Strand is about to feel even worse in Destiny 2 season 2 of the Depths

Paul TassiSenior ContributorOpinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

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May 20, 2023,src0:30am EDT|

Destiny 2

Bungie

I have really been loving Strand this season in Destiny 2, one of the major highlights of not just Lightfall, but I’d argue also in the whole sandbox of the game the past few years.

But, there’s a catch.

The problem is that Strand debuted with a slate of hugely powerful Strand mods this season in Destiny, ones that transform the subclass into something it’s not really going to be next time around, even with a few other Strand mods coming.

Here are the current slate of Strand mods this season:

Untangler – Destroying a Tangle with a Strand weapon suspends targets damaged by the explosion
Threaded Blast – Destroying a Tangle with a Strand weapon creates a larger and more damaging explosion
Allied Unraveler – Rapid final blows with a Strand weapon grant your weapon Unraveling Rounds, with a longer duration near allies
Counterweave – When you or a member of your fireteam stuns or defeats a champion, you gain energy for your least-charged Strand ability

Artifact

Bungie

There are two main problems here, based on what we’re losing. The most major change is the loss of the first two mods, which essentially turn Strand Tangles into suspending Warmind Cells. We have gotten used to this being how Strand Tangle detonation works, but have you ever blown up a Tangle without those mods on? It feels terrible. It’s also why the new Warlock aspect feels bad. You have to src) throw a Tangle, 2) stick it to an enemy, and then 3) only then does it explode and suspend enemies. It’s a fraction of the current power only on one class.

The other issue is Allied Unraveler where we have been used to our Strand weapons essentially always having Unraveling Rounds because I mean, how hard is it to get rapid kills in any activity? That is going away and being replaced by a worse mod. And what are those mods next season?

Improved Unraveling – Increases the amount of damage dealt by unraveling a target – Could be good, but we don’t know the actual buff percentage.
Strand Soldier – Your Strand weapons gain Unraveling Rounds whenever you gain Woven Mail while your Strand subclass is equipped. – This requires something like the Hunter Woven Mail helmet or a Fragment slot that also reduces your Resilience by -src0 to get Woven Mail on orb pickup. Again, it’s just a worse version of the Unraveling mod from last season.
Conductive Cosmetic Needle – Targets affected by Strand debuffs take increased damage from Arc and Void abilities – This is a purely fireteam-based ability that requires coordination.
Squad Goals – Performing a finisher when you have Woven Mail grants Woven Mail to nearby allies – Again, something that doesn’t benefit you, only your team.

And that’s it. You can see the problem. Unraveling Rounds are getting a flat-out worse mod and there is nothing about Tangles in here at all, so those are just going to be little puffball explosions that barely do anything compared to last season. While some Strand subclass buffs are coming, there’s nothing to make the lost elements of this season’s builds better. And what about when there are no Strand seasonal mods, probably in season 22? Then I think we have a real problem.

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I’ve been writing about video games, television and movies for Forbes for over src0 years, and you may have seen my reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic. I cover all manner of console and PC games, but if it’s about looting or shooting, I’m definitely there. If I’m watching something, it’s usually science fiction, horror or superheroic. I’m also a regular on IGN’s Fireteam Chat podcast and have published five sci-fi novels.