Destiny 2 Lightfall: Five Reasons Why You Should Be Excited

The launch of a new Destiny expansion is always an exciting affair for the community. And why wouldn't it be? There's a lot to look forward to, be it new loot, new activities, or just new Triumphs to gain a sleek new title. Better yet, the Lightfall expansion is shaping up to be quite different from past Destiny 2 DLCs, whether you look at the visuals, the themes, the music, or even some of the gameplay changes that are coming.

There are a lot of nuances, and there's very little we know right now. However, whether you're a veteran player, returning after a long break, or a New Light (aka a new player), there's plenty to look forward to in the next expansion. As such, I have put together five reasons why you should be excited about Destiny 2 Lightfall if you're not already. 

Cyberpunk Loot

The Lightfall expansion is the second last piece of the puzzle in Destiny 2's enigmatic Light and Darkness Saga. The Witness, the big baddie behind literally everything in the Destiny universe, has finally revealed itself. While all of that is exciting, the loot you will acquire, masterwork, and craft during your journey is the most tempting aspect of this expansion. After all, it's not just any loot; it's Cyberpunk loot!

That said, Bungie is nearly unmatched (I mean if you don't count Outriders: Worldslayer) when it comes to making unique-looking weapons and armor pieces. Hunting for these cool and powerful items is the core gameplay loop of Destiny 2 and will continue to be so in Lightfall. Given how these weapons and armor visually and thematically represent the expansions they are part of, it's exciting to think about what this means for Lightfall, especially since the world of Lightfall itself reeks of something so different than past Destiny endeavors.

We have already seen the Quicksilver Auto Rifle and the Pulse / Scout Rifle with the blue and pink vinyl in the trailers. There's also the base Lightfall armor for Titans, Hunters, and Warlocks in the screenshots and the trailers, but we all know that's barely scratching the surface. There have to be more edgy-looking futuristic legendary and exotics with new perks waiting to be discovered in the neon-soaked streets of Neomuna, for which Bungie would make us grind for hours. But as Cayde-6 would say, "Do it for the loot!"

Discovering Neomuna

Okay, alright, before we get to the big guns, we have to explore the new location and complete some missions a million times, am I right? Well, thankfully, Neomuna looks like it would be a much-needed breath of fresh air compared to Throne World and Europa. It's a sprawling cyberpunk metropolis full of neon lights, trance music, and ambiance, unlike anything past Destiny expansions have had to offer.

Arcades, harbors, offices, tall buildings, and other POIs make this place less fantastical and more grounded than other planets in the Destiny universe. Neomuna's environments, when combined with the threat of Calus' and his army of Shadow Legion, feel something straight out of a Blade Runner movie or Independence Day, and rightly so because that's exactly (at least according to an interview with Bungie) what Neomuna and Lightfall are aiming to be.

Exploiting Strand

Ever since Bungie added 3.0 updates for the Light subclasses, Destiny 2 has been a completely different experience. New aspects, fragments, and abilities opened up numerous build possibilities, allowing you and me to make a variety of DPS demigods (okay, that sounded cool in my head) for our favorite Light subclasses.

Strand isn't a Light subclass. Instead, it harnesses the power of Darkness, and we already know what Stasis is capable of doing (I feel for you PvP players). What's striking about Strand isn't that it's a new way to deal damage to combatants and other players but that it's also a new traversal tool that opens up so many possibilities in the game.

By using Strand, we can create grappling hooks anywhere in the game, not just in Neomuna. 
While we do not know this would pan out in something like Crucible, the possibilities are endless and exciting. Another interesting anecdote about Strand is that no one in the history of the Destiny universe has ever exploited it. You and I will be the first to do so in Lightfall, making it very important.

Definitive Campaign

Destiny 2 campaigns were largely hit or miss before the Witch Queen expansion arrived. Nevertheless, the Witch Queen campaign was a meaty experience full of narrative twists and turns with combat encounters in missions that felt different from one another. Mechanically, it was a glimpse of what Destiny's end-game activities are like, rather than being just a medium to reach those end-game activities.

Bungie promises an even more ambitious campaign in Lightfall, with plenty to be excited about. Firstly, the studio has drastically improved Destiny 2's writing and narrative in the past year, and hopefully, that will continue in Lightfall. Secondly, there are Cloud Striders, the protectors of Neomuna, and the counterparts of Guardians. However, unlike Guardians, Cloud Striders aren't exactly immortal and have a relatively short life span.

Given how Neomuna is a Blade Runner-esque city where existentialism and death are common themes, it's possible that through Cloud Striders, Bungie embodies these themes in the Lightfall narrative, something that would make this expansion more humane and personal than the previous ones. I mean, Bungie made Zavala cry in Season of the Haunted, so the possibilities are endless. Either way, if the studio's recent track record is any indication, Lightfall's campaign seems very promising.

Mod Customization

One of the most welcome changes Bungie is making in Lightfall is how mod customization works. The studio is removing a lot of redundant mods, reducing the energy cost of equipping certain mod types, simplifying the way you acquire these mods, and plenty more nuances. It's all to emphasize buildcrafting, which will become more important in Destiny 2 Lightfall, especially because of the new subclass.

Most importantly, these changes, in addition to the new loadout system, will make it easy for new players to understand how mod customization works and how it affects their build, and make it less cumbersome for veteran players like me who have long complained about the issues that are finally being addressed in Lightfall. And these are some of the reasons why I think you should be excited about the Lightfall expansion.

Destiny 2 Lightfall releases on 28th February 2023 for PC, PlayStation 4|5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.