The latest Destiny 2 Lightfall reveal focused on the cool Strand subclasses coming in the expansion, as did our recent Strand preview, but not all responses have been positive. The new Titan subclass, Berserker, has been particularly divisive, with many Titan mains complaining about perceived similarities between their Strand Bladefury Super and the likes of Fists of Havoc or Glacial Quake. The discourse has grown so feverish that Bungie's now addressed it directly, assuring players that Titans haven't gotten the short end of the stick.
"We've been monitoring recent impressions around the new Strand Berserker Titan," the newly opened Destiny 2 Team Twitter account said in a statement. "The team understands the landscape of our Titan supers during development, and has made sure the Strand Titan offers new gameplay opportunities to make it feel fresh compared to previous subclasses."
I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume that the "recent impressions" mentioned here have something to do with the, uh, discussions happening on Reddit, with many players latching onto a quote from design lead Kevin Yanes. As it happens, at a recent press event I asked Bungie about existing feedback that Titan abilities can look a little same-y, and Yanes replied:
"Bladefury is much more about giving you the survivability tools to really lay into those guys and then giving you a range option, which is not something you generally do in these roaming Supers, to Suspend things from afar and damage them. That's their heavy attack, that double blade uppercut you see them do in the trailer. I think that's two of the core ways we've tried to shift them away. But yeah, Titan mains, we love you. We do. But remember that we try to reinforce your core fantasy. And at some point, your guy's holding the fist on the cover of the game."
Yanes also added that Strand subclasses will be expanded in future seasons, and used Berserker as an example. "When we think of the Berserker, we're not thinking of them just as a close-range brawler," he added. "We're thinking about the wild untamable force that is within this guy who wants to resolve this encounter through the most violent methods possible."
For what it's worth, Berserker looks quite powerful and Bladefury does seem distinct from the likes of Fists of Havoc. It has a ranged attack, for one, and seemingly quite a powerful one. Titans can swing their Strand-bladed arms to suspend and damage a lot of enemies in a line, and this attack appears plenty viable mid-air.
Yanes' comment about class identity also struck me as fairly innocuous, and he's now softened the point in a tweet noting that "sometimes you hate a quote you gave as much as everyone else," but this whole mess hasn't gone down well over in the bowels of Reddit. Here's hoping Berserker is fun and strong enough to satisfy everyone come launch.
The good news is that unlocking all our Strand powers will be much easier than grinding Stasis in Beyond Light.
