Arc 3.0 Subclass Details Revealed by Bungie

News about the upcoming season of Destiny 2, the as of yet unnamed Season 18, has been hard to come by as of late. There is a myriad of reasons for this being the case, not least of which is the protection of Bungie’s employees. However, when something is revealed, fans can expect it to be absolutely revelatory, and today is no exception. Bungie has recently released a very thorough outline of how the upcoming Arc 3.0 subclass rework will function in Season 18, and it promises to be a fast and frenetic jolt to the game.

The Arc 3.0 remake for all subclasses is based on the same foundation of buffs and debuffs. The primary buff the subclasses are going to be striving for is Amplified, which provides guardians with a boost in speed, weapon handling, and slide distance. No matter what Aspects or Fragments a guardian has equipped, they can become Amplified by defeating enemies with Arc damage, along with other ways made available from different Aspects and Fragments. When an Amplified Guardian breaks out into a sprint, they can gain an additional boost in speed that will last as long as they continue running, even if they lose the initial Amplification buff. In addition, Ionic Traces, once only for Warlocks, now can be picked up by any Arc subclass to gain some energy. Two debuffs are also core to the remake, Blind and Jolt. Blind, self evidently, makes opponents blind, whiting out an opposing guardian’s screen similar to a flashbang. Jolt causes small bursts of electricity to jump from the affected target to damage nearby enemies. Of course, each class has its own ways of using all of these buffs and debuffs, getting to the core fantasy of each subclass.

Bungie’s vision of the Arc Hunter subclass is that of a “graceful warrior monk”, using their abilities to stay alive and ready to fight at close range. For the Arc Staff super, this means deflecting incoming projectiles and getting an armored dodge. Arc hunters also gain access to an alternative super, the Gathering Storm. Throwing a spear into the ground or nearby enemy, creating a damaging area of effect, zapping enemies that dare get too close. Hunters will also regain access to the Blink movement mode, as well as 3 arc aspects. Flow State, which Amplifies hunters for killing Jolted enemies. Amplification speeds up dodge recharging and reload times, as well as boosting damage resistance. Tempest Strike gives hunters a sliding Arc melee attack that will jolt enemies. Lethal Current, the final aspect, increases lunge range and gives a jolt bestowing attack after dodging, the aspect also allows hunters to blind jolted enemies with a melee attack.

The Devs vision of the Arc Warlock draws heavily from emperor Palpatine, allowing players to “[Control] the storm, controlling lightning like an elemental conduit.” As such, both Supers revolve around shooting lighting, either in a beam with Chaos Reach, or shooting smaller but more numerous bolts from their fingers with Stormtrance. For Warlocks, Amplification powers up their abilities as well, increasing the number of enemies affected. The three Arc Warlock aspects are: Arc Soul, which creates a rift, allowing yourself and allies to run through it and gain an Arc Soul that will help out their guardian in combat. Lightning Surge, giving warlocks a sliding melee that turns them into a bolt of lightning and jolting targets at the end of their slide. Electrostatic Mind is the last aspect, allowing warlocks to create Ionic Traces from killing with Arc abilities, or killing Blinded or Jolted enemies.

The Arc Titan vision is a little bit more out of the mold, as Titans aren’t precisely known for their mobility in usual circumstances, with the Devs comparing the subclass to a brawling freight train. The Thundercrash super remains unchanged in 3.0, however, Fist of Havoc has had their slam radius adjusted, with slightly different effects for a ground slam compared to an air slam. Another big change to the subclass is the new Thruster ability, giving Titans a boost of speed for a first-person evade almost on par with a Hunter. In addition, they also gain a charged ability, Thunderclap. Even a 90% charged thunderclap can one-shot a guardian, however, to charge a hit, the titan must remain stationary, and they have to use the charge or lose it once they start moving again. The three titan arc aspects are: Touch of Thunder, which gives a buff to each type of Arc grenade. Juggernaut, which gives a shield to fully charged guardians while they sprint. And last but not least, is Knockout, which amplifies and regenerates health for Titans after melee kills, as well as adding Arc damage to the basic melee attack and increases melee range and damage when critically injuring an enemy or breaking an enemy shield.

With such an impressive layout of new abilities to test out and toy with, the meta for Season 18 is going to look like a completely different beast, assuming it ever moves slow enough to get a good look at it. The freedom granted in these 3.0 reworks has been an absolute boon to the fan base, sending guardians to greater and greater heights, and whipping them up into a fervor for more. If that sounds like you, then you might just have some prep work to do for the upcoming season. Have fun riding the lighting Guardians!