I have some incredible Hunter builds in Destiny 2. With Young Ahamkara’s Spine and some specific energy mods, my solar grenade and melee abilities can be thrown almost infinitely. If there’s something big that needs to die quickly, I can usually deal with it faster than anyone else by spamming grenades and knives at it. For my void build, I use Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk to infinitely chain invisibility and volatile rounds together. Not only does it clear big hordes of enemies instantly, it also gives me incredible survivability. Those two builds alone make even the hardest content a breeze.

In contrast, my best Stasis and Arc builds aren’t quite as effective. Stasis provides a lot of crowd control and decent ability recovery through shards, and Arc gives me so much punching power I almost feel like a Titan at times, but neither of them reach the same damage output or survivability as Solar and Void, so I rarely use them. Like many, my approach to build-crafting has always been purely utilitarian. I want the strongest abilities and the biggest numbers; the highest damage, the most defense, and the fastest time-to-kill are the only things that matter. Whether or not I enjoy the playstyle is of no consequence, I’m just going to do whatever performs the best. I never considered any other way to play Destiny until Lightfall gave us Strand.

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The way Strand is introduced and developed throughout the Lightfall campaign leaves a rough first impression. Every time it’s given to you you’re allowed to use the abilities freely with almost no cooldowns, but you don’t get a sense of the synergies and playstyles the other subclasses have when you can customize your build to support it. It drip feeds you Strand mechanics and Aspects throughout the campaign, but every time you start to get a feel for it, it gets taken away. The penultimate mission Headlong is designed to be the final test of your Strand abilities, and while I did feel like it all came together in a satisfying way during the boss fight, I could already tell that Strand won’t be able to compete with my other subclasses. If it isn’t the best, then I don’t really need it.

The problem with Strand is that it requires so much set up. Strand Grapple replaces your grenade, and with it you can grapple to an enemy, deliver a powerful Strand punch, turn them into a Tangle, then pick up that Tangle and hurl it at another group of enemies to make them explode. Or, with any other subclass, you could just throw a grenade. Grappling around with Strand is stylish, but if it doesn’t make it easier to kill bad guys, what’s the point? It feels especially bad as soon as you finish the campaign because you lose the quick ability recharge. Just like Stasis and Arc, I was ready to shelve Strand as soon as I completed the story and go back to the subclasses to the subclasses that can get the job done.

Once the campaign ends you’re forced to stick with Strand for a while to unlock all of the new Fragments, and I’m glad you are because I’ve done a complete 180 on the subclass. Once I started earning Fragments and shaping Strand to my liking, I quickly discovered how much it had to offer. I still don’t think it’s as strong as Solar, but to my surprise I’ve stuck with it anyway simply because of how much I enjoy it. I’m willing to spend longer in encounters and be less efficient because it’s so much fun to swing around, toss Tangles, and string Cabal up like marionettes. Not only is grappling a blast, but Ensnaring Slam makes me feel like I can dive headfirst into any fight and come out unscathed. And while the rope dart melee leaves a lot to be desired, Silkstrike is my favorite Super ever. I’ve never played a subclass just for the fun of it before, but Strand is so different from the others that it’s shown me a new way to play Destiny.

People are already finding some great potential in Strand, and it’s clearly not the worst subclass (that’s still Stasis). With something like Radiant Dance Machines and a Demolitionist weapon you can do some pretty outrageous combo by dodging around the arena and suspending everyone in sight. Strand could end up being a viable subclass for endgame activities, but even if it isn’t, I’m still going to play with it as much as I can. It’s no surprise that the subclass all about the freedom of movement is subsequently freeing me from my obsession with achieving the biggest numbers.

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