Developers at Bungie have now given a sneak peek into the new take on subclasses for Guardians in Destiny 2. With the upcoming Beyond Light expansion, players will be able to harness the power of Darkness and wield the new Stasis element. From the creation of new geometry within the game world to freezing crowd control abilities, Stasis is set to change the way Guardians approach Destiny 2 forever.
With these new subclasses come new forms of player customization. In a recent blog post, Bungie outlined the use of new mechanics mysteriously named Aspects and Fragments that will allow players to alter their character in new and exciting ways. The acquisition of these new options, however, is extremely reminiscent of the vanilla version of the game. It’s excellent to see Destiny 2 calling back to its 2017 roots as it moves forward into the next generation of Destiny 2.
Alongside the new Stasis subclasses comes a deeper form of personal customization that players haven’t seen since Destiny 1. Finally, players will be able to take ownership of their subclass and make their Guardians significantly more unique than ever before. Instead of the standard pre-determined trees present since the launch of Destiny 2, players can now use Aspects and Fragments to drastically change their playstyle at a moment’s notice. Here's how Bungie says that will work.
What Destiny 2's Stasis Aspects & Fragments Are
Aspects are class-specific alterations to a subclass that can provide meaningful changes to how Destiny 2's abilities work within that element. The example that Bungie gave was the Aspect called Frostpulse. Once applied, Warlocks casting a rift will send out a freezing shockwave that immobilizes nearby enemies. Normally, passive changes like Frostpulse would be relegated to a specific branch such as the Arc Soul modifier found on the Attunement of Elements for Stromcaller Warlocks. With Aspects, these alterations can be hot-swapped at will.
Next are Destiny 2's Fragments. These are class-agnostic modifiers that are tied to Aspects which have less meaningful but unique benefits. Bungie mentioned two examples in the Whisper of Bonds and Whisper of Refraction. Whisper of Bonds provides super energy for every frozen target defeated. Pairing this with Frostpulse allows Guardians to have their super active much more often. Conversely, Whisper of Refraction refills the Guardian’s class ability when shattering frozen enemies. The combo of Frostpulse with Whisper of Refraction would create a constant freeze and shatter loop that could be very effective at dealing with a large volume of Destiny 2's enemies.
Aspects & Fragments Call Back To Vanilla Destiny 2
One interesting insight that Bungie provided about both Aspects and Fragments in Destiny 2 is that they are physical objects to be collected. They are not unlocked through subclass use as the Forsaken subclass trees were. This is interesting in that it is exceedingly reminiscent of how players discovered subclasses in the vanilla version of the game.
At the beginning of the Red War campaign, Ghaul, leader of the Cabal Red Legion, sapped Guardians of their Light. Without it, Destiny 2 players had no access to the abilities of any element. Through campaign progression, Guardians could find Relics of the past that unlocked the different subclasses and their associated abilities. Physical items such as the Battered Gauntlet, the Cracked Talisman, or the Fractured Arrow provided access to specialized missions that opened up entire subclass trees.
Finding these items felt random but made for an exciting chase that rewarded players for hunting through every chest and killing every enemy. While it’s unclear how the acquisition of Aspects and Fragments will work in Destiny 2, the hunt is on for Guardians to start looking across the system. Game-changing chases such as this ignite the community in hopes of finding every piece of the puzzle. The urge towards completionism leads to a deep exploration of new patrol spaces, meticulous study of new mechanics, and community problem-solving at its best. The inclusion of these different types of gameplay modifiers may also provide insight into other new mechanics on the way. Since Stasis subclasses feed off Darkness instead of Light, it’s exciting to think about how they will function in a unique way compared to those already available. The new Stasis subclasses will launch with Destiny 2: Beyond Light on November 10th across Xbox, PlayStation, PC, and Stadia.
Source: Bungie