Strand is truthfully so good and so enjoyable to make use of, it form of makes the older subclasses really feel a bit missing by comparability. Even when you swap out the Grapple for one of many different two grenade choices—one spawns little creatures referred to as threadlings, my infants, and the opposite is a crowd-control choice that catches enemies in a glowy inexperienced internet—you’re nonetheless going to be having such time you may neglect the opposite lessons even exist for some time. Granted that’s form of been the case for any new subclass Destiny 2 has launched prior to now, however this one feels completely different, since you’re not simply given a couple of tweaked mechanics, you’re given a number of brand-new mechanics and a brand new technique to traverse the worlds of Destiny 2. 

Cloudy With a Chance of Darkness

Let’s speak about Rohan and Nimbus, the Cloudstriders, the protectors of Neomuna. There are at all times two of them, they usually solely dwell for 10 years, a consequence of the heavy nano-augmentation they bear once they volunteer to change into Cloudstriders. We spend essentially the most time with Nimbus, the youthful counterpart to grim and grizzled Rohan, and each minute of it’s a blast. 

Destiny 2 has no scarcity of grizzled, stoic males and haunted, traumatized ladies. Nimbus is a breath of contemporary air, as a result of they’re none of this stuff. They’re vibrant, bubbly, and nonbinary. They’re endearing and enthusiastic, with a way of youthful (and delightfully immature) humor that we simply don’t get sufficient of in Destiny 2. Voiced by sequence newcomer Marin Miller, Nimbus is the beating coronary heart of the Lightfall marketing campaign. 

Too usually we solely get the narrowest slices of story improvement for Destiny 2’s supporting forged. But that’s one of many issues Lightfall excels at. We get lots of time with Nimbus. Over the course of the marketing campaign, we begin to notice that Nimbus’ exuberance isn’t just a few protection mechanism or immaturity. It’s a selection. 

In the face of cosmic horrors, Nimbus protects that youthful enthusiasm from the simple cynicism that comes with grief and loss. They have 10 years to dwell, they usually’re going to dwell each final one to the fullest. It’s a nuanced and compassionate efficiency, and even when issues get extra critical and grounded within the post-campaign story, it is nonetheless refreshing. I can’t wait to see extra Nimbus within the seasons to come back. 

A Few Loose Ends

Despite all the pieces I beloved about Lightfall, ending up the marketing campaign felt like a reduction. By the top, it felt like I’d executed the identical missions a couple of occasions over. Go shield the factor, get to the factor earlier than the unhealthy man. The most attention-grabbing components of Lightfall are sadly not the issues we spend essentially the most time exploring. 

What is the Veil (past a justification to ship us to Neptune?) How did Neomuna get there? What’s the cope with Strand? What does the Witness actually need? Spending time with Nimbus and exploring the brand new Strand powers was tremendous enjoyable, however each time I completed a mission I felt myself wanting off on the horizon the place the true battle was taking place, wishing I used to be there as an alternative. 

Thankfully, after you end the marketing campaign in Lightfall you do get to go take part in that larger battle, and that is what the Season of Defiance is constructed round. Queen Mara of the Space Elves (oops, I imply the Awoken) wants your assist to free prisoners from the (most likely well-manicured) arms of the Witness, and these missions are a blast. They’re thrilling, difficult, type of spooky. Awesome. It’s like when you needed to play by the Dreaming City earlier than you ever touched the storyline for Forsaken. No matter how good the Season of Defiance and Lightfall tales are, there’s an urgency hole between them which makes for some awkward pacing.