Destiny 2 Season 18, set to launch on August 24, 2022, brings with it the highly anticipated Arc 3.0 reworks. This season focuses on chain-lightning attacks, inspired by the Solar and Void buffs introduced in previous updates. Recently, Sam Dunn, a designer at Bungie, shed light on how Arc 3.0 will work in Destiny 2 Season 18 and unveiled a new side-effect called Jolt.
Unveiling the Mechanics of Jolt in Destiny 2 Season 18
In a blog post titled “This Week at Bungie” on August 17, 2022, Dunn explained that Arc is all about “going fast and hitting stuff.” It is the subclass that embodies aggression and enables players to move forward with high-speed, high-impact abilities. To capture this essence, Arc Classes receive a buff and two debuffing effects. The buff, named Amplified, grants increased speed, longer slides, and PvE damage resistance to players after they eliminate enemies with Arc attacks. On the other hand, the debuffs, Blind and Jolt, provide players with strategic advantages against their enemies.
Jolt, in simple terms, is a chain lightning effect. Enemies afflicted with Jolt, both in PvE and PvP, periodically release small bursts of chain lightning to nearby targets when gathered in groups. This damages all affected enemies. Hence, if you find yourself on the receiving end of a Jolt attack during Crucible matches, it’s crucial to quickly distance yourself from your allies to avoid becoming an easy target.
Alongside the introduction of Arc 3.0, Destiny 2 Season 18 also brings new Aspects and Fragments that allow players to further customize their play styles. Let’s take a look at the Arc Aspects for each class and how Jolt synergizes with their skills:
Hunter Arc Aspects:
- Flow State: Defeating a Jolted opponent activates the Amplified effect. While Amplified, Hunters experience faster dodge cooldown, increased damage resistance, and quicker reload times.
- Tempest Strike: This Aspect enables Hunters to perform a sliding melee attack that launches an Arc wave along the ground. It inflicts significant damage and Jolts enemies in its path.
- Lethal Current: After dodging, the Hunter’s melee lunge range increases. Their next melee attack Jolts the target and creates a damaging lightning aftershock. Additionally, when using the Arc Staff Super, a dodge followed by a light attack hits twice. Moreover, hitting a Jolted enemy with a melee attack also Blinds them.
Warlock Arc Aspects:
- Arc Soul: Warlocks can cast a rift to summon an Arc Soul that aids them in battle. Allies passing through the rift also gain an Arc Soul. The rift charges faster when allies are nearby. While Amplified, any Arc Soul the Warlock possesses or gains becomes Supercharged, increasing its rate of fire.
- Lightning Surge: Warlocks activate their melee attack while sliding, transforming into a ball of lightning and teleporting forward. This triggers a field of lightning bolts at the exit point, Jolting targets within its range.
- Electrostatic Mind: Killing enemies with Arc abilities or Arc-debuffed enemies generates Ionic Traces. Collecting any Ionic Trace activates the Amplified effect.
Titan Arc Aspects:
- Touch of Thunder: This Aspect enhances Arc grenades in the following ways:
- Flashbang: Adds an additional blind impulse on the grenade’s first bounce.
- Pulse: As the grenade damages enemies, it creates an Ionic Trace for the Titan. The Pulse Grenade’s damage increases over time as it lingers after impact.
- Lightning: Grants an additional charge for Lightning Grenades and Jolts targets on the initial blast.
- Storm: Creates a roaming thundercloud that tracks and strikes enemies similarly to the Stasis Hunter’s Silence & Squall Super.
- Juggernaut: When sprinting and with full class ability energy, Titans gain a frontal shield that blocks incoming damage. The shield becomes stronger while Amplified. Once the shield is depleted, the player’s class energy is also depleted.
- Knockout: Melee kills trigger health regeneration and activate the Amplified effect. Critically wounding an enemy or breaking their shield increases melee range and damage for a brief period. Additionally, while Knockout is active, the Titan’s base melee becomes Arc-empowered.
Moreover, new Fragments will be introduced in Destiny 2 Season 18. These Fragments further augment players’ abilities and play styles. Here are some of the upcoming Fragments:
- Spark of Beacons: When Amplified, kills with Arc special weapons create a Blinding explosion.
- Spark of Resistance: When surrounded by enemies, players gain increased damage resistance.
- Spark of Momentum: Sliding over ammo reloads the player’s weapon and grants a small amount of melee energy. Sliding over Heavy ammo increases the energy granted.
- Spark of Shock: The player’s Arc grenades Jolt enemies.
While the power of Jolt may seem strong and perhaps even annoying, it remains uncertain how effective it will be in the context of Destiny 2. We will have to wait until Season 18 drops to fully experience its impact.
Related: Destiny 2 Season 18: Every Seasonal Artifact Mod
Destiny 2 is available on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms.
