Destiny 2‘s Season of the Risen is coming to a close after the third and final week of the Guardian Games, after which Season 17 will launch with a big patch that encompasses changes to weapons, PvP, and more. A big part of Season of the Risen and The Witch Queen in general was Bungie launching the Void 3.0 update, which was the first rework for Light subclasses after the introduction of Stasis in Beyond Light. Starting with Season 17, Bungie plans to also rework the remaining two Light subclasses to offer a vast selection of abilities and combinations as it approaches the Lightfall era in Year 6.
Destiny 2 players are debating which subclasses should be prioritized for the next Light rework, with Solar 3.0 being a great candidate for Season 17 because of all the recent adjustments that have buffed Solar weapons like Skyburner’s Oath. However, there are a few good reasons why Arc 3.0 should be Destiny 2‘s next update, especially seeing how Bungie has been testing a new spear-wielding mechanic with Season of the Risen. Arc subclasses are arguably in the worst place right now, which means that prioritizing those would be a more sensible choice than going after Solar 3.0 first.
Destiny 2’s Arc Subclasses Need a Rework Sooner Rather Than Later
Even prior to the Void 3.0 update, Arc subclasses in Destiny 2 were considerably worse than others because of their lack of options for both PvE and PvP, especially in high-end content. A recent nerf to Geomag Stabilizers meant the Warlocks’ only viable Arc Super, Chaos Reach, was made much less impactful. Titans do have their Cuirass of the Falling Star for big damage numbers through Thundercrash, but the Exotic only works with the Super component of the class, leaving the rest of its specific strengths behind.
Overall, the hardest class to build anything for effectively is Arc Hunters, as they have only one Super across three different trees, with just a slight variation or two between them. Heir to the Bladedancer from Destiny, Destiny 2‘s Arcstrider never really found a place in the meta apart from times when specific glitches or cheeses were available, leaving something to be desired compared to other class options. As such, Arc 3.0 would make a lot of sense for Season 17, as it could remedy the current state of Arc subclasses.
Because Bungie has been taking feedback on how the Synaptic Spear from Season of the Risen works, there is hope that it was a way to test a new Super for Arc Hunters, but also other side abilities for both Warlocks and Titans. For example, the Synaptic Spear also comes with an intrinsic Blink movement ability like that of Bladedancers from Destiny or Voidwalker Warlocks from Destiny 2. This could mean that Blink is coming to Arc 3.0 subclasses through a Fragment, making it accessible to all three classes.
Yet it’s worth noting that Arc subclasses will take a lot more work than Solar, because Arc as an element lacks a firm identity, which should be at the very core of the rework. Bungie might have to work more with Arc subclasses because of this, as reconstructing them from the ground-up does require a lot of Keywords (such as Blind or maybe Chain), which may be harder to come up with compared to Solar. Ultimately, Destiny 2‘s Season 17 should delve into this aspect of Arc’s identity, especially seeing how Arc subclasses revolve around Exotics rather than perk combinations.
Destiny 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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