The Strand Subclass was introduced during the Lightfall update and fascinated players with the many ways you could defeat enemies.
Obtaining the Strand Subclass is a little different than the main subclasses though, as there is a story that needs to be completed before you can get it.
The Strand Subclass is tied to the Lightfall campaign, which is where Strand Energy is discovered and later utilized by the Guardian.
How To Unlock Strand?
To unlock Strand, you will need to complete the Lightfall campaign, which is a series of missions within a quest that needs to be completed.
The story revolves around your arrival on Neptune where you enter the city of Neomuna and later help to fight against Calus and The Witness.
At the end of the Lightfall campaign, the Strand Subclass will be unlocked and may later be upgraded by purchases of Aspects and Fragments.
How To Use Strand?
Once you have unlocked the Strand subclass, you can equip it at any time to start using your new weave abilities.
To do this, open up your inventory and select the subclass icon, which will display the other subclasses that you have.
Select the Strand subclass to make it active and you can also open up its menu to configure the abilities that you have unlocked.
How To Upgrade Strand Subclass?
Once you have unlocked the Strand Subclass, you can further improve it with your builds to make your character more powerful.
There are different upgrades that you can purchase with the use of Strand Meditations, which can be obtained in Neomuna.
These upgrades come in the form of Aspects and Fragments, which can be purchased at the Pouka Pond in the Hall of Heroes in Neomuna.
Strand Subclass Names and Abilities
With Strand being a new type of subclass, it has given the Titan, Warlock, and Hunter different class names that hint at what kind of abilities they possess.
The following are the Strand Subclass names in Destiny 2:
1) Berserker (Strand Titan)
The Titan becomes wild and resilient as they run into battle by manifesting claws that can cut their enemies from the weave.
Titans gain the following abilities with Strand:
- Bladefury – Manifests powerful claws that allow you to rush into battle, providing new light and heavy attacks to use against enemies.
- Frenzied Blade – Quickly dashes to enemies and slashes them with blades that have been manifested using Strand energy.
- Into the Fray – Manifests Woven Mail that improves your armor and increases your melee regeneration to withstand enemies and face them head-to-head.
- Drengr’s Lash – Releases a forward shockwave that suspends enemies that are caught in its path, making them vulnerable to attacks.
2) Broodweaver (Strand Warlock)
The Warlock controls the Weave by creating creatures that attack for her and use them to deal high amounts of damage alongside their attacks.
Warlocks gain the following abilities with Strand:
- Needlestorm – Creates a large cloud of Strand before it is shattered, which causes the projectiles to pierce enemies and explode on impact.
- Arcane Needle – Releases a Strand needle that tracks enemies and impales them, causing them to be affected by Unravel.
- Weaver’s Call – Allows the Warlock to create three Threadlings that seek out and attack enemies when they create a rift.
- Mindspun Invocation – Gives the Warlock the ability to alter their grenades with additional Broodweaver qualities.
3) Threadrunner (Strand Hunter)
The Hunter becomes even more agile as they dash around their enemies dealing fatal damage as they come out unharmed.
Hunter gains the following abilities with Strand:
- Silkstrike – Manifests a grappling hook with a rope dart at its end to use to get around the battlefield and execute enemies along the way.
- Threaded Spike – Allows the Hunter to throw a rope dart that damages enemies, ricochets, and returns melee energy to them.
- Ensnaring Slam – The Hunter descends upon their enemies from above, and causes a massive slam that suspends them in the air.
- Widow’s Silk – Grappling can be done more often, and the Hunter can even create grapple points for them and their team to use.
Shared Strand Abilities
Each class can similarly use Strand energy with certain abilities that they can later change whenever they want.
The following are shared Strand abilities that all classes may use:
- Grapple – Allows you to manifest the power of the weave to perform new types of movement, strategy, and speed-related actions.
- Grenades – Provides you with woven threads that may be used in defeating enemies that are imbued with the power of weave.
- Grapple Melee – Characters can unleash a devastating Strand-empowered attack that can unravel enemies when they are hit.
Strand Supers
Most of the Strand Supers are different for each class but do resemble some of the previous movements and actions as the other subclasses, making them easy to get used to.
Titans become an unstoppable force with powerful blades that they can use to slice and dice through enemies.
Warlocks can unleash multiple projectiles that seek out targets or may be focused on a single target when aimed to deal large amounts of damage.
Hunters create a Strand grappling dart that they can use to deal powerful melee attacks and use to grapple around the battlefield.
Strand Weapons
Strand weapons may be used without the need of unlocking Strand but later become vital when you want to focus on making use of its full power.
Certain Strand weapons exist in the game right now and these will most likely increase in the upcoming seasons.
Certain weapon mods can be equipped that allows Strand weapons to boost their stats when used in battle or even cause effects to happen.
The following are Strand weapons that are useful with the Strand Subclasses:
Exotic Strand Weapons
Legendary Strand Weapons
- Perpetualis (Legendary Auto Rifle)
- Round Robin (Legendary Hand Cannon)
- Volta Bracket (Legendary Sniper Rifle)
- Synchronic Roulette (Legendary Submachine Gun)
- The Immortal (Legendary Submachine Gun)
- Circular Logic (Legendary Machine Gun)
All Strand Keywords
Strand may include a few words that some players are still getting the hang of but no need to worry, we got you covered.
Whenever these keywords are mentioned in mods, abilities, and more, this means that they will usually have such effects or benefits whenever you attack an enemy affected by them.
Here are the Strand keywords and what they mean in Destiny 2:
1) Suspend – This causes an enemy to be lifted with Strand energy, making them disabled and easy targets to hit in PVE. For PVP, enemies will still be lifted but will be slowed down and can still fire their weapons to fight back.
2) Unravel – Enemies that are affected by Unravel will cause an explosion of threads that attack targets nearby. This causes a chain reaction as enemies that are hit will also become unraveled.
3) Sever – When an enemy is affected by Sever, they become less effective in the material world, which reduces their damage output.
4) Tangle – A Strand tangle is a piece of Strand energy left when an enemy affected by Suspend, Unravel, or Sever has been defeated. This has a cooldown of 15 seconds.
How To Defeat Enemies with Strand?
Strand has a lot of strategies that you can use to defeat your enemies and each of the classes has its ways to take out enemies.
With Strand as a subclass, you can utilize the different effects as well as Tangles to defeat enemies with great ease.
Using suspend will make enemies easier to defeat and is best used for groups of enemies or stronger enemies that you need to focus fire on.
Unravel works exceptionally well when there are several enemies in one area as this will help you damage or even defeat all of them.
Sever is best used to make powerful enemies weaker so they deal less damage to you and your allies while in the heat of battle.
Whenever a Tangle is created after you have defeated an enemy affected by a Strand effect, you can use it as an explosive-thrown projectile or may even shoot it to blast an area.
How To Make Strand Tangles?
A Strand Tangle can be a game-changer sometimes, and making them is not that hard but there is a cooldown that you need to take note of.
Every time you defeat an enemy that is affected by Suspend, Sever, or Unravel, a Strand Tangle may be created but this can also happen if you have certain mods or abilities equipped.
Once an enemy affected by the Strand effects is defeated, you will be able to see a green orb that can be picked up or shot at.
Picking up the Tangle allows you to throw it at enemies, which will cause it to explode or you can simply shoot it to trigger the explosion where it has dropped.
Verdict
While some may still be getting used to the Strand, this darkness subclass requires a bit of strategy if you plan on making the most of it.
Each class has different capabilities tied to the weave and may utilize the Strand subclass along with Strand weapons to take enemies out quickly.
Some builds may even work better than others and it’s more fun to experiment along the way to witness the full capability of this subclass.
