the campaign, Desperate Measures, has been completed, players need to travel to the Tower and speak to both Zavala and Ikora. Going back to the Hall of Heroes on Neomuna gives players the option to meditate for some time, which unlocks the Strand subclass. Since this subclass’ abilities will take some time to unlock fully, players are recommended to find powerful armor like Artifice Armor within Destiny 2: Lightfall to best compliment a growing build’s early stages.
Using the Base Abilities of Strand
The combat prowess of Strand comes from the Weave, a source of elemental strength discovered after the Guardian’s re-emergence, a contrast to the previous Statis, Void, Arc, or Solar forces. Weaving refers to creating objects from the Strand, unraveling foes by manipulating their very life force.
Regarding gameplay, Strand acts as a great source of crowd control in each subclass, using long-range debuffs and tangles that affect multiple enemies at once. For example, the grenade ability is swapped for a Strand grapple, which shoot a hook toward an enemy that lets players travel through the air along that thread to wherever they wish.
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Strand Base Abilities |
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Strand Ability |
Explanation |
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Weave |
Players are able to create an object using Strand as one ability to expect from Destiny 2‘s Lightfall expansion. |
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Unravel |
A defeated enemy affected by Strand turns into a transformed being called a Tangle. |
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Tangle |
Defeating a Strand afflicted foe makes an enemy become a Tangle, a swirling mass of Strand fibers. Shooting Tangles causes them explode, damaging nearby enemies, but players can also pick up Tangles and throw them at other foes as a projectile. |
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Strand Grapple |
Using the grenade button, players are able to weave a hook onto an enemy or surface as an anchor point to grapple toward. |
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Suspend |
Players are able to lift a foe off the ground for a limited duration, or other players in PvP modes. In multiplayer, enemy players may still move at a slowed speed and fire their weapons to fight back. |
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Sever |
Enemies affected with Sever deal reduced damage to reflect their reduced presence on the material world. |
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Woven Mail |
A layer of armor vastly different from sets like the Mech Armor in Destiny 2 made of Strand fibers protects players from incoming damage. |
The Titan Berserker
The Strand subclass for the Titan is named Berserker, as their fibers from the Weave create two massive claws that encourage players to be on the frontlines of combat. The kit for this subclass incentivizes the use of Strand Grapple on enemies, to pull the Titan closer for powerful melee strikes.
The ultimate ability of this subclass, Bladefury, unleashes the player’s claws for a new moveset of heavy and light attacks that deal massive damage or even fire projectiles.
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Strongest Berserker Abilities Breakdown |
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Berserker Ability |
Explanation |
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Frenzied Blade |
Players dash forward, slashing enemies with their Strand arm blades, while also decreasing the damage output of enemies hit by this attack. Separated from ammunition within Destiny 2: Nightfall‘s Season 19 weapon rotation, this move has three charges, and allows its attacks to be chained together. |
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Drengr’s Lash |
When players use their class ability, they release a shockwave that manifests as a ripple in reality, suspending nearby foes into the air. |
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Into the Fray |
Destroying a Tangle creates Woven Mail on the Titan and any allies close by. A Titan player wearing Woven Mail has increased melee energy regeneration for a limited time. |
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Bladefury |
The player unleashes their arm blades, which can be swung using light and heavy attacks. The light attack appears as a supercharged version of Frenzied Blade with the same effects, increasing the Titan’s speed after each strike. The heavy attack fires two projectiles that seek out enemies, suspending them and dealing damage on impact. |
The Hunter Threadrunner
With unique abilities that dominate in content from Destiny 2‘s Season 19 Iron Banner, Hunters interact with the Strand by increasing their mobility, dashing around battlefields with bolstered agility given from their fibers. Manifesting a rope dart weapon that bounces between enemies, the Threadrunner hits hard and fast. An entire build for a Hunter Threadrunner revolves around the Strand grapple, especially when that ability gets boosted through the Silkstrike ultimate skill.
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Strongest Threadrunner Abilities Breakdown |
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Threadrunner Ability |
Explanation |
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Threaded Spike |
Players summon a rope dart that bounces between struck enemies before returning to the Hunter. When the weapon comes back, the rope dart grants melee enemy for each foe struck, with even more energy received if players catch the Spike with perfect timing. |
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Ensnaring Slam |
The Hunter slams downward in the air, suspending nearby enemies. |
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Widow’s Silk |
Players have an additional grenade charge unrelated to launchers in Destiny 2 such as Militia’s Birthright. These Snare grapples become permanent points when latching onto anything, whether it be enemies or objects. Both the Hunter and their allies can use these grapple points to recharge grenade energy fully when used, as players are able to set up multiple points for others to travel from. |
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Silkstrike |
Allows players to move through the world freely using their grapple, and strike enemies from above. The rope dart gains a light and heavy attack that both deal great damage. |
The Warlock Broodweaver
Threadlings are the pride and joy of this Warlock subclass, as explosive minions that are woven from Strand threads. These miniature waves of projectiles find enemies and detonate on their targets, returning to the player if they cannot find any foe.
With more abilities to note than the previous two subclasses, the Broodweaver is extremely unique when compared to the best Warlock Solar builds in Destiny 2 through the simple but highly effective swarms of Threadlings players can create.
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Strongest Broodweaver Abilities Breakdown |
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Broodweaver Ability |
Explanation |
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Arcane Needle |
A projectile that tracks targets, causing high damage and unraveling enemies on impact. Players are able to chain this attack up to three times in a row. |
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Mindspun Invocation |
When players execute a grapple melee, the Warlock weaves three Threadling eggs from the target. |
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Weaver’s Call |
During a Rift cast, the Warlock weaves three Threadling eggs, which hatch when they hit a surface. Perched Threadlings are converted into additional eggs. |
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Threadling Grenade |
Players can consume their Threadling Grenade to generate a full complement of perched Threadlings. |
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Shackle Grenade |
Warlocks are able to consume their Shackle Grenade to create a suspending detonation on every kill, similar to abilities seen in Warlock Void builds in Destiny 2. |
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Needlestorm |
Players summon a wave of spikes generated from Strand, which stick into enemies and surfaces to explode after a short duration. These explosions create a cloud of Threadlings that seek and destroy remaining enemies. |
New Fragments From Strand
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Strand Fragment |
Explanation |
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Thread of Ascent |
Players that activate their grenade ability also reload their equipped weapon, increasing their weapon handling and airborne effectiveness as well for a limited time. |
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Thread of Fury |
Melee energy restores upon damaging enemies with a Tangle. |
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Thread of Finality |
Any Finisher generates an amount of Threadlings. |
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Thread of Warding |
Picking up an orb of power gives players Woven Mail. |
Fragments act as passive buffs players are able to select before raids or other PvE events, and are all connected to Strand in Lightfall. The four fragments available in this expansion are somewhat related to class abilities, such as the Threadlings in Thread of Finality.
However, players are more than able to use every aspect of Strand in Destiny 2 once they unlock it to wreak havoc on their foes regardless of which fragment they decide to pursue.
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Destiny 2
- Released:
- 2017-09-08
- Genre:
- Sci-Fi, Action
- ESRB:
- M
