The reveal happened during the Xbox Games Showcase livestream where Bungie also confirmed that Destiny 2 and all its expansions will be available on Xbox Game Pass in the fall. Furthermore, Destiny 2 will run at 4K and 60 fps on Xbox Series X.
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But the main information that had Destiny 2 fans talking were the closer looks at the upcoming stasis abilities that are a key part of Beyond Light. The trailer offered some quick glimpses at how each of the three classes will use Stasis to mix up gameplay.
Hunter Stasis Abilities
At least one of the new Hunter supers/abilities seems to be something similar to Blade Barrage from Way of a Thousand Cuts. In a brief clip, a Hunter is seen throwing one of their stasis pickaxes at the new Fallen tank enemy type (that looks suspiciously similar to the Insurrection Prime boss). It explodes on impact and leaves a suppressive stasis field around where it struck. It also freezes the other tank that flies inside the field.
Looking similar to Way of a Thousand Cuts once again, a new Hunter melee ability seems to be a sideways thrown ninja star. It has two charges and upon hitting an enemy it chains to at least one other. The clips show an enemy Warlock and Titan in their supers but the first hit from the projectile suppresses them. The second ninja star outright freezes them in their tracks. The shurikens also over-penetrate enemies and bounce off hard surfaces.
During the same scene, the Hunter is shown throwing a grenade that erects an ice wall they can vault over. This is unlike anything Destiny has ever seen, as it can allow for the creation of so many unique scenarios. In an unrelated clip, a ground slam Hunter ability is shown where the player slams the top of their stasis pickaxe into a group of frozen Vex. It acts like the Warlock Phoenix Dive, plunging the player straight down but has an effect similar to Death from Above’s area damage. It could be another melee ability.
Titan Stasis Abilities
The first ability in the trailer is a bombastic Titan skill that looks like something from Outriders’ Pyromancer class. The Titan sends out a wave of ice in front of them but it isn’t clear if this is a super or melee ability as the player’s PoV isn’t shown.
What is most likely a melee ability is the Titan ’lunge’ that doesn’t seem to be a shoulder charge variant. The player raises a block of ice underneath their feet that boosts them forward before punching an enemy as well as pushing them back.
The last Titan ability is a very curious one. The player initiates a slide in front of an already frozen group of enemies. As the animation starts, ice spikes jut out from the ground around player and when they come into contact with said enemies, they shatter. Bungie doesn’t utilize the slide mechanic often, especially within subclass trees, so it is intriguing to see one interact with other stasis effects.
Warlock Stasis Abilities
One of the things that wowed fans the most was when a Warlock conjured an ice wall with a grenade that extended horizontally from a pillar. Something worth noting is that the ice wall actually wrapped around to the side of the pillar facing away from the player. So, it seems like if the ice wall is wider than the surface it initially attached to, it’ll simply wrap around to an adjacent surface.
Another Warlock grenade that was shown provided a completely different kind of utility. After hitting the ground and lingering for a second, this one sends out an enemy tracking wave of stasis that freezes any combatant in its path. A total of five Fallen Wretches were frozen in the clip, starting from those closest to the grenade and quickly catching up to the farthest ones.
During one of the skirmishes, a Warlock Nova Bomb destroys an ally ice wall. This might be coincidence or something else demolishing the barrier but it could be that friendly stasis walls can be broken by allies. The wall was also right in front of a Titan so they will also likely get an ice wall grenade. It’d be somewhat unfair to give this novel and powerful utility to only two of the classes.
A Warlock melee ability is shown multiple times. It features the same frozen staff used in one of their new supers and sends out a slow traveling stasis orb that freezes enemies if it doesn’t kill them outright. If they do die to this ability, the stasis explosion they create chains to nearby targets, making them shatter too, similar to how Sunshot explosions chain.
Beyond Light Exotic Weapon
A very interesting exotic is showcased at the end of the trailer whose model was teased in the Beyond Light store page. This is the first weapon using the stasis element fans have seen in action. There are numerous effects going on in the scene so not everything is clear but the gun seems to shoot out a torrent of stasis crystals, which suggests it could be a new heavy shotgun. It is also very clearly Fallen themed and given that the campaign is themed around them, this could be the post-campaign quest exotic.
Lastly, Luke Smith stated in an interview that Year 4 players will see the enemies gradually adopt stasis and develop new powers of their own. He had also previously stated that Destiny 2 subclasses feel too similar to one another and that the first game had struck a better variety. Stasis aims to amend this by adding fresh ideas into the mix while reintroducing subclass customization in a new way. All in all, stasis seems like it will substantially change the formula of Destiny 2.
Destiny 2: Beyond Light is available on November 10 for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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