Destiny 2 Lightfall: Release date, Strand, raid, ViDoc trailer, and more
The A to Z on Destiny 2’s next major expansion.
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Destiny 2’s newest annual expansion, Lightfall, is now just under a week away from being in the hands of players. Picking up where the narrative of The Witch Queen DLC and its seasons left off, Lightfall will serve as the penultimate chapter of what developer Bungie calls the “Light and Darkness Saga.” Featuring a new campaign, location, Darkness subclass, raid, and much,muchmore, it’s undoubtedly one of the biggest Destiny 2 expansions yet.
Ahead of its arrival, Bungie has revealed plenty about what players can expect from the new DLC, along with important information about topics such as new pieces of Exotic gear, the launch date of the new raid, and more. Here’s a complete overview of everything you need to know before Lightfall goes live.
Destiny 2 Lightfall: Release date and launch time
Bungie has revealed when Lightfall is officially slated to go live, and like most major Destiny 2 updates and releases, it’s scheduled to become available on a Tuesday, which is the game’s weekly reset day.Specifically, the expansion will launch on February 28, 2023.
In terms of when specifically Lightfall will arrive on its launch day, Bungie has confirmed that players will be able to log in and play at9 a.m. PT / 12 p.m. ET. Something important to note is thatDestiny 2 will be brought offline for maintenance 24 hours before this time on February 27 at 9 a.m. PT / 12 p.m. ET, as Bungie needs to prepare the game for Lightfall’s release.
Since new Destiny 2 releases go live at the same time globally, Lightfall will arrive earlier or later in the day in some regions. This is due to time zone differences. In the table below, we’ve listed when the expansion will launch in each major time zone.
Destiny 2 Lightfall: Preorder bonuses, prices, and editions
There are three different editions of the Destiny 2: Lightfall expansion that are available for preorder, with each one offering a different number of bonus items (either in-game, physical, or both). Preordering any edition of Lightfall will instantly grant you instant access toan Exclusive Legendary Emblem and a Neptune-themed Exotic Ghost Shell. Preordering the Destiny 2: Lightfall Annual Pass Edition or the Destiny 2: Lightfall Collector’s Edition will also give you instant access toa Strand Exotic Emote and the Quicksilver Storm Exotic Auto Rifle.
Our dedicatedDestiny 2: Lightfall preorderguide goes over the differences between Lightfall’s editions in full detail, but in brief, theLightfallStandard Editionincludes access to the expansion’s campaign, raid, Neomuna-specific activities, and Season of Defiance’s (Season 20) content, including its Season Pass, seasonal activities, and loot. It costs $50.
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TheLightfall + Annual Pass Editionfeatures everything in the Standard Edition, along with access to the content in Seasons 21-23, access to two upcoming dungeons, a unique Lightfall Exotic Sparrow, a catalyst and ornament for Quicksilver Storm, and four of “Rahool’s Secret Stash” bundles that give players one cosmetic accessory, two Ascendant Alloys, three Ascendant Shards, one Exotic Cipher, and five Upgrade Modules once per season. As a result of these extras, however, it’s $100.
Finally, there’s theLightfall Collector’s Edition, which is the most extravagant edition of the DLC available for purchase. It features everything from the previous two editions, along with the following physical collectibles: a Pouka statue, Vanguard lore books, a letter from Zavala, a lithograph, and a vinyl sticker. It’s quite expensive at $250, though. There’s also a $150 collectibles only version of the Collector’s Edition available that doesn’t include any Destiny 2 game content.
Destiny 2: Lightfall Standard Edition
The $50 Standard Edition of Lightfall is the most affordable one available, offering the expansion and the Season Pass for Season 20.
Buy from:Microsoft|GMG (Steam)
Destiny 2: Lightfall + Annual Pass Edition
The Annual Pass Edition includes everything from the Standard Edition, as well as all four Season Passes for Destiny 2 Year 6, along with guaranteed access to both Year 6 Dungeons and Rahool’s Secret Stash items at the start of each season.
Buy from:Microsoft|GMG (Steam)
Destiny 2: Lightfall Collector’s Edition
The Collector’s Edition includes everything you get with the less advanced editions, along with physical collectibles, a digital copy of the DLC’s soundtrack, and an exclusive Collector’s Edition Emblem in-game.
Buy from:Bungie (Xbox)|Bungie (Steam)|Bungie (Collectibles Only)
Destiny 2 Lightfall new location: Neomuna
Neomuna, a neon-soaked metropolis built on the surface of Neptune, serves as the primary setting for the Lightfall DLC and its activities. Defended by humans called Cloud Striders that enhanced themselves with nanotechnology, Neomuna has come under assault by both Emperor Calus and his Shadow Legion and the armies of the Vex. Throughout Lightfall, players will have the ability to explore the city and discover its secrets while helping the Cloud Striders fend off the invading forces. Notably, Bungie says that Neomuna will be as large as the Europa and Savathun’s Throne World locations from the Beyond Light andThe Witch QueenDLCs, respectively.
New activity: Terminal Overload
On Neomuna, players will be able to engage with the new Terminal Overload public activity. Not much is known about it beyond the fact that it will involve stopping the Cabal and the Vex from attacking the city, but if it’s anything like the Wellspring activity from the previous The Witch Queen expansion, we expect that it will reward fans with new Neomuna-exclusive weapons.
Destiny 2 Lightfall: Campaign and Legendary difficulty
Lightfall’s campaign is the narrative core of the expansion, as its story will capitalize on plot threads from previous DLCs and seasons while also laying the foundations for future ones. In it, players will travel to Neomuna on Neptune and fight to stop Emperor Calus — now a Disciple of the Witness, the entity behind the Darkness — and his Shadow Legion from overwhelming the city.Season of the Seraph’s finale questalso revealed that Neomuna is home to The Veil, an ancient paracausal object with direct ties to the Traveler and its Light. Thus, The Veil will surely play a significant role in the story.
Based on all the promotional material we’ve seen for Lightfall so far, we know that characters such as Emperor Calus, Osiris, Elsie Bray (Exo Stranger), and Cloud Striders named Nimbus and Rohan will all feature prominently in the DLC. Empress Caiatl, Calus' daughter and humanity’s ally, has also been spotted in an official screenshot of the expansion.
Lightfall Legendary campaign rewards
Just like The Witch Queen before it, Lightfall will include a Legendary version of its campaign that ups the challenge by quite a bit. This difficulty caps your Power Level at -15 below the level of your enemies and scales the health and damage of foes up if you team up with other players. As a result, it will be considerably tougher, but it will also be much more rewarding.
Bungie has confirmed that Lightfall’s Legendary campaign will reward players much like The Witch Queen’s did, giving themdouble loot drops from each mission’s chests. Additionally, upon completing the entire campaign on Legendary,you’ll be awarded a full set of armor with a Power Level of 1770— a full 20 points over the 1750 Soft Cap, which is a value that you’d normally need to get Powerful Gear drops to reach. On top of that, finishing the Legendary campaign will give youeight Upgrade Modules, access to one of the DLC’s new Exotic armor pieces, and a Triumph achievement.
Destiny 2 Lightfall: Raid release date and description
One of the most exciting things about new Destiny 2 expansions are their six-man cooperative activities called raids, and Lightfall is no different.Its new raid is slated to launch on March 10, 2023, about a week-and-a-half after the DLC arrives.
Fireteams attempting to complete the raid the day it comes out should be aware that Contest Mode, a special difficulty modifier that caps the player’s Power Level at -20 below each of the raid’s encounters, will be active for 48 hours after its release. If you’re able to finish the raid in this window of time, you’ll get an exclusive Emblem that represents your achievement.
While we don’t know for sure what Power Level players will need to be in order to challenge Lightfall’s raid on its launch day,a good guess is Power Level 1780. This is because Lightfall’s Power Cap will be 1800, and the previous expansion’s raid,Vow of the Disciple, required players to be at least at least 20 points beneath the Power Cap at the time.
Next to nothing about the raid’s theme and story is currently known, though Bungie has provided this description on the official Lightfall landing page: “Ferried from an unknown time and place, a haunting presence has been detected. We must now confront the ancient threat growing at our doorstep.”
Destiny 2 Lightfall: New enemies and Tormentors
Throughout the Lightfall campaign and possibly in activities like Terminal Overload and the new raid, players will encounter some enemies that have never been fought before in Destiny. These new foes are called Tormentors, and appear to be large juggernaut units with Darkness Pyramid tech that serve Emperor Calus and the Witness. We don’t know much about them yet, though we do know that they utilize a massive Darkness scythe in combat and can kill players with a devastating grab attack.
In addition to the Tormentors, Calus' Shadow Legion will also play a significant role in the DLC. These Cabal don’t appear too different than regular troops from other Cabal factions like the Red Legion, though the developers have hinted that they’ll possess the ability to suppress the player’s Light in some way.
Destiny 2 Lightfall: Strand subclasses, Aspects, Fragments, and more
While progressing through Lightfall’s campaign, players will be able to unlock a brand new Darkness-based subclass called Strand. Like Beyond Light’s Stasis, Strand appears to have some powerful crowd control utility since it can suspend enemies in midair, but it also looks like it will be capable of ripping foes to shreds outright with strong damage as well. Ultimately, while we won’t know for sure until it’s in our hands, it’s very likely that Strand will be the foundation for some of thebest Destiny 2 buildsin the game.
Titans, Hunters, and Warlocks all have unique capabilities that make their Strand subclass stand out, but like with Stasis and the Light 3.0 subclasses, Strand verbs, buffs, and debuffs are universal and do the same thing regardless of which type of Guardian you’re playing as. We’ve listed them all below:
All Strand subclasses also share the same grenades, which are listed below. This includes the ability to use the Strand grappling hook, as well as a powerful grapple melee combo.
Strand Titan subclass: Berserker
The Titan Berserker subclass encourages the use of Strand to chew through enemy combatants with devastating melee attacks and the Sever debuff. Here’s the subclass' kit:
Strand Hunter subclass: Threadrunner
Hunter Threadrunners specialize in ranged melee attacks and high mobility, with the Strand grappling hook built directly into their Super. Here’s what the subclass will be capable of:
Strand Warlock subclass: Broodweaver
The Warlock’s Broodweaver Strand subclass improves Threadling minions by allowing them to “perch” on the Warlock who created them when no enemies are nearby. Then, they’ll jump off and attack whenever a foe comes in range. Here’s the subclass' abilities:
List of Strand Aspects and Fragments
Players will be able to equip the following Aspects and Fragments in order to tweak the way their Strand subclass plays in both big and small ways. Note that while Aspects are class-specific, Fragments are not and can be used by all three Guardian classes.
Destiny 2 Lightfall: New Exotic weapons and armor
Like previousDestiny 2DLCs, Lightfall will bring several new pieces of Exotic gear to the game’s sandbox. Ahead of the expansion’s launch, Bungie has confirmed a new Exotic armor piece for each class, along with a trio of powerful Exotic weapons. We’ve listed all of these below.
Note that there may be additional new Exotics that the developers haven’t revealed yet. In terms of how to unlock these Exotics, it’s likely that they’ll be tied to progression through the expansion’s campaign or quests.
Destiny 2 Lightfall: ViDoc and trailers
In this section, we’ve compiled all of the trailers that Bungie has made to advertise the Lightfall expansion and its content. Notably, this includes the Lightfall ViDoc in which the developers go over Lightfall’s biggest additions and changes in lots of detail, as well as the DLC’s launch trailer.
Destiny 2: Lightfall is slated to arrive on February 28 on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One consoles, Windows PCs, and PlayStation systems. Ahead of its launch, check out ourDestiny 2 Lightfall prep guidefor an overview of the best ways to get ready for the expansion.
