How to find the Node.Ovrd.Avalon Vexcalibur Exotic mission

It's only week two of Destiny 2: Lightfall and already Bungie is adding more and more content with the expansion. As part of the Season of Defiance, players can now embark on a hidden Exotic mission to find the (very cool) Glaive, Vexcalibur??. There's plenty of lore and some secrets hidden within this quest, but it's not the easiest or most obvious to find to begin with.

Head to the EDZ using the Gulch landing spot. You can d?o this solo or with friends, it doesn't make much difference. If nobody in the area has found all of them already, you will need to seek out six little glowing Vex nodes to jump through to obtain a keycode. This keycode will open up a cave. The locations of the Vex nodes are:

• By the billboard at the back of the loading zone
• Next to some trees on the right
• In the middle of the landing area where the public event usually takes place
• On the hill on the right side of the spawn
• Next to the Lost Sector entrance floating in the air underneath the road
• On the hill above a yellow box

[caption id="attachment_367504" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

They're not hard to miss, they glow brightly and emit a Vex-like noise as you get closer to them. Collecting all of these will give you the cave's access code. From the tunnel, you'll want to travel up the road, keep left, and look in a corner for a newly opened cave entrance. Head in here and drop down, and you'll see a friendly Harpy. This is pretty important to the Exotic mission's lore. Fans of Destiny will probably know what's about to be signified within. You can start the quest from a marker in here, and from now on it'll also appear on your EDZ overworld map ??for easy return.

How to complete the Node.Ovrd.Avalon Vexcalibur Exotic mission

[caption id="attachment_367505" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

There are a few puzzles in here and a bit of a tricky time finding the right path, to begin with. This mission isn't matchmade, so if you don't want to do it solo you'll have?? to either search for a fire team online or link up with some friends. There are three main sections that are connected by a series of Vex networks and stunning environm??ents. To begin with, there's a code consisting of shapes that you'll have to shoot on a pylon in the correct order whilst the Vex try to attack you. Once all of these codes have been successfully entered, a new pathway will open up with more enemies. Kill them all, progress through, and you'll soon come to a circular room with a conflux in the middle.

[caption id="attachment_367506" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Kill enemies to gather purple motes which need to be dunked at the central conflux to open a "safe" pit below. This pit isn't actually all that safe, but your fire team won't wipe in here. In the left corner of the screen, it should tell you how many ?motes to collect and dunk to open the safe area. After two rounds of doing this a boss will spawn, put enough damage into them and they'll disappear for another round of mote collecting. This can get a bit chaotic, so try to manage the enemies and get rid of as many as possible whilst collecting the motes. The boss will then come out again and can be defeated here allowing you to traverse to the next section of the Exotic mission.

[caption id="attachment_367507" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The final part of the mission is a fight against a reimagined Brakion fro?m the Pyramidion strike which was on IO but was then sunset. Asher Mir guides you throughout the Exotic mission so it's very fitting that Brakion, his old nemesis, ?is the main boss for this mission. There are a few phases to this fight, some of which will require inputting codes to break an immunity shield he puts up. These function in the same way as the opening section, consisting of shapes that must be entered in the right order to progress. They are sunken into triangles on the ground and quite difficult to find if you don't know where to look.

[caption id="attachment_367508" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The final phase of ?the fight sees Brakion lose his head and run around frantically. That's not a turn of phrase, just like in the old Pyramidion strike, his head actually does fall off. Kill him to finish the quest, and Asher Mir will direct you to the co??rner of the arena to pull the aptly named Vexcalibur out of some Vex stone.

What is Vexcalibur?

[caption id="attachment_367509" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Vexcalibur is an Exotic Glaive with three achievable catalysts and seven secret intrinsic perks to find, although only one is available for now and requires a separate quest. The Glaive has a shield that can be used to deflect incoming damage which then charges a Void over shield. Getting melee kills will recharge this over shield each time, and extend its timer. It, therefore, has the capability to have an infinite Void over shield, which could prove hugely useful in end-game and difficult content in Destiny 2.

Destiny 2: Lightfall is out now on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC.

The post How to find the ?secret ??Exotic Glaive Vexcalibur in Destiny 2: Lightfall appeared first on Destructoid.

Unlimited barricades?!

With the launch of Destiny 2: Lightfall came a new Darkness subclass, Strand. Whilst the initial fan reception to Strand was pretty underwhelming, as time has gone on the more dedicated players have had time to dig deep into the new subclass and come up with some powerful new builds. We've already covered Warlocks and Hunters, with armies of Threadlings and infinite enemy suspension all possible. This time we're going to take a look at the space shooter's brutes, the Titan?s.

We're looking to create a build that will give unlimited barricades to protect against incoming enemy fire as well as turn you into a suspending machine. We're obviously going to be using the Strand subclass, and some important asp?ects, fragments, and armor mods to help achieve that.

Aspects and fragments

[caption id="attachment_367272" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

We'll first be using the aspect Drengr's Lash. This creates a ripple that travels forward along the ground, suspending and damaging any targets it hits when you use your class ability. This means whenever ?you use your barricade, it will also be suspending and damaging any enemies in its path. We're also going to use the aspect Into the Fray. This grants woven mail for you and your nearby allies when you destroy a Tangle or cast your Super. When you do have woven mail, your ?melee regeneration rate is also increased.

The fragments we will use here are Thread of Mind, which grants class ability energy when defeating suspended targets, and Thread of Warding which grants woven mail when picking up orbs of power. The woven mail provides a valuable 60% over-shield to protect against incoming damage. The next fragment we'll use is Thread of Wisdom which gives orbs of power when defeating suspended targets with precision final blows. This will be valuable to create the orbs of ?power to collect in order to transform into woven mail. Finally, we'll be using Thread of Generation which generates grenade energy when dealing any kind of damage.

We'll be u?sing the shackle grenade ??which suspends enemies it hits.

Exotics, gear, and armor

[caption id="attachment_367273" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

This build will sy?nergize with ?the lesser-used Khepri's Horn exotic helmet. This means that Solar damage kills will recharge our barricade which then also unleashes a blast of Solar energy when it's summoned. This might not seem like the best choice at first glance, but it will really work with this build as not only will we be activating the Solar blast but also the suspension due to the Strand aspect.

As we need a Strand weapon in this build we'll be using the Synchronic Roulette Strand submachine gun in the kinetic slot. We've managed to roll one with Target Lock which increases the damage the lon?ger you hold down fire. Remember that the Exotic relies on Solar damage kills to activate its Exotic perk, so we've chosen to use the Solar grenade launcher Explosive Personality. This will recharge our barricade and give?? it that Solar blast to cause devastation to foes.

Finally, we've also chosen the Solar sword, The Lament, for the h?eavy weapon. When Strand targets are suspended, Titans can launch themsel?ves into the fray and mow down all of them. This will give health back when revving the sword's charge too.

Artifact mods

On the artifact, there are three Strand build mods for this Titan that we'll want to ensure we have unlocked. Untangler means that destroying a Tangle with a Strand weapon will suspend targets damaged by its explosion. Allied Unraveling means that any rapid final blows using a Strand weapon will grant that weapon Unraveling Rounds, which lasts longer when near allies. Unraveling rounds will cause ene??mies to literally unravel before your eyes into a pile of Strand matter which then explodes, causing damage to all nearby foes. Finally, Threaded Blast means that destroying a Tangle with a Strand weapon will create a larger and more damaging explosion.

Armor mods

[caption id="attachment_367274" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The armor mods will?? really bring this build into its own. On the helmet, we're going to use Strand and Solar siphons to get as many orbs of power as possible. On the gauntlets, we're going to use Heavy Handed which creates orbs of power on powered melee final blows as well as Momentum Transfer which reduces the melee cooldown when you cause dama??ge with a grenade. Finally, we're going to use Harmonic Loader to increase the reload speed of Strand weapons.

On the chest armor, we'll use Lucent Blades to synergize with The Lament. This will increase the energy recharge ??rate of equipped swords. We'll also use Melee Damage Resistance which reduces incoming damage from point-blank enemies.

On the boots, we'll use Recuperation which ?replenishes health when picking up orbs of power, and a Solar Weapon Surge which gives Armor Charge as well as a small bonus to Solar weapon damage. Finally, we'll use Orbs of Restoration w??hich regenerates ability energy when picking up orbs of power.

On the class item, the mark, we'll use Utility Kickstart which means that when our class ability is fully expended, we gain mo??re. As well as this, we'll add Time Dilation so that when we're not using a barricade, we can make Lament stronger. We'll also use Bomber which reduces grenade cooldown when we use our barricade, the class ability.

With all this in mind, you've got a strong Titan with long uptime on woven mail over-shields that can almost infinitely suspend and damage targets with a Solar blast, which creates devastating explosions when destroying those enemies with Tangles too. This is one of the strongest Titan builds possible right now, and worth considering for the upcoming World's First raid race which begins March 1??0 for the new raid, The Root of Nightmares. Good luck, Guardians.

Destiny 2: Lightfall is out now for Xbox, PlayStation, and PC.

The post Best Titan Strand build in Destiny 2: Lightfall Season 2??0 appeared first on Destructoid.

What is happening?

[WARNING: This review contains light campaign spoilers]

Since the release of Destiny 2, many questions in the space shooter's lore history have been answered, but many more have been equally opened. Unfortunately, it seems that Bungie has struggled to adjust to its "new" release schedule, with Lightfall intended initially to be the closing chapter of the "Light and Dark saga" �a narrative which has been ongoing since the release of the original Destiny in 2014.

As it now stands, this saga is expected to end sometime in 2024 with the release of the closing expansion The Final Shape concluding the story's 10-year span of content. With so many questions left to answer, does this negatively impact our experience of Lightfall? In short yes, but also no.

[caption id="attachment_364139" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Bungie[/caption]

Destiny 2: Lightfall (PC [reviewed], PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X)
Developer: Bungie
Publisher: Bungie
Released: February 28, 2023
MSRP: $49.99 / $99.99 for Lightfall + Annual Pass

Destiny 2: Lightfall is the seventh expansion of Destiny 2 and the eleventh expansion in the Destiny franchise. It follows the story of "The Witness" who is threatening the solar system, or Sol, the Last City, which is the only remaining safe space for humanity, and "The Traveler", which is a mysterious giant sphere associated with the Light. Assisted by its newest Disciple, Emperor Calus, The Witness hopes to cause a second collapse and destroy humanity for good. But fi??rst, it must find a mysterious object called the Veil.

Lightfall opens with a chaotic cutscene that sees some of the Vanguard such as Saint-14, Amanda Holliday, and others racing through the sky in ships, trying to fight off the Witness' fleet of pyramids that surrounds the Traveler. With a mere flick of its?? wrist, the Witness decimated a Guardia??n and their Ghost, as well as sending out a shockwave to destroy multiple ships dotted through the sky. Seeing the carnage, the Traveler fired a huge beam of Light at the pyramid ships and the Witness.

This terraformed all surfaces it touched but did not affect the Witness who flo??ated through the beam untouched. The Witness then connects mentally with the Traveler and unveils its secrets including the planet of Neptune and the hidden city of Neomuna, which houses the Veil. The Witness calls upon its newest disciple, Calus, for aid and Osiris begins to underst??and what the Witness has seen. He orders the Vanguard to Neptune to defend Neomuna and work with its leaders, the Cloud Striders, to protect the Veil.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-7Cq7L??LPr4&ab_channel=Des??tiny2

Dealing with history

Your first duty as a Guardian is to hijack an enemy ship and set it to self-destruct before rapidly exiting with Osiris. During this mission, we find ourselves face to face with a terrifying new enemy, a Tormentor. As it grabs me, restricting my movement and applying a suppressing effect to all my abilities I am genuinely fearful of this new creature. I spend the rest of the campaign on edge, waiting for more to appear, and they do. Bungie has balanced the Tormentor appearances so well that I'm never quite sure when one will turn up, and when they do, it's always horrific. Learning their exposed weakness areas and dealing with them efficiently as a fireteam is paramount to survival, and they are one of the best new additions to Destiny 2.

As we progress through the events of Lightfall we can't help but think that this must feel very alienating to new players. There's a lot of lore, some explained and some not. What is the Veil? Well, no one seems to know exactly. Destiny has always focused on storytelling, worldbuilding, history, and intricate relationships, all of which are difficult to keep up with even for die-hard fans of the game. It turns out that the Veil, an object of paracausal power, has been hidden in Neomuna since the first Collapse, and Savathun, The Witch Queen's protagonist, is responsible for hiding it. The Witness sends Calus to Neptune to find it and set up a lin??k between it and the Traveler.

The Witness and Calus originally intended to use something called the Radial Mast to connect with the Veil, although nothing about what this actually is or how it came to exist is explained which is more than  a little frustrating. Regardless, we soon find ourselves in a room fighting off giant tanks, Calus' Shadow Legion forces, and trying ??to destroy the Radial Mast to prevent the Witness from making this connection.

[caption id="attachment_366630" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Wielding new powers of Darkness

Throughout the campaign, which is available at either normal or legendary difficulty, we're introduced to Strand, the new Darkness subclass. Using Strand, Guardians can grapple through the air, hooking onto enemies before slamming down on them causing them to explode. Strand gifts Guardians with extreme mobility and whilst the new subclass can take some time to get to grips with, when it clicks it's incredibly satisfying. Osiris is your teacher?? as you learn how to wield Strand and a difficult exercise in learning how to best utilize Strand in the campaign is repurposed in the activities available after its completion in the form of a time trial.

The build crafting overhaul featured in Destiny 2: Lightfall means that it's simpler than ever to find something that works exceptionally well, and by day two I had already created a Strand Hunter build that could almost infinitely suspend groups of enemies, rendering them helpless to my relentless bullet fire. Defeating these suspended enemies spawns Tangles which can be shot to cause a blast radius of damage or thrown for a similar effect. Strand is not bu??ilt to rely on one or two abilities to cause huge damage, but rather to wield the battlefield to your advantage, stringing a series of effe??cts together to devastating effects. When you realize this, it becomes one of the strongest subclasses in the game.

[caption id="attachment_366510" align="alignnone" width="3840"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Neomuna, the lifeless city

Landing on Neomuna for the first time is awe-inspiring. Its neon-draped streets are the most modern Destiny has ever looked but it's deathly quiet. As the Cloud Strider Nimbus explains, all of its citizens have uploaded themselves to ?a metaverse of sorts. In their place are some fragmented yellow figures �at first ?I thought this was some sort of weird futuristic grass, but no, they're supposed to represent Neomuna's population.

Nimbus is a bright, sometimes clumsy, often goofy new character. They begin the campaign as Rohan's protege and end it as the protector of Neomuna. Nimbus could be used to provide context and story around the Veil and Neomuna but they just... don't. Having said that, their voice actor is bo??th fantastic and engaging and I have nothing but praise for them.

[caption id="attachment_366632" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

I'm an avid Destiny 2 fan, I play almost daily with my clan, and I am struggling to see how this expansion would bring in new players. And even then, will said newcomers stay beyond the campaign to discover what the Veil is, what the Witness does next, and how this decade-long saga will come to an end in 2024? I wouldn't blame anyone that doesn't. Personally, however, I definitely need to see the end of this saga.

Prior to Lightfall, I felt Destiny was at its strongest point ever. The narrative was exceptional, the character development was unrivaled by any other FPS, and the future seemed both terrifying and wildly exciting. After Lightfall, I am still intrigued to see what happens next, but I think that lies solely with my thousands of logged hours and personal emotional investment that may not exist for new players. There is so much potential in Destiny for newcomer?s, but it isn't easy to find, and Bungie often doesn't help them along t??he way.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Destiny 2: Lightfall appeared first on Destructoid.

Lightfall truly has arrived

It's been a huge week for the Destiny 2 team at Bungie. On February 28 the latest expansion, Lightfall, was released and the player base came out to support in its masses. Not only did Destiny 2: Lightfall see massive numbers and a?? surge in concurrent players, but it b??roke its own previous Steam record.

As shown on SteamDB, the record for the number of concurrent players on Steam prior to February 28's release of Lightfall was around 292,000. This happened with 2019's release of the Shadowkeep expansion, which was the first major DLC to be released independently by Bungie after acquiring publishing rights for the series from Activision earlier that year. 2022's The Witch Queen came in close, but Lightfall saw a record-breaking 316,750 concurrent Steam players logging in to discover the secrets of the ??newly discovered city of Neomuna.

It's unclear what precisely drew so many Guardians into the game at once with the launch of Lightfall. Is it the new Strand subclass? Perhaps it's the new storyline detailing Calus and his Shadow Legion's invasion of Neomuna in search of the Veil? Maybe it's just hundreds of thousands of people excited to continue with the seasonal storyline, which sees Mara Sov team up with Guardians to face Xivu Arath's impending war. Whatever the reason, the record has been smashed for Destiny 2 by over 10,000 players.

Our end begins

[caption id="attachment_361843" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Bungie[/caption]

Destiny 2: Lightfall is the penultimate installment in the Light and Dark saga of the game, which will be concluded with 2024's The Final Shape. Bungie recently released a mammoth blog post detailing the year ahead, and it is expected that players will hear more about the future of Destiny within the next 12 months as we draw? closer to the next expansion's rel?ease.

The post Destiny 2’s Lightfall expansion shatters its own concurrent player record on Steam appeared first on Destructoid.

A paracausal superposition?

It's finally here. Lightfall has been released for Guardians worldwide and with it comes the new Darkness subclass, Strand. The campaign reveals a lot of information about this mysterious new power, and Osiris is present to hold our hands and help us uncover its true capabilities. Some Guardians may remember Beyond Light, where the full powe??r of Stasis wa??sn't readily available and some steps needed to be completed before we could wield it.

Strand is no different, and there are some steps to follow to unlock the Strand subclass in Destiny 2. It's reasonably straightforward though, and it's an exciting adventure to set out on. In addition to being a devastating? offensive tool, Strand can be used to create a grappling hook for ultra-fast world traversal, to give Guardians a protective Strand layer of armor, suspend enemies in midair and reduce their damage output.

How to unlock the Strand subclass

[caption id="attachment_366404" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Strand needs to be unlocked before it can be used throughout Destiny 2, but Guardians will get their hands on it from quite early on in the new Lightfall campaign. There are several steps to complete, but Strand will be fully unlocked by completing the Lightfall campaign. To begin the campaign, an automatic prompt will appear in the game the first time you log in after purchasing the new DLC. This can be canceled and you can enter at any? time by selecting Neptune on the Director screen.

Throughout the campaign, there are multiple opportunities to wield the power of Strand to slowly get familiar with the new subclass. You'll spot dense areas of Strand threads in locations where this is possible, and Osiris is usually on hand to assist with the techni??cal side of things. More power can be given to Strand as Guardians unlock Aspects, Fragments, and different Grenade functions.

How to unlock Aspects, Fragments, and Grenades

[caption id="attachment_366126" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Bungie[/caption]

After completing the campaign to unlock Strand, the next objective to make the most of your new Darkness subclass is to acquire all of its Aspects, Fragments, and alternative grenade abilities. To do this, head to the Pouka Pond near Strider's Gate. Here, similarly to Ikora in the Tower, you can meditate and acquire the desired upgrades. Completing these upgrades will cost Strand Meditations, which is a currency earned by using Strand and completing public events, lost sectors, and the Terminal Overload activity o?n Neomuna.

Each Aspect costs 150 Strand Meditations, Fragments cost 200 Strand Meditations and Grenades cost 50 Strand Meditations. Grenades can't be bought until the Aspec??ts and Fragments you were able to try out throughout the campaign have been bought. These will be the only available Aspects and Fragments until you've bought them all.

Destiny 2: Lightfall sees a brand-new campaign, new subclass, and new sea??sonal storyli??ne and is out now for Xbox, PlayStation, and PC.

The post How to unlock the Strand ?subclass in Destiny 2: Li?ghtfall appeared first on Destructoid.

That's it, Guardians...

The servers are officially down in the lead-up to the release of Destiny 2: Lightfall on February 28. Bungie has had some surprises up its sleeves though, as it released a very heavy blog post detailing all of the changes being made to the game during the server downtime, which lasts for 24 hours.

Amongst all of the details, one controversial nerf has been spotted by fans. One of the most popular Titan Exotics in Destiny 2, Heart of Inmost Light, has had a huge change which severely diminishes its effectiveness. In the patch notes, Bungie detailed the changes being made to Heart of Inmost Light. Prior to the servers being t????aken down, the Exotic chest plate was giving a 150% class regeneration buff in PvE activities and 38% in PvP. After the changes, this drops to 25% across both PvE and PvP activities. As well as this huge drop, the duration of its Empowered buff will decrease from ten seconds to just five.

Bungie, why?!

[caption id="attachment_361917" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Bungie[/caption]

Bungie always has its reasons for adjusting equipment and weapons in Destiny 2 and it seems this alteration to Heart of Inmost Light is no different. "This change is? intended to decrease how easy it is to get and maintain a 2x empowerment bonus in PvE, as well as reduce the total amount of bonus ability energy provided??," Bungie said. "The goal is for Heart of Inmost Light to remain strong in ability-focused builds while giving room for other Exotics to shine as well."

The Exotic chest piece became popular for the Titan class in Destiny 2, as it regenerated ability energy faster than many other Exotics. This led to ability-focused builds that could create "loops" of using abilities almost endlessly, with those abilities also outputting higher damage numbers. This doesn't seem to have changed in the massive overhaul being done with the introduction of Lightfall.

Perhaps the most valuable thing about Heart of Inmost Light, though, was the fact it c?ould be used with any subclass build. ??Without its effectiveness, there's a chance Titans will look to Hallowfire Heart for Solar builds, or another neutral Exotic such as Mask of the Quiet One.

All is not lost though, as there are plentiful reworks, system overhauls, new mechanics, and an entirely new subclass in the form of Strand for Guardians to get their hands dirty with when Lightfall becomes available on February 28.

The post Heart of Inmost Light nerfed last second ahead of Destiny 2: Lightfall rele?ase appeared first on Destructoid.

Our end begins

Destiny 2: Lightfall is set for release on Tuesday, February 28, and players can expect a brand-new campaign mission, quality of life improvements, and the brand-new darkness subclass, Strand. Bungie usually brings plenty of content with its annual expansions and Lightfall is set to be no different.

The team has already detailed its long-term plans for the game as well as the new subclass, Strand, and its abilities and new in-game vocabulary to be aware of. We've seen an emotional season finale during which Rasputin learned how to trust humanity again, and in doing so sacrificed himself to save the world from the clutches of Beyond Light's main protagonist, Eramis. As guardians globally are now in their final hours of frantically preparing for Lightfall, when can you expect to be able to jump in and l?and your fireteam on the newly discovered?? city of Neomuna?

Planned server downtime

[caption id="attachment_361838" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Bungie[/caption]

To allow for as seamless a process as possible, Bungie has announced that it will be taking the Destiny 2 servers offline for a full 24 hours. During this period, preloading Lightfall will become available. Luckily, Bungie has also detailed the install sizes needed for each platform. Starting at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET / 5 PM GMT on February 27, the Destiny 2 servers will be taken offline, with players being removed from activities 15 minutes prior to this. Players have until this time to wrap up any Season of the Seraph objectives as well as earn the seals for any of the seasons since the launch of The Witch Queen a year ago. This includes Season of the Risen??, Season of the Haunted, Season of the Plunder, and Season of the Seraph. After this time, all of this content will be removed from the game.

Lightfall install size

[caption id="attachment_361844" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Bungie[/caption]

Bungie has warned that the install size for Lightfall will be quite hefty, but following the initial load, the game will take up less space and see improved loading times. Most notably, Bungie has warned that anyone playing the PlayStation 4 version will need additional space to install the game, around 80GB, but that the old files will be removed after the installation is complete. PC users on both Steam and Epic Games Store will need at least 223GB of free space in order to preload Lightfall. There's a helpful article on Bungie's website that details this in full.

PlayStation 5

• Install size: 102.6GB
• Storage space required for the preload: 102.6GB

Xbox Series X|S

• Install size: 108.59GB
• Storage space required for the preload: 108.59GB

PlayStation 4

• Install size: 88.21GB
• Storage space required for the preload: 184.64GB

Xbox One

• Install size: 89.21GB
• Storage space required for the preload: 89.21GB

Steam

• Install size: 102.50GB
• Storage space required for the preload: 233.2GB

Epic Games Store

• Install size: 101.51GB
• Storage space required for the preload: 223.3GB

Microsoft Store

• Install size: 102.13GB
• Storage space required for the preload: 223.3GB

Players should note that the install size may vary dependent on t??he languages in?stalled, and the install size shown is the maximum that may be needed.

So when can we play?!

[caption id="attachment_363154" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Bungie[/caption]

Destiny 2: Lightfall servers will go live on Tuesday, February 28 at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET / 5 PM GMT. All players are required to download and apply the latest updates available for Destiny on their platform whether they have purchased Lightfall or not.

The post De?stiny 2: Lightfall preload information: install size and server downtime appeared first on Destructoid.

Unlock the power of Strand

As Bungie gears up to release Destiny 2: Lightfall on February 28, the developer has collaborated with accessory designer SteelSeries on a limited edition collection of peripherals themed around Lightfall and its new city of Neomuna.

For Guardians wanting the optimal experience for learning the powers of the new Darkness subclass Strand, SteelSeries has added the Arctis 7+ headset, Aerox 5 wireless mouse, QCK Prism XL RGB mousepad as well as some performance thumbstick toppers for Xbox and PlayStation controllers. The accessories are currently sold out on the SteelSeries website but are available to pre-order through Bungie and KontrolFreek.

Teals, purples, and oranges weave a Neomuna-inspired color palette across the accessories, which only differ cosmetically from others of the same model. The Arctic 7+ wireless headset is compatible with PC, mobile, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch, but can be used with a 3.5mm audio cable for Xbox consoles. The Aerox 5 wireless mouse is ambidextrous and can last up to 80 hours on a single charge. The QCK Prism cloth mousepad measures 900 x 300 mm and has RGB lighting around the outside. It's water-resistant to boot, too. Finally, the thumbstick toppers offer extra grip and come in purple and green with the Destiny logo in the middle. Depending on where players order from, they could even come in a miniature?? Traveler case.

How to get the Luminescent Precision emblem in Destiny 2

[caption id="attachment_365402" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Bungie[/caption]

That's not all though. For those in-game collectors, ordering any of the accessories also includes codes that can be redeemed for emblems and emotes. The emote up for grabs is called Viral Celebration and the emblem is Luminescent Precision. The emblem features the same colors as the new Destiny and SteelSeries collabora?ti??on peripherals do, to really coordinate your setup.

After purchasing any of the items from SteelSeries, Bungie, or KontrolFreek, the code for both rewards will be inside the box whe??n your new accessories are deliver?ed.

Destiny 2: Lightfall is set for release on February 28 for PC, Xb??ox and PlayStatio??n.

The post SteelSeries & Bungie team up for exclusive Destiny 2: Lightfall ge??ar appeared first on Destructoid.

The beginning of the end

With Destiny 2: Lightfall releasing on February 28, the game is at its most exciting point yet. Lightfall is the franchise's penultimate expansion in the Light and Dark saga, meaning this story arc will soon be coming to an end, but there are plenty of loose threads to tie up? before then.

On February 16, Bungie shared a 16-minute video documentary that gave fans of the series a deeper look at Lightfall and what comes next. There was plenty of information to sink our teeth into, and we'll dissect the Lightfall ViDoc and bring you all you need to know ??about its contents.

//youtu.be/mIlCRqj0ZsM

Osiris, the strand weaver

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The beginning of the ViDoc shows the Traveler, which had an important cut-scene featured in the second week of February 2023, surrounded by The Witness' pyramids as well as Osiris wielding Strand fibers. Strand, as we now know, is the new subclass coming to Destiny 2 with the launch of Lightfall. Osiris himself no longer has the Light, the power which keeps Guardians alive, so it's interesting to note here that he is the one wielding Strand and teaching Guardians about it. It is described as something tha?t everyone has within them and is not related to the Light, which is important for the narrative ahead.

Our end begins

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The Witness' ship is shown in the ViDoc and we're informed that they will finally materialize physically to face o?ff against the Traveler. This will be the first time players have seen the physical manifestation of The Witness in the game, and when it's followed by the quote, "Big shit is going down," we can't help but feel that's somewhat of an understatement. Involved in that "big shit" will be Crow, Amanda, Petra, and Devrim Kay. This is the first time in a while these characters have been heavily involved in an expansion's storyline, but it ??remains to be seen in which context.

New weapons incoming

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Several new weapons were shown off in the trailer, somewhat indirectly. In various cutscenes and stills new weapons and armor?? could be seen. Firstly, an Exotic stasis bow called Verglas Curve that looks to freeze enemies at rapid speed, should make an interesting addition to most builds. We were also shown a short clip featuring a purple sword which we now know is the season's ritual weapon. This is the weapon Guardians c?an earn by taking part in ritual activities such as Crucible, Gambit, and Vanguard Ops.

In a loading in screen, there is some Lightfall-themed armor with plentiful bullets and a red and green aesthetic. The Titan's helmet seems new and could be an Exotic we haven't seen yet. The Quicksilver Storm from the pre-order bonuses is shown off, as well as a Strand tracking pistol tha??t Bungie has previously revealed.

Guardian ranks and loadouts

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Guardian ranks have been announced by Bungie already, but a new screen shows how this system will look when logging in after Lightfall releases. There are 11 ranks to achieve, and each ran?k has individual sections of suggestions for ways in whic??h players can achieve the next rank. This is not locked to specific content, and Bungie stipulates that these are only suggestions and not requirements.

The new loadout screens show all equipped mods and all armor pieces on one screen as well as some new weapon perks and armor mods. T?he seasonal sword is Solar energy and?? can roll with Incandescent, meaning that it can spread scorch stacks to enemies resulting in igniting them and causing huge damage. The seasonal grenade launcher has the ability to roll with the Volt Shot perk. If Guardians gain the ability to use blinding grenades and volt shot it could quickly enter the new meta, especially in PvP. Circular Logic, another seasonal weapon, is shown to roll with the Hatchling perk which we can assume is related to the new Strand subclass and the threadlings connected to it.

In terms of armor mods, one new addition is the Font of Vigor arms mod which causes players to gain a temporary?? armor charge when collecting an orb of power. Armor Charge is shown to give a bonus to the strength statistic, and decays over time. Melee Kickstart now also gains a temporary Armor Charge. Font of Agility gains one temporary Armor Charge as well as a bonus to the mobility statistic. Void Weapon Surge causes one temporary Armor Charge as well as bonus damage to Void weapons.

Aside from these finer details, the remainder of the ViDoc focused on showing more of Neomuna as a city and detailing some patrol zones, as well as shedding a little light on some multi-guardian activities that will be coming to Destiny 2 when Lightfall releases on February 28.

The post Everything revealed in the D?estiny 2: Lightfall ViDoc appeared first on Destructoid.

What does it mean?!

On February 12, 2023, Destiny 2 game director Joe Blackburn posted a cryptic tweet featuring nothing but a plain wall with a sticky note attached to it. Seemingly uneventful, right? Well, not exactly. That sticky note promised a "State of the Game" post on Bungie's website for the following day consisting of no less than 5,300 words, covering Destiny 2 Lightfall and the year ahead.

For those new to these articles, every now and then the Destiny developer team will share a blog on the state of the game, the future as they see it, and changes coming to future expansions. Generally speaking, these blog posts come about once every year or two, have plenty ?of detail, the contents are rarely if ever leaked, and it usually spells exciting new directions for the game.

Expand players' imaginations

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As the article dropped, Blackburn began by noting that each major update for Destiny 2 is released with? the team's hopes to "get the gears" turning inside players' heads. This has become more prevalent with Season of the Seraph as the clues and hints around the universe foretell a story that is yet to be concluded. Some players have intricate and ex??citing theories, whilst others choose to take things as they see them, but Blackburn acknowledges that "this wasn't true for all of our releases last year" and recognizes that "it's going to take changes across multiple releases" to reach the final goal.

Blackburn revealed that season 20, which launches at the same time as Lightfall, will be called Season of Defiance. Umbral engrams and energies will be removed from the game, so when it comes to seasonal focusing Guardians will only need Glimmer and a seasonal engram. These engram??s will also be stored and tr?acked with seasonal vendors.

Destiny 2 will no longer require playe?rs to hold stacks of the?? seasonal currency to open the bonus chest at the end of seasonal activities. Instead, the game will drop keys throughout the universe which allows for better rewards from seasonal activity chests. Blackburn also mentions that this will change the way players think of these additional chests. "Unlike today's seasonal currencies, keys won't drop every time you complete an activity," he said.

As well as this, seasonal vendor upgrades will be fewe?r ?but more meaningful.

For future reference

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For the first time in a long while, Blackburn revealed the name of a future season early in the form of season 21, Season of the Deep. Following player feedback, Season of the Deep will not feature vendor upgrades at all, nor will the following season. "This doesn't mean players will never see a vendor upgrade system again," says Blackburn, but rather that more varied and exp??erimental gameplay is on?? its way.

In Season of the Deep and season 22, there will be "more fresh" activity experiences, similar to when the Shattered Realm was first introduced in Season of the Lost, or the de??but of the Battlegrounds in Season of the Chosen.

More changes to weapon crafting

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Blackburn also noted that the way to craft desired weapons can be "too random" but that the ability to craft the exact weapon with the exact perks Guardians desire can take away the excitement of having a weapon drop with an excellent roll. For this reason, fewer total weapons will be craftable, and more long-term weapons will get added value from random perk rolls. In order to facilitate this change, starting from Lightfall non-crafted w??????????????????????????eapons will have the ability to be enhanced. This allows the dropped weapon to level up, use mementos and gain acce?ss to enhanced perks and intrinsic properties.

Enhancing will allow Guardians to take a random rolled weapon and enhance its existing roll "to match the full power of a crafted weapon." This will initially launch with Lightfall raid Adept weapons at the beginning of Season of the Deep. This will be expanded over the longer term to become available for "most??" non-crafted weapon drops.

For crafted weapons, Guardians will now no longer see Deepsight on a weapon unless it is something to make pattern progress on. This adds value to red-bordered weapons. Beginning from Season of the Deep, cr??aftable weapons will be able to have Deepsight activated if Guardians do not yet hold the pattern.

Bring challenge back to Destiny

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Bungie has already acknowledged that most base content at a lower level doesn't bring any challenge to the game at all. In response to that, the team recently issued an ability tuning preview, wh??ich detailed adjustments to Guardian abilities coming to the game. Blackburn also notes that some enemy combatants "just aren't hitting as hard" as the team intends, so the cost of resilience mods will be increased from 1 to 2 for minor mods and 3 to 4 for major mods, as well as the amount of dam?age resistance granted by resilience being adjusted.

Bungie is issuing a balancing patch to gear-driven buffs as the introduction of build crafting updates and loadouts makes great builds more accessible to more players. Blackburn mentioned that the level of difficulty in the Season of the Seraph seasonal Battlegrounds was appropriate for Guardians' ability as well as the team's vision of the game. Due to this, Season of Defiance will be around the same difficulty level as well as the Vanguard Ops playlist activities. Alongside this, patrolling Neomuna will present a simi?lar difficulty level.

Enriched content

The Crucible is a place Guardians may fear to venture into, but it's a very replayable element of Destiny 2 and provides constant and changing challenges. Recently, new modes were added to the PvP part of Bungie's game, and in Season of Defiance Blackburn reveals that the C?ountdown mode will be returning alongside a respawn version called Countdown Rush. Players must detonate two bombs on the map before the?? round ends.

Checkmate Control is coming to PvP which sees weapon damage, ability uptime, and ammo adjusted to reward players who are skillful and smart. A new map will be coming to Crucible in Season of the Deep called Meltdown, as well as a new Vex Network map in season 22. The Citadel will return to the Crucible in the last season before The Final Shape.

Blackburn also revealed that the team is looking at the reward and matchmaking systems for Trials of Osiris and will be pushing more upd??ates on that throughout 2023, as well as maki?ng it more clear for Guardians why they won or lost rank points in Competitive and making it easier for players to climb to their best-matched Crucible rank.

PvE is good for me

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Starting in Season 22, Destiny 2 will add an exotic mission rotator to the game. This will feature past exotic missions such as Presage, Vox Obscura, and Operation: Seraph's Shield on a rotation basis. The team also hopes to use this same framework to add other classic missions to the game. Could this see the return of previously vaulted expans?ion content?

Inside the strikes playlist, Lake of Shadows and Arms Dealer will have objectives and encounters "reimagined and upgraded" to make them more?? relevant and match the difficulty levels of newer strikes. Battlegrounds from Season 16 and Season 19 will be added to the playlist, with some being added as Nightfalls. The Mars Heist Battleground is the first to receive this treatment, being part of the Nightfall rotation in Season of Defiance. This means that four of the six Nightfalls available as Grandmasters will be first-timers.

Guardian seeks Guardian for fun and frolics

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Bungie wants to enrich the way in which Guardians interact with one another. For that reason, Commendations will be joining the game with the launch of Lightfall. The Commendations system enables players to thank others that they appreciated playing with. "Pace?setter" and "Saint's Favorite" are exclusive to Trials of Osiris whereas "Perceptive" and "Knowledgable" are earned in raids and dungeons.

Game-wide text channels will change from opt-in to opt-out meaning more players w?ill naturally be put into text channels. T?ext chat is not becoming required, and opting out will be a quick and easy process.

Also joining the game is the Fireteam Finder which will launch alongside a brand-new dungeon in the final season of the year. Players will be able to queue for it from anywhere in the game, tag posts with keywords, automatic joining as well as appro??ve and deny feature??s for Fireteam leaders.

With such a hefty dose of additions to the game, there's plenty for players to explore and discuss. The next Destiny 2 expansion, Lightfall, goes live later this month on February 28.

The post Destiny 2: State of the Game – Lightfall & the year ahead appeared first on Destructoid.

Lightfall is just around the corner

Destiny 2: Lightfall is set to release on February 28, 2023, and Guardians globally are preparing their characters for the penultimate DLC in the Destiny Light and Dark saga from Bungie. There are multiple ways to do this, and over the years many have discovered the optimal way to ensure they head into Lightfall with the best jump-start possible.

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With the new raid set to launch on March 10, the rapid power grind is vital to those who may be striving to beat the World's First race which rewards players with a belt engraved with their fireteam's name as well as the notoriety of being one of the fastest-thinking, strongest teams in the game. Others may want a slightly more leisurely ride heading through Bungie's new legendary version of the story campaign. With handy third-party tools such as Destiny Recipes on hand to track progr??ess, players are finding the preparation period easier than ?ever.

Bounty hoarding

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One of the most efficient ways to prepare for any new season is bounty hoarding, as cashing in all of the experience points from completing the bounties as soon as the expansion launches will see Guardians jump a few power levels early on. The difference now is that the seasonal artifact will function in a new way meaning that?? new abilities will be unlocked as seasonal perks.

For example, choosing to select an Unstoppable glaive perk will see all equipped glaive weapons also functioning as a means to stun Unstoppable champions, instead of requiring the insertion of a mod as before. This effect lasts for the entire season unless players choose to reset the artifact and choose different seasonal perks. To really maximize the potential from hoarding bounties, make sure to add an XP mod to the in-game Ghost. It's im?portant not to hoard bounties from any seasonal vendors in the Helm. As they're disappearing at the end of the current season, so too will the bounties from player inventories.

Focus seasonal weapons

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In the Helm, every vendor now allows one focused red-box weapon per day meaning that unlocking the patterns for weapons is now easier than ever. With all of these weapons leaving the loot pool at the end of the current season, anyone wanting to be able to craft these weapons should collect as many patterns as possible. There are many suggestions on weapons to get before Lightfall drops, but some include the wave-frame solar grenade launcher Explosive Personality, and the Season of the Haunted submachi??ne gun, Calus Mini-Tool.

Vault spring cleaning

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With a lot of brand-new loot and weapons about to be released into the Destiny universe, plenty of vault space is important. Bungie has announced that Deepsight weapon focusing is leaving in Lightfall as well as the materials, so any red-bordered weapons that haven't been u??sed to get the materials to drop yet can either be dismantled if you have plenty of crafting materials, or used until the Deepsight progress reaches 1?00%.

Resource gathering

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Having a stockpile of resources is imperative for infusing and upgrading armor and weapons come the start of Lightfall, when powering up quickly is important. Glimmer, upgrade ?modules, enhancement cores and prisms, ascendant shards, and legendary shards are the most valuable resources to be collecting. Modules are used to infuse gear whilst enhancement cores, prisms, and ascendant shards are required to masterwork armor which may be beneficial after getting a high-stat new Exotic piece. If players find? their inventory is full, things like enhancement prisms and ascendant shards can be stored in the Postmaster, but be careful to regularly clear this out too, or risk losing them completely.

Finish the season pass

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It may go without saying, but the season pass will also be replaced with a new one at the start of Lightfall as season 20 begins. Getting the season pass to rank 100 will ensure that Guardians are getting the most for their money, and redeeming all possible rewards. Seasonal challenges are the quickest way to progress through the season pass, and completing all of them will reward a nice pile of bright dust for use in the Eververse store. If it happens that you simply forget to redeem all the rewards on the season pass, it is now possible to do this retrospectively on Bungie's website. Whilst it's not possible to level up past season passes, it is possible to claim lost rewards that were al??ready?? unlocked.

With the launch of Lightfall on February 28, Guardians have also been contemplating the true powers of the new darkness subclass, Strand. There's plenty of new vocabulary, new enemy effects, abilities, and fragments to explore as well as new super abilities that seem to bring a whole new dimension to the world of Destiny.

The post H??ow to prepare your Guardia??n for Destiny 2: Lightfall appeared first on Destructoid.

Defining a strand game

Destiny 2 heads to Neptune with the Lightfall expansion later this month. Today, Bungie is going into a little more detail about the?? string-like new power Guardians will be using there, also known as Stra?nd.

In a new trailer, Bungie spotlights the three new subclasses for Titans, Hunters, and Warlocks arriving as part of Destiny 2: Lightfall. The Strand powers each vocation in different ways?, ranging from high mobility to summoning lots of little guys to wreak havoc.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgv00uCRt60

The Bungie blog goes into more detail, highlighting each of these subclasses. There is some universal terminology, though, when it comes to weaving the Strand power. Creating an object using the Strand is weaving, and killing an enemy affected by Strand will unravel them, creating a Tangle. These Tangles can be blown up with a ??shot for area damage, or picked up and thrown by Guardians.

Additionally, there are a few debuffs to know: Suspend lifts enemies off the ground, Unravel will cause threads to rip out of a target and spread to others, and Sever rips enemies fro??m the world, reduc?ing their damage.

Rip, weave, tear

As for the ??classes, Warlo??cks get to pick up the Broodweaver profession, spawning explosive Threadling minions from the Strand. They'll run around and leap onto enemies, exploding to cause extra damage. Plus, Warlocks can chain together Arcane Needles, threading the projectile through foes.

Hunters can become Threadrunners, leaning into the mobility of the Strand. The Threaded Spike lets Hunters whip a rope dart aro?und, empowering their melee energy. And Titans can lean into their inner warrior with the Berserker subclass. Leaning into "wild, untamed power," it's all about doing damage and severing enemies. Seems like a good specialization for those who love to get right in the middle of things.

All three Strand subclasses arrive as part of Destiny 2: Lightfall on February 28, 2023.

The post Latest Destiny 2: Light?fal??l trailer highlights its Strand subclasses appeared first on Destructoid.

Bear witness to the next step in Destiny 2

The next Destiny 2 expansion will take Guardians to a city dripping with neon. Destiny 2: Lightfall drops on February 28, 2023.

Revealed during today's showcase, Lightfall is the next big story expansion for Destiny 2, bringing the fight to Neomuna on Neptune. It's a city that's got some serious Cyberpunk and Far Cry: Blood Dragon vibes, drenched in neon. There are even arcade machines?.

??No time for games though, as Calus and his army is invading the city as part of his alliance with the Witness. To deal with his horde, Guardians will be picking up a new tool: the Strand.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfoeZLp5A7k

A new strand game

Strand is the newest Guardian power, accessing power from the Darkness. It ??weaves matrices and, from the looks of it, will let Guardians do sick hooks an?d swings around the city.

The Strand functions as both a mobility tool and damage output, letting players fling themselves around levels and then annih??ilate some enemies. Titans wield claws, for example, while the Hunter can whip out a rope dart and swing it around.

Getting on board

Bungie also announced today that it's working on ways to better onboard new players. Guardian Ranks are coming to Destiny 2 alongside Lightfall, acting as a way to show off a player's experience while encouraging the??m to teach others to play.

A Fireteam Finder is also on the way, letting players create their own groups without having to seek out LFG options outside of Destiny 2.

C?ommendations will let players give accolades to teammates, commending them for good play?, leadership, and being a good teammate.

Destiny 2 is getting a mod manager and loadout system with Lightfall as well, so players can set loadouts and save them. Hopefully, this ?makes it easier to swap? between, say, PvP and PvE-focused builds.

Even more is on the way in the short term, as the Season of Plunder gets underway in Destiny 2, leading up to the expansion. Destiny 2: Lightfall drops on February 28, 2023.

The post Destiny 2: Lightfall heads to a neon Neptune next F?e?bruary appeared first on Destructoid.