Destiny 2: Arc 3.0 Subclass Explained

While players wait to see what Sony's Bungie acquisition will look like for the movie industry, the "Destiny 2" developers have been in the background redesigning each of the subclasses in-game. Since "The Witch Queen" expansion was released, players have had the chance to experiment with new versions of the classic Void and Solar subclasses — and there were even potential leaks before the new subclass, Strand, was officially announced. While Bungie gave players great news in August 2022 about things like the "Destiny 2" Guardian Ranks and a new expansion, "Lightfall," they also delivered some information about the reworked Arc subclass, Arc 3.0. 

After offering players their first taste of Darkness powers alongside the new Stasis subclass in the 2020 "Beyond Light" expansion, Bungie decided to apply the new subclass system across all existing Light-powered subclasses. In 2022, Bungie started revamping the entire system, adding a 3.0 to each reworked subclass, starting with Void and moving to Solar next. About a week before the 2022 showcase, Bungie made a blog post about how Arc 3.0 would work. Here's a breakdown of the new subclass and how it will affect each Guardian class in the game.

In an article from Bungie detailing Arc 3.0, designer Sam Dunn said, "Arc is really just, 'go fast and hit stuff,' ... Everything is built around moving forward and enabling aggression and those abilities."

The first significant change to Arc is the introduction of a new buff: amplified. It makes players move faster and handle weapons quicker and allows them to slide extra long distances. Amplified is an automatic buff that any Arc 3.0 Guardian will have regardless of which Aspects or Fragments they have equipped. Amplified Guardians also benefit from damage resistance and additional speed boosts after sprinting for just a few seconds. In addition, all Arc 3.0 Guardians will also have access to Ionic Traces (previously for Warlocks only), which are pick-ups that generate energy for Arc abilities when collected.

There are also two debuffs coming with Arc 3.0: jolt and blind. Jolt makes enemies occasionally send out sparks of electricity, damaging themself and others around them. Blinded enemies won't be able to see or shoot their weapon, and in PvP, enemy players will also suffer a screen distortion with muffled audio. Blink, a movement mechanic, will also be implemented for any Hunters and buffed for some Warlock builds.

New Fragments are coming to the game with Arc 3.0 as well. These allow players to enhance themselves with additional options that increase damage resistance, reload weapons in new ways, or blind nearby enemies more easily, among others that have yet to be revealed.

Bungie had a specific idea in mind for Arc 3.0 Hunters. In the development team's own words, "For Hunter, the team imagined the 'graceful warrior monk,' giving the Hunter the ability to get in close quarters quickly and effectively make a mess of their opponents in the process." 

The two original Arc Supers are being modified, with a new one also added. Arc Staff is returning and will now help Hunters block damage. Combination Blow didn't change much since it already fits what Bungie feels an Arc Hunter should be. Gathering Storm is a new Super that has Hunters leap up to throw their staff into a group of enemies. The Super deals AoE damage for a few seconds and overcharges the staff, so any enemies close to the Hunter will be hit with lightning. Disorienting Blow melee attacks will also be returning, which now blind opponents while amplifying the Hunter.

There are also three new Arc Aspects. Flow State makes it so that anytime a Hunter eliminates jolted enemies they become amplified. Lethal Current targets Arc Hunter's melee so that the range for their melee lunge will increase when a Hunter dodges. Additionally, a Hunter's next melee applies jolt and an AOE, or, with the Arc Staff Super, the next melee hits twice and applies blind. Tempest Strike makes it so if Hunters slide and melee, they'll emit an Arc wave across the ground, damaging and jolting enemies it touches.

Bungie wanted Arc 3.0 Warlocks to feel like they were conduits of a lightning storm. There are two melee abilities to help reach this goal. Warlocks can shoot out an orb of Arc energy with Ball Lightning or use Chain Lightning to send out tendrils of electricity that deal damage and apply jolt to any enemies caught in the blast.

There were changes to the Supers as well. While Chaos Reach stayed the same, Stormtrance was reintroduced as a mashup of two previous versions of the ability from the older skill tree. Warlocks will now create an AOE shockwave after casting the Super and have access to a quick teleport while it's active.

There are three new Aspects for Warlocks to start with. The first is Arc Soul, which creates a little floating Arc turret whenever a Warlock casts a rift and when allies pass through the rift. The Arc Souls will also become supercharged and increase their fire rate when amplified. Electrostatic Mind creates Ionic Traces when a Warlock defeats foes with Arc abilities or kills an enemy that's debuffed by an Arc ability. Warlocks become amplified anytime they collect an Ionic Trace. Last but not least is Lightning Surge, which lets Warlocks activate their melee, slide to teleport ahead, and deal AoE damage that also jolts enemies. 

Bungie explained the goal of the Arc 3.0 Titan is to try and get players even closer to the action, so changes were made to create opportunities for that kind of combat. With mobility in mind, Arc 3.0 Titans sport a new Thruster ability that allows for short bursts of movement speed while evading. In addition, seismic Strike now blinds enemies for longer when the Titan is amplified, and a new melee ability called Thunderclap lets Titans do a quick jab of damage or charge Arc energy to unleash a more devastating blow. For Supers, Arc Titans' Thundercrash remains essentially unchanged, while Seismic Strike now combines some of the effects of two previously different skill tree paths from the old system.

Arc 3.0 Titans are starting with three Aspects to choose from. The first is Juggernaut, which gives Titans additional shielding when sprinting as long as they have full ability energy. An amplified shield also takes more hits. The next, Knockout, makes it so that Titans become amplified and regain health after melee kills. Critical hits will also increase melee range and damage. The last is Touch of Thunder, and this Aspect deals with Arc grenades and improves each of them. Flashbangs get an additional blind after bouncing. Pulse grenades create Ionic Traces and deal more damage the longer they're on the field. Lightning grenades gain additional charges and additional jolt enemies. Storm manifests a literal storm cloud that tracks enemies while dealing damage with lightning.