Destiny 2 Lightfall: Release date, Strand, raid, ViDoc trailer, and more

Destiny 2's newest annual expansion, Lightfall, is now just under a week away from being in the hands of players. Picking up where the narrative of The Witch Queen DLC and its seasons left off, Lightfall will serve as the penultimate chapter of what developer Bungie calls the "Light and Darkness Saga." Featuring a new campaign, location, Darkness subclass, raid, and much, much more, it's undoubtedly one of the biggest Destiny 2 expansions yet.

Ahead of its arrival, Bungie has revealed plenty about what players can expect from the new DLC, along with important information about topics such as new pieces of Exotic gear, the launch date of the new raid, and more. Here's a complete overview of everything you need to know before Lightfall goes live. 

Destiny 2 Lightfall: Release date and launch time

Bungie has revealed when Lightfall is officially slated to go live, and like most major Destiny 2 updates and releases, it's scheduled to become available on a Tuesday, which is the game's weekly reset day. Specifically, the expansion will launch on February 28, 2023.

In terms of when specifically Lightfall will arrive on its launch day, Bungie has confirmed that players will be able to log in and play at 9 a.m. PT / 12 p.m. ET. Something important to note is that Destiny 2 will be brought offline for maintenance 24 hours before this time on February 27 at 9 a.m. PT / 12 p.m. ET, as Bungie needs to prepare the game for Lightfall's release.

Since new Destiny 2 releases go live at the same time globally, Lightfall will arrive earlier or later in the day in some regions. This is due to time zone differences. In the table below, we've listed when the expansion will launch in each major time zone.

Destiny 2 Lightfall: Preorder bonuses, prices, and editions

There are three different editions of the Destiny 2: Lightfall expansion that are available for preorder, with each one offering a different number of bonus items (either in-game, physical, or both). Preordering any edition of Lightfall will instantly grant you instant access to an Exclusive Legendary Emblem and a Neptune-themed Exotic Ghost Shell. Preordering the Destiny 2: Lightfall Annual Pass Edition or the Destiny 2: Lightfall Collector's Edition will also give you instant access to a Strand Exotic Emote and the Quicksilver Storm Exotic Auto Rifle.

Our dedicated Destiny 2: Lightfall preorder guide goes over the differences between Lightfall's editions in full detail, but in brief, the Lightfall Standard Edition includes access to the expansion's campaign, raid, Neomuna-specific activities, and Season of Defiance's (Season 20) content, including its Season Pass, seasonal activities, and loot. It costs $50.

The Lightfall + Annual Pass Edition features everything in the Standard Edition, along with access to the content in Seasons 21-23, access to two upcoming dungeons, a unique Lightfall Exotic Sparrow, a catalyst and ornament for Quicksilver Storm, and four of "Rahool's Secret Stash" bundles that give players one cosmetic accessory, two Ascendant Alloys, three Ascendant Shards, one Exotic Cipher, and five Upgrade Modules once per season. As a result of these extras, however, it's $100.

Finally, there's the Lightfall Collector's Edition, which is the most extravagant edition of the DLC available for purchase. It features everything from the previous two editions, along with the following physical collectibles: a Pouka statue, Vanguard lore books, a letter from Zavala, a lithograph, and a vinyl sticker. It's quite expensive at $250, though. There's also a $150 collectibles only version of the Collector's Edition available that doesn't include any Destiny 2 game content.

Destiny 2: Lightfall Standard Edition

The $50 Standard Edition of Lightfall is the most affordable one available, offering the expansion and the Season Pass for Season 20.

Buy from: Microsoft | GMG (Steam)

Destiny 2: Lightfall + Annual Pass Edition

The Annual Pass Edition includes everything from the Standard Edition, as well as all four Season Passes for Destiny 2 Year 6, along with guaranteed access to both Year 6 Dungeons and Rahool's Secret Stash items at the start of each season.

Buy from: Microsoft | GMG (Steam)

Destiny 2: Lightfall Collector's Edition

The Collector's Edition includes everything you get with the less advanced editions, along with physical collectibles, a digital copy of the DLC's soundtrack, and an exclusive Collector's Edition Emblem in-game.

Buy from: Bungie (Xbox) | Bungie (Steam) | Bungie (Collectibles Only)

Destiny 2 Lightfall new location: Neomuna

Neomuna, a neon-soaked metropolis built on the surface of Neptune, serves as the primary setting for the Lightfall DLC and its activities. Defended by humans called Cloud Striders that enhanced themselves with nanotechnology, Neomuna has come under assault by both Emperor Calus and his Shadow Legion and the armies of the Vex. Throughout Lightfall, players will have the ability to explore the city and discover its secrets while helping the Cloud Striders fend off the invading forces. Notably, Bungie says that Neomuna will be as large as the Europa and Savathun's Throne World locations from the Beyond Light and The Witch Queen DLCs, respectively.

New activity: Terminal Overload

On Neomuna, players will be able to engage with the new Terminal Overload public activity. Not much is known about it beyond the fact that it will involve stopping the Cabal and the Vex from attacking the city, but if it's anything like the Wellspring activity from the previous The Witch Queen expansion, we expect that it will reward fans with new Neomuna-exclusive weapons.

Destiny 2 Lightfall: Campaign and Legendary difficulty

Lightfall's campaign is the narrative core of the expansion, as its story will capitalize on plot threads from previous DLCs and seasons while also laying the foundations for future ones. In it, players will travel to Neomuna on Neptune and fight to stop Emperor Calus — now a Disciple of the Witness, the entity behind the Darkness — and his Shadow Legion from overwhelming the city. Season of the Seraph's finale quest also revealed that Neomuna is home to The Veil, an ancient paracausal object with direct ties to the Traveler and its Light. Thus, The Veil will surely play a significant role in the story. 

Based on all the promotional material we've seen for Lightfall so far, we know that characters such as Emperor Calus, Osiris, Elsie Bray (Exo Stranger), and Cloud Striders named Nimbus and Rohan will all feature prominently in the DLC. Empress Caiatl, Calus' daughter and humanity's ally, has also been spotted in an official screenshot of the expansion.

Lightfall Legendary campaign rewards

Just like The Witch Queen before it, Lightfall will include a Legendary version of its campaign that ups the challenge by quite a bit. This difficulty caps your Power Level at -15 below the level of your enemies and scales the health and damage of foes up if you team up with other players. As a result, it will be considerably tougher, but it will also be much more rewarding.

Bungie has confirmed that Lightfall's Legendary campaign will reward players much like The Witch Queen's did, giving them double loot drops from each mission's chests. Additionally, upon completing the entire campaign on Legendary, you'll be awarded a full set of armor with a Power Level of 1770 — a full 20 points over the 1750 Soft Cap, which is a value that you'd normally need to get Powerful Gear drops to reach. On top of that, finishing the Legendary campaign will give you eight Upgrade Modules, access to one of the DLC's new Exotic armor pieces, and a Triumph achievement.

Destiny 2 Lightfall: Raid release date and description

One of the most exciting things about new Destiny 2 expansions are their six-man cooperative activities called raids, and Lightfall is no different. Its new raid is slated to launch on March 10, 2023, about a week-and-a-half after the DLC arrives.

Fireteams attempting to complete the raid the day it comes out should be aware that Contest Mode, a special difficulty modifier that caps the player's Power Level at -20 below each of the raid's encounters, will be active for 48 hours after its release. If you're able to finish the raid in this window of time, you'll get an exclusive Emblem that represents your achievement.

While we don't know for sure what Power Level players will need to be in order to challenge Lightfall's raid on its launch day, a good guess is Power Level 1780. This is because Lightfall's Power Cap will be 1800, and the previous expansion's raid, Vow of the Disciple, required players to be at least at least 20 points beneath the Power Cap at the time.

Next to nothing about the raid's theme and story is currently known, though Bungie has provided this description on the official Lightfall landing page: "Ferried from an unknown time and place, a haunting presence has been detected. We must now confront the ancient threat growing at our doorstep."

Destiny 2 Lightfall: New enemies and Tormentors

Throughout the Lightfall campaign and possibly in activities like Terminal Overload and the new raid, players will encounter some enemies that have never been fought before in Destiny. These new foes are called Tormentors, and appear to be large juggernaut units with Darkness Pyramid tech that serve Emperor Calus and the Witness. We don't know much about them yet, though we do know that they utilize a massive Darkness scythe in combat and can kill players with a devastating grab attack.

In addition to the Tormentors, Calus' Shadow Legion will also play a significant role in the DLC. These Cabal don't appear too different than regular troops from other Cabal factions like the Red Legion, though the developers have hinted that they'll possess the ability to suppress the player's Light in some way.

Destiny 2 Lightfall: Strand subclasses, Aspects, Fragments, and more

While progressing through Lightfall's campaign, players will be able to unlock a brand new Darkness-based subclass called Strand. Like Beyond Light's Stasis, Strand appears to have some powerful crowd control utility since it can suspend enemies in midair, but it also looks like it will be capable of ripping foes to shreds outright with strong damage as well. Ultimately, while we won't know for sure until it's in our hands, it's very likely that Strand will be the foundation for some of the best Destiny 2 builds in the game.

Titans, Hunters, and Warlocks all have unique capabilities that make their Strand subclass stand out, but like with Stasis and the Light 3.0 subclasses, Strand verbs, buffs, and debuffs are universal and do the same thing regardless of which type of Guardian you're playing as. We've listed them all below:

• Weaving: Creating objects using Strand.
• Unraveling: Defeating targets affected by Strand.
• Unravel: Damaging targets affected by this debuff causes threads to burst out and hit other enemies, which will also become unraveled when defeated. 
• Tangle: Created when enemies are Unraveled. Tangles are a bundle of Strand fibers that explode when shot, causing area damage. Alternatively, Tangles can be picked up and thrown at enemies by players.
• Suspend: Suspended enemies are lifted off the ground and effectively disabled, unable to move or fight back. In PvP, players are lifted and severely slowed, but can still move slightly and fire their weapon.
• Sever: Severed enemies are less capable of affecting the world, and do much less damage.
• Woven Mail: This buff coats players in Strand matter, reducing incoming damage. In PvP, Woven Mail only reduces bodyshot damage and won't resist melee attacks.

All Strand subclasses also share the same grenades, which are listed below. This includes the ability to use the Strand grappling hook, as well as a powerful grapple melee combo.

• Threadling Grenade: This grenade creates multiple Threadling minions when thrown, which then attach themselves to enemies and explode.
• Shackle Grenade: A grenade that creates a bola-type weapon that bounces between targets and Suspends enemies when it hits them.
• Grappling Hook: Controlled using the grenade button. Allows players to swing through the air by grappling physical objects, other entities like players or enemies, or via a Strand tether that can be generated anywhere midair.
• Grapple Melee: Grapple toward an enemy to unleash a powerful Strand-empowered melee attack that Unravels them.

Strand Titan subclass: Berserker

The Titan Berserker subclass encourages the use of Strand to chew through enemy combatants with devastating melee attacks and the Sever debuff. Here's the subclass' kit:

• Frenzied Blade (Melee): Dash forward and slash at enemies with Strand arm blades. Has three charges by default and Severs affected foes. 
• Bladefury (Super): Dual wield two Strand arm blades and roam the battlefield. Light attacks work like Frenzied Blade, though they also increase the speed of further light attacks and charge up the heavy attack. Heavy attack sends projectiles forward that damage and Suspend any enemies hit.

Strand Hunter subclass: Threadrunner

Hunter Threadrunners specialize in ranged melee attacks and high mobility, with the Strand grappling hook built directly into their Super. Here's what the subclass will be capable of:

• Threaded Spike (Melee): Throw a rope dart that damages targets and bounces between them, then returns to your hands and replenishes melee energy. By pressing the melee input as the rope dart is returning, you can "catch" it to get even more melee energy back.
• Silkstrike (Super): Traverse the battlefield with a grappling hook while using your rope dart to cut down enemies. More damage is dealt when you hit foes with the tip of the rope dart.

Strand Warlock subclass: Broodweaver

The Warlock's Broodweaver Strand subclass improves Threadling minions by allowing them to "perch" on the Warlock who created them when no enemies are nearby. Then, they'll jump off and attack whenever a foe comes in range. Here's the subclass' abilities:

• Arcane Needle (Melee): Throw a Strand needle that seeks a target and Unravels them. Can be quickly casted three times in succession.
• Needlestorm (Super): Create and then shatter a cloud of Strand, creating a volley of Strand needles that seek out enemies, explode, and then create Threadlings.

List of Strand Aspects and Fragments

Players will be able to equip the following Aspects and Fragments in order to tweak the way their Strand subclass plays in both big and small ways. Note that while Aspects are class-specific, Fragments are not and can be used by all three Guardian classes.

• Weaver’s Call (Warlock Aspect): On Rift cast, the Warlock weaves three Threadling eggs, which hatch into Threadlings when they hit a surface. Perched Threadlings are converted to additional eggs.  
• Mindspun Invocation (Warlock Aspect): This Aspect improves several Warlock abilities: 
  • Grapple: When you execute a grapple melee, the Warlock weaves three Threadling eggs from the target. 
  • Threadling Grenade: You can consume your Threadling Grenade to generate a full complement of perched Threadlings.  
  • Shackle Grenade: You can consume your Shackle Grenade to gain a buff, creating a Suspending detonation on every kill.
• Ensnaring Slam (Hunter Aspect): Press the air-move input while midair to slam downward and Suspend nearby enemies. 
• Widow’s Silk (Hunter Aspect): Grants an additional grenade charge. Grapple creates a persistent grapple Tangle when it latches, which fully refunds grenade energy when grappled to. Hunters can use this ability to set up grapple points for their team.
• Into the Fray (Titan Aspect): Destroying a Tangle weaves Woven Mail unto the Titan and nearby allies. This Aspect also makes Woven Mail recharge your melee ability faster.
• Drengr’s Lash (Titan Aspect): When the Titan casts their class ability, the Titan will blast forward a powerful Strand ripple, Suspending enemies.
• Thread of Ascent (Fragment): Activating your grenade ability reloads your equipped weapon and grants increased weapon handling and airborne effectiveness for a short time. 
• Thread of Fury (Fragment): Damaging targets with a Tangle grants melee energy. 
• Thread of Finality (Fragment): Finishers generate Threadlings.  
• Thread of Warding (Fragment): Picking up an Orb of Power grants Woven Mail. 

Destiny 2 Lightfall: New Exotic weapons and armor

Like previous Destiny 2 DLCs, Lightfall will bring several new pieces of Exotic gear to the game's sandbox. Ahead of the expansion's launch, Bungie has confirmed a new Exotic armor piece for each class, along with a trio of powerful Exotic weapons. We've listed all of these below.

• Final Warning: Strand Sidearm that fires tracking rounds that seek nearby enemies.
• Deterministic Chaos: Void Machine Gun that debuffs enemies with Weaken and Volatile with every fourth and 16th shot, respectively.
• Winterbite: Heavy Stasis Exotic Glaive that freezes enemies on impact with frost orbs.
• Cyrtarachne’s Façade: Exotic Hunter helmet that gives Woven Mail protection after players grapple.
• Abeyant Leap: Exotic Titan leg armor that spawns extra seeking Strand projectiles that Suspend enemies and give armor to its wearer whenever they use their Barricade.
• Swarmers: Exotic Warlock leg armor allows players to create a Strand Threadling to infest and attack enemies after destroying a Tangle.

Note that there may be additional new Exotics that the developers haven't revealed yet. In terms of how to unlock these Exotics, it's likely that they'll be tied to progression through the expansion's campaign or quests.

Destiny 2 Lightfall: ViDoc and trailers

In this section, we've compiled all of the trailers that Bungie has made to advertise the Lightfall expansion and its content. Notably, this includes the Lightfall ViDoc in which the developers go over Lightfall's biggest additions and changes in lots of detail, as well as the DLC's launch trailer.

Destiny 2: Lightfall is slated to arrive on February 28 on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One consoles, Windows PCs, and PlayStation systems. Ahead of its launch, check out our Destiny 2 Lightfall prep guide for an overview of the best ways to get ready for the expansion.