Here's What To Look Forward To In Destiny 2's Lightfall Expansion

Ever since the 2019 Shadowkeep expansion introduced players to Pyramids of Darkness, Destiny's far-reaching storylines have begun to converge in unexpected ways. Players, known as Guardians, began to explore Darkness's offerings in the Beyond Light expansion that followed while Witch Queen saw humanity's greatest foe become embraced by the Light. The Destiny universe's long-established rules for good and evil have become all mixed up, and the narrative is coming to a head with Lightfall, the next expansion.

Today's Destiny 2 Showcase livestream has introduced Guardians to many fundamental changes coming their way soon. At the end of the Witch Queen's campaign, we learned of a villain far more powerful than the Hive God of Deception we finally conquered. The ethereal form of the Witness revealed itself in a cutscene, decreeing that “The children of Sol cry out for salvation.” This was followed by the Vow of the Disciple raid where we were tasked with disposing of Rhulk, the First Disciple of the Witness. The storyline has become incredibly engaging, but unfortunately, we have to skip over a lot of important background lore to catch up to today’s reveal.


In the Lightfall trailer, we are shown a gigantic new city with Neopop Wave vibes. The camera pans down from Pyramid ships looming over the city to reveal a battalion of Cabal soldiers as the voice of Calus booms about a “glorious end.” Guardians are then shown suiting up for battle before one channels a mysterious green energy.


The trailer alternates between Guardians and Cabal with a strike on a pyramid ship before showing a mysterious new human-like figure. The Witness then invites us to “come and see our Shape revealed.” It ends with another look at three Guardians, representing each class, all wielding this strange new green ability.

Calus returned last season, the Season of the Haunted. The disgraced Cabal emperor has managed to commune with Darkness and has earned himself a place as a new Disciple of the Witness. Calus’s new Darkness-embracing Cabal army is now doing the bidding of the Witness in an effort to bring about the Final Shape – an ultimate end to the Universe. We are very interested to see how Bungie plans for us to resolve the Light and Dark Saga.


The new city shown is a metropolis called Neomuna. Despite this city residing on Neptune, it has managed to remain a complete secret from the people of the Tower. We are told it is inhabited by alternate humans who have taken refuge there since the Collapse in the Golden Age. These Cloudstriders are protectors like Guardians, and we are told they will have much to teach us.

The Showcase reveals the green energy comes from a new Darkness subclass, known as Strand. Unlike Stasis which was gifted to us by the Darkness, Strand is a power we discover as the Guardian on our own.


Strand allows the Guardian to interact with an “alternate psychic universe” or a “cosmic web.” It will be about weaving strands of this cosmic web into weapons for Supers and other abilities. Some shots show Guardians using Strand to tether enemies in the air, while Titans wield Strand as glowing claws to further their true purpose of punching enemies in the face. 

Strand looks like it will be incredibly fun. One of its most interesting capabilities is using Strand as a grappling hook. This allows Guardians to grapple to points that are seemingly nothing but thin air. Destiny has long been praised for its very satisfying sense of movement, so we are excited to see how this plays out. Of course, grappling hooks have become a very common trend in modern games anyway.


Bungie introduced several more updates coming to Destiny in the near and long term. This includes the new Season of Plunder launching today, but we will save its story and gameplay loop for another post. Bungie developers are also working on a new system to help players find fireteams as well as a new loadout manager to launch with Lightfall. These features have long been requested to ease new players into the game which has traditionally relied upon third-party apps and services to get the most out of it.


The Showcase also covered the Fortnite crossover that leaked out earlier. To our surprise, it also spills over to Fall Guys as well. This is all a part of Destiny 2 coming to the Epic Games Store where it is now available. For those looking to dip their toes into the Destiny universe, Epic Games is making all the DLC available to play for free this week and it will also include the 30th Anniversary content as a gift to keep for free.

Lightfall will arrive February 28th, 2023 on Steam, Microsoft Store, Epic Games Store, Xbox, and PlayStation. You can catch the entire Showcase presentation above, but we want to know your thoughts on it. Are you a Destiny 1 Alpha Veteran who has never skipped a season, or someone who comes and goes? Is the new content enough to keep or catch your attention? What parts are you looking forward to most?