Destiny 2, Bungie’s long-running, MMO shooter, has been going strong for years now, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. Now the space-magic-infused FPS is gearing up for another big expansion, one that will undoubtedly leave a lasting mark on the game well into the future. Dubbed Lightfall, this expansive bit of DLC is expected to mark a major turning point in the franchise on numerous fronts.
Every major expansion brings something new to Destiny 2, and players can expect a plethora of new features to come alongside Lightfall. Here are just a few of the ways Lightfall could change Destiny 2.
8 Ways The Lightfall Expansion Could Change Destiny 2
A Fifth Subclass
Arguably the biggest change Lightfall could make to the overall gameplay experience of Destiny 2 is by introducing a brand new subclass into the game. It’s been over a year since Bungie pioneered an entirely new element type, and the advent of Stasis shook the in-game meta for months.
Now that the developer has gone back over their original three subclasses and given them a much-needed glow-up, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that a new subclass could be on the way. Rumors have spread quickly about a poison-based subclass, which wouldn’t be surprising given the existence of poison-inspired gear like Osteostriga and Necrotic Grip.
New Enemy Faction
Destiny 2 has largely been working with the same set of enemy combatants since the very beginning. Certain expansions have brought in variations on the core races, but the Fallen, Vex, and Cabal have been the primary weapon fodder for almost a decade. It’s long-past time Destiny 2 got a new enemy race.
Lightfall is the perfect opportunity to introduce a new enemy faction as the central antagonist is a figure players have never truly faced before: the Witness. While the Witness has worked through proxies in the past, this time the enigmatic being is sending its own personal army into the fray. It would make sense for the crews of these ships to be a never-before-seen race instead of the standard aliens players have taken down thousands of times before.
Change Up Social Spaces
Social spaces have been pretty stagnant since Destiny 2 launched in 2017. The Farm sat largely abandoned for years before it was placed in the Destiny Content Vault, and the most impactful changes to the Tower have been the return of Saint-14 and the welcoming of Fallen refugees. It’s time for some big changes.
Lightfall could very well herald that change, as the name suggests that something drastic will happen to the Traveler’s power that gives each Guardian their abilities. The Tower could fall along with the Light, forcing players to relocate somewhere less conspicuous. The Hub for Emergency Logistics and Maneuvers, or H.E.L.M., already serves as a social space of sorts, and it wouldn’t take much for the ship to be converted into a mobile base of operations for the entire Vanguard.
Economy Changes
All major expansions in Destiny 2 come with new locations to explore, which also brings along new currencies to collect and spend. This in turn causes the in-game economy to slowly grow over time until it buckles under its own weight. But large additions also offer Bungie the chance to make sweeping changes to these systems, and Lightfall may afford them the opportunity to make some of the biggest changes of all.
As the expansion’s name suggests, Lightfall will have widespread ramifications on the world of Destiny 2, including the various planets and moons players on which players spend their time. Certain systems will likely vanish entirely, while others will radical shifts in how players engage with them.
Progression Updates
Destiny 2 has long been about a steady grind for power in order to tackle even more challenging content. This power grind has always come with a certain amount of controversy, though, as claiming the highest ranks is just as much a skill check as it is a roll of the dice. Lightfall could very well be the expansion to change all that.
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The Destiny 2 community has posited more than a few solutions of their own over the years, including a recent one that suggests power be stripped from gear entirely, relegating that grind to general experience points. With power creep once more becoming a problem in the game, though, Bungie will almost certainly include large-scale progression updates in Lightfall.
Major Character Deaths
Back in 2018 Destiny 2 underwent a massive shift in both systems and narrative design. The biggest moment from the Forsaken expansion was the death of Cayde-6, a fan favorite who’d been with the franchise since the very start. Players have had a reprieve from major character deaths since then (RIP Sagira), but Lightfall promises to change that trend.
The very name of the expansion suggests an ending of the current status quo, hearkening back to the Red War campaign that kicked off Destiny 2’s story. And with the stellar storytelling Bungie has done over the past few years, there are quite a few characters they could kill off that would tug at the players’ heartstrings. It could be another leader of the Vanguard or the recently redeemed Crow. It could even be the Traveler itself.
Light Subclass Changes
Over the past few seasons, Destiny 2 has received some much-needed updates to the three existing Light subclasses that have been with the series since its inception. Void, Solar, and Arc 3.0 have breathed new life into these underutilized character kits, and the reception to the changes has been largely positive.
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Lightfall will mark a full year since the first Light subclass update, making it the perfect time to evolve these subclasses even further. The Stasis subclass received a full year of new aspects, fragments, and adjustments after the Beyond Light expansion, and the Light subclasses deserve at least the same level of continued growth.
New Weapon Type
Every new expansion brings new weapons and armor to the table, but only a select few introduce a brand new weapon type to the game. Weapons like the glaive, combat bow, and sword weren’t part of the original Destiny experience, as they were added later in expansions like The Taken King and The Witch Queen.
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While Lightfall does come just one year after the introduction of the glaive, it’s also being styled as one of the biggest turning points in Destiny 2’s history. A creative and compelling new weapon type like dual pistols or some sort of knife-thrower would fit right in with an expansion that promises to forever alter the very foundations of Destiny 2.
Destiny 2 is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. The Lightfall expansion is expected to release in early 2023.
