Bungie shows off new Stasis powers in latest Destiny 2: Beyond Light trailer

Easily the most alluring feature of Destiny 2's Beyond Light expansion is the introduction of a new element called "Stasis." This is the first new damage type (joining Solar, Arc, and Void) to be added to the series since launch, and as such it will also bring whole new subclasses. Today, as part of the Gamescom opening night jamboree, Bungie released a new trailer delving further into how Stasis works. And yes, it's a lot like ice, and no, I don't know why it isn't just called 'Frost'.

What I do know is that it looks very, ahem, cool. The new subclasses also have names: Warlock gets Shadebinder, which wields an icy staff that emits shattering bolts of energy. Hunter has Revenant, which uses twin ice-pick axes, again thrown to shatter pre-frozen enemies. Last, and from my perspective least, Titans get Behemoth, which is able to freeze a swathe of ground in front of them and then release an explosive flying punch. 

Bungie has talked previously about how these Stasis subclasses will be more customisable than the existing trees, but has yet to reveal how. (My assumption is that you'll have more nodes to toggle on and off to fit your play style.) We also understand that Stasis will appear on weapons, though I'd need to go through the trailer frame-by-frame to spot any sign of those. The core theme of Stasis seems to be pre-freezing targets and then blasting them to smithereens, which looks fun, and dare I say that kind of combo was one of the things Anthem actually got right. 

(Image credit: Bungie)

Destiny 2: Beyond Light will launch on 10 November, bringing an entirely new destination (the frozen tundra of Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter) and reprising a destination from Destiny 1 (Earth's abandoned Cosmodrome in Old Russia). You can read more about what to expect on the expansion's official page, including a tease for the next raid, but it should be noted that a bunch of old content—multiple whole planets, in fact—is simultaneously being removed and placed in something called the Destiny Content Vault. 

Phil wrote about exactly what's leaving earlier this week, and it really is a lot (RIP weapon testing and chill in the Tribute Hall). Interestingly, one of the content creators invited to last year's Destiny Summit at Bungie HQ in Seattle has shed potential light on the reason for vaulting so much of this legacy content. In a video titled 'Why Beyond Light is essentially Destiny 3', Aztecross describes how, during an eight-hour meeting, game director Luke Smith told the attendees, "We have to take some of these planets off the map. Re-do them, re-code them, re-issue them." 

The idea that Destiny's core code has substantial issues that require cleanup has been floating around for a while, so given that Bungie has chosen to keep iterating on Destiny 2, rather than create a Destiny 3, removing destinations to be 'fixed' makes some sense. At the time of the Content Vault's announcement, Bungie said, "Content that goes into the Destiny Content Vault may return in the future, altered (if necessary) to fit the new state of the universe." 

The explanation was that the game's install size had ballooned—don't forget it's still supported on current-gen consoles—and the sheer amount of stuff was making testing problematic. Obviously it should also be noted that a lot will have changed since the Summit. For one thing, the current overarching plot involves an invasion of the planets that are being vaulted by the mysterious pyramidal ships of The Darkness, which at least provides a narrative reason for them going away. 

I imagine that if and when those destinations return in the future, much will have changed on the surface—and likely not for the better.

I've asked Bungie for clarification regarding Aztecross' claim, but as the video remains live I have to assume the studio isn't too fussed about whatever NDA he may have fractured.

Tim Clark

With over two decades covering videogames, Tim has been there from the beginning. In his case, that meant playing Elite in 'co-op' on a BBC Micro (one player uses the movement keys, the other shoots) until his parents finally caved and bought an Amstrad CPC 6128. These days, when not steering the good ship PC Gamer, Tim spends his time complaining that all Priest mains in Hearthstone are degenerates and raiding in Destiny 2. He's almost certainly doing one of these right now. 

Latest in FPS
Rainbow Six Siege year 9 season 2 key art - two Rainbow Six Siege operators facing each other
'Siege 2 was never on the table': Rainbow Six Siege X director explains why the 10-year-old FPS doesn't need a sequel
rainbow six siege sledge
After holding out for 10 years, Rainbow Six Siege is finally going free-to-play (kind of)
rainbow six siege x dual front mode
Rainbow Six Siege is getting its first permanent mode in 10 years, and it throws every Siege rule out the window
Fragpunk characters with weapon drawn
The latest big game on Steam is Fragpunk, or as I like to call it, 'kitchen-sink Counter-Strike'
spectre divide
Spectre Divide and its studio are shutting down after just six months: 'The industry is in a tough spot right now'
Masked Counter-Terrorist in helmet in forefront with sunglasses and beret-wearing CT in background touching headset
There's hope yet for Classic Offensive after its Steam rejection: The team behind the Counter-Strike 1.6 revival mod is in touch with Valve about its 'concerns'
Latest in News
Gabe Newell in a Valve promotional video, on a yacht.
Go ahead and complain the discounts aren't as steep as they used to be, but Steam just had its biggest year ever for seasonal sales
Valve Steam Deck OLED handheld PC
'The future of hardware at Valve is bright': Valve celebrates the success of Steam Deck and Steam OS
Key art of the videogame Lunacid, showing a pale, long haired knight in purple armor contemplating a purple, flaming sword surrounded by the different phases of the moon.
One of my favorite indie RPGs is getting a follow-up made with FromSoftware's 25-year-old Super Mario Maker for first person dungeon crawlers
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 image - Henry riding a pink and blue striped horse while holding a fish
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 now has Steam Workshop support, and of course one of the first mods lets you adjust the 'jiggle physics'
Still image of Bastion holding a bird, taken from Microsoft's Copilot for Gaming reveal trailer
Microsoft unveils Copilot for Gaming, an AI-powered 'ultimate gaming sidekick' that will let you talk to your console so you don't have to talk to your friends
Erenshor - A player and two simulated MMO party members stand on a plateau in front of a yellow landscape
This RuneScape-looking 'simulated MMORPG' has all the nostalgia without the drama because all the other 'players' are NPCs