Bungie has revealed a ton of new information regarding Destiny 2’s upcoming Lightfall expansion including a February 28 release date.
Announced during its Destiny 2 Showcase 2022, Lightfall will mark “the beginning of the end” and is set to be the next major expansion that pushes Destiny 2’s story and gameplay forward, featuring the game’s second Darkness subclass called Stand.
This new style of play appears to be heavily linked to traversal, as players will use it to grapple and swing around a whole new Destiny 2 map on Neptune. Strand involves the manipulation of spooky green psychic energy and will materialise in different ways depending on which class the player uses.
The Neptune map is called Neo Luna, a newly discovered city built by an alternate evolution of humanity. Unlike the derelict and destroyed communities that the known version of humans left behind, however, this new city is a thriving metropolis. It acts as a battlefield in Lightfall as Calus arrives, allied with new big-bad The Witness, and the player is tasked with saving the day once again.
Guardian Ranks is another new feature coming to Destiny 2 in Lightfall, with the intention being to to introduce new players to every element of the game. The 11 available ranks will take players through each type of activity, map, raid, and so on in order to slowly but surely explain how each part of Destiny 2 works.
Also on the accessibility front, Bungie is adding a Fireteam Finder (essentially cooperative matchmaking) sometime in 2023.
Given that Lighfall is also the next part in an ongoing story being told in the Light and Darkness Saga, Bungie has confirmed it will not remove any past expansions so that new players can experience the entire story. To celebrate the announcement, Bungie has also made every one of the game’s expansions free for one week starting today, August 23.
In our 8/10 review of the base game released in 2017, IGN said: “Destiny 2’s excellent co-op and competitive shooting, rewarding loot, and strong social elements will keep us playing.”
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.