Everything we know about Destiny 2: Beyond Light’s new Stasis power

On June 9, Bungie announced Destiny 2: Beyond Light, the game’s fall expansion. As part of Beyond Light, players will gain access to their first new element in Destiny history: Stasis. Stasis is a mysterious power, emanating from The Darkness that has threatened players since 2014.

Bungie’s trailer only showed off a small amount of Stasis gameplay, but here’s everything we know so far.

A new skill tree

Destiny 2’s current Arc, Solar, and Void subclasses all offer very limited skill trees, with players getting a choice between three groupings of perks and no customization.

Stasis will operate a bit differently. Destiny 2 game director, Luke Smith, told us that Stasis will use a highly customizable tree. It will be different from what Destiny 2 currently has, and it will also differ from the original Destiny’s node-based skill tree. In an interview with streamer Dr. Lupo on June 9, Smith mentioned that the new skill tree is “a brand new model that allows for much more player choice and flexibility.”

When asked if this new skill tree design will also come to Destiny 2’s existing subclasses, Smith said this new tree is an experiment. “We want to see how this goes,” Smith told Lupo. But, he said, this new, flexible design was important to him and the team. Smith also mentioned that if Bungie does re-do the old skill trees in this fashion, players will likely lose some options.

While we don’t know all of the Stasis abilities, it’s clear players won’t have three curated flavors to choose from, like they have since Forsaken. Instead, everyone’s Stasis subclass may look a little different.

Warlocks

Image: Bungie via Polygon

In the Destiny 2: Beyond Light gameplay trailer, we see a short glimpse of a Warlock wielding an icy staff. The clip shows the Warlock holding the staff up and shooting some sort of projectile at a group of Vex. In the next clip, it appears that the Vex get covered in ice.

The Beyond Light landing page on Bungie’s website says that players can lay down “slowing fields.” It seems likely that this new ice staff is a way for Warlocks to support their allies by slowing down and debuffing enemies.

The introduction to the Stasis powers comes about halfway through the Beyond Light trailer. Just before the first shot of what looks to be a Stasis grenade, the music slows down as we see a Warlock die. While admittedly a stretch, this could suggest the return of Warlock’s self-revive ability from the original Destiny, which players left behind in favor of the Dawnblade subclass in Destiny 2.

Hunters

Image: Bungie via Polygon

In the short trailer, Hunters have the most clear gameplay. We see a clip of a Hunter creating two small sickles made out of ice. The two weapons spin in the Hunter’s hand when they first spawn. The next shot shows the Hunter mid-air throwing one of the sickles at a group of Vex. When it hits, it explodes with a burst of ice.

It’s unclear if this Super has a melee element to it as well.

Titans

Image: Bungie via Polygon

Unfortunately, the trailer shows almost no Titan gameplay. The only glimpse we get of Titans using Stasis appears for less than a second. On the far right of the above screenshot, you can see a Titan crouched down, with ice covering their left hand.

While this shot tells us almost nothing, it looks like the Titan also has an ice glove on its right hand. Titan mains — notorious for smashing things — may be getting some kind of Stasis Hulk Hands come this fall.

This would fit with the description on the game’s website, which says different classes will interact with Stasis differently, “slowing down foes with Stasis field to encasing and shattering enemies with destructive might.” That last part should sound pretty familiar for Titan players, and icy boxing gloves sound like the perfect weapon for that kind of destruction.

Bungie said it will share more information about Stasis later this summer.

Bungie will launch Destiny 2: Beyond Light for Google Stadia, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows PC on Sept. 22. Next-generation versions of Destiny 2 and Beyond Light will launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X later this year.

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