Joe Thomaselli
Abilities
Before diving into the class-specific abilities and aspects, let’s talk about the new buffs and debuff abilities coming to all Arc classes. The first of which is a unique new buff called Amplified.
Amplified: Players will become Amplified while using an Arc subclass after rapidly defeating targets with any Arc damage. While Amplified, players will have increased movement speed and weapon handling.
Being Amplified doesn’t just increase movement speed and weapon handling, but also provides another buff in the form of Speed Boost.
Speed Boost: After sprinting for a few seconds, an amplified Guardian will gain another boost in speed (naturally), gaining a sizable PVE damage resistance buff and enabling an even-longer slide ability.
Those are some great buffs, so let’s talk about the debuffs. Arc 3.0 will bring two debuffs for the class, starting with Blind.
Blind: Blinded opponents in PVE won’t be able to see and will also be disoriented and unable to fire their weapons. In PVP, blinded opponents will have their screen whited out and their HUD removed for a short period of time alongside a ringing audio effect simulating the ringing in the ears after a flashbang explodes.The second debuff, however, is a unique new debuff called Jolt.Jolt: Opponents who are damaged will periodically send slivers of chain lightning out to nearby enemies, damaging them in the process.
Arc 3.0 is already bringing some great new additions to the subclass, but we still have more to discuss, so let’s move on to the Fragments.
Fragments
Unfortunately, Bungie teased us with the reveal of only a few Fragments for the Arc subclass. The rest will be unveiled when Arc 3.0 fully launches with Season 18 on Aug 23. But for now, here’s what we know:
Spark of Beacons: When the player is amplified, Arc special weapon kills create a blinding explosion.Spark of Resistance: When surrounded by enemies, the player has increased damage resistance.Spark of Momentum: Sliding over ammo will reload your weapon and grant a small amount of melee energy. Sliding over Heavy ammo increases the amount of energy granted.Spark of Shock: The player’s Arc grenades jolt enemies.
We’ll discuss what the remaining Fragments will be when Season 18 launches next week. In the meantime, let’s finally review each class’s aspects.
Aspects
As expected, each class, Hunters, Warlocks, and Titans, will all receive three new aspects for each of them. Some of which are current abilities being modified into aspects, while others are brand new to the class. Let’s first discuss the Hunters. Hunters will receive three aspects to choose from for Arc 3.0.
Flow State: Defeating a jolted opponent causes you to become amplified. When amplified, the Hunter’s dodge will recharge faster and make you more resistant to damage, and you have quicker reload times.Tempest Strike: Allows the Hunter to perform a sliding melee that launches an Arc wave along the ground, dealing significant damage and jolting enemies in its path.Lethal Current: After dodging, the Hunter’s melee lunge range is increased and their next melee attack jolts the target and creates a damaging lightning aftershock. When used with the Arc Staff Super, after dodging, the Hunter’s next staff light attack hits twice. In addition, hitting a jolted enemy with a melee attack will blind them.
On a side note, Blink is also returning for Arc Hunters as well, giving the class further mobility and effectiveness. Let’s move on to the Warlocks. Warlocks will be able to choose from these three new Arc Aspects.
Arc Soul: The Warlock casts a rift to create an Arc Soul that will assist the player in battle. Allies who pass through the rift will also earn an Arc Soul. The rift charges faster when allies are near. While amplified, any Arc Soul you have or gain is supercharged, increasing its rate of fire.Lightning Surge: The Warlock activates their melee while sliding to transform into a ball of lightning and teleport forward, calling down a field of lightning bolts at the exit point that jolts targets.Electrostatic Mind: Arc ability kills and kills on Arc-debuffed enemies create Ionic Traces. When you collect any Ionic Trace, you become amplified.
Bungie really wanted Warlocks to live out the “Emperor Palpatine” dream of electrifying everything in their path, and it seems they will be able to do so with these new aspects. Finally, let’s talk about the Titans. Like the other subclasses, Arc 3.0 Titans will have three Aspects to select from.
Touch of Thunder: Improves Arc grenades in the following ways:
Flashbang: Fires an additional blind impulse on its first bounce.Pulse: When the grenade damages an enemy, it creates an Ionic Trace for the Titan. Pulse Grenade damage increases over time as the grenade lingers after impact.Lightning: Grants an additional charge for Lightning grenade, and jolts targets on initial blast.Storm: Creates a roaming thundercloud that moves and tracks enemies, firing lightning bolts at the ground underneath it.Juggernaut: While sprinting and with full class ability energy, the Titan gains a frontal shield that blocks incoming damage. When amplified, the shield is stronger. Once the shield is depleted by taking damage, the player’s class energy is depleted.Knockout: Melee kills trigger health regeneration and make the Titan amplified. Critically wounding an enemy or breaking their shield increases melee range and damage for a brief period. Titan’s base melee becomes Arc-empowered while Knockout is active.
That was a lot to take in, but from the looks of it, Arc 3.0 is set to be an excellent update for the game. We’ve discussed how the Arc subclass was previously the weakest of all the subclasses in a previous post, but with the above changes, that no longer seems to be the case. How Arc 3.0 will genuinely affect the game remains to be seen, but we’ll be sure to discuss it when it fully launches with Season 18 on Aug 23. For more Destiny 2 content, check out our related articles below.
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