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Aside from the 3.0 update for Light subclasses in Destiny 2, there hasn't been a completely new subclass added to the game since Stasis in Beyond Light. When Lightfall was revealed, one of the many things that were announced was a brand-new Darkness subclass that was coming with the new expansion. This new subclass is called Strand.
Strand involves players pulling on the threads that connect all life and weaponizing them to use against the Witness and its forces. All classes get access to Strand, including Titans. This guide will cover all the keywords for Strand and explain how to create Strand builds for Titans in Destiny 2.
Berserker Explained
The name of the Strand subclass for Titans is Berserker. As is typical for Titan subclassses, Berserker relies on getting in close and unleashing devastating melee attacks upon enemies. Titans use Strand to conjure blades on their arms as part of their Super. They also have a melee ability called Frenzied Blade. One important thing for players to know is that Strand is limited in terms of options for melee and grenade abilities.
Each Strand subclass has a set of unique abilities, though they all share the grapple mechanic and grapple melee. Titans are able to use Strand to create armor to protect themselves for a short time. This ability is called Woven Mail. In addition to that, Titans can also unleash a wave of Strand and suspend targets in the air.
Strand Keywords
Before making a Strand build, it is important for players to keep in mind the keywords for Strand. Just like with all the Light 3.0 subclasses, Strand also has its own set of keywords. The keywords and what they do are as follows.
Sever - Target does less damage. When a Severed target dies, it turns into a Tangle.
Unravel - As the target takes damage, projectiles launch from them and damage other targets nearby. When an Unraveled target dies, it turns into a Tangle. If players have Unraveling rounds on their Strand weapons, they will gain Anti-Barrier rounds that can stun Barrier Champions.
Suspend - The target gets immobilized in the air. In PvE, targets cannot move or shoot. In PvP, targets cannot move but can still shoot. In PvE, Suspend will stun Unstoppable Champions. Suspended targets will turn into a Tangle when killed.
Tangle - A small green ball of Strand energy that appears when a target afflicted by a Strand debuff is slain. These Tangles can be destroyed or thrown to deal damage to nearby targets.
Threadling - Threadlings are creatures made from Strand energy. They will move toward targets and attack them.
Fragments
While there are only two Aspects that Titans can equip, the diversity in builds comes from all the Fragments. Originally, Destiny 2 players only had access to a third of the available Strand Fragments and the rest were going to be available at the start of Week 2 and after the world first completion of The Root of Nightmares. To give players more to work with, Bungie decided to release all the Strand Fragments early. Of course, players will still need to unlock Fragments by purchasing them with 200 Strand Meditations per Fragment.
One important thing to keep in mind when selecting Fragments is that some will increase stats while others will decrease them. For example, Thread of Binding will increase Resilience by 10 while also adding a Suspending burst to Super final blows. On the other hand, Thread of Warding applies Woven Mail to players when picking up an Orb of Power while also decreasing Resilience by 10. It is important to try and have Fragments equipped that will allow players to deal with Champions.
As such, any Fragment that allows players to Suspend targets will be very useful as this can easily shut down Unstoppable Champions on higher difficulty activities. Since Strand Titans are all about melee, equipping Fragments that boost their melee or Strength stat is recommended.
Armor Mods
Armor Mods have seen some significant changes at the start of Year 6 in Destiny 2. Many mods were removed from the game, and build crafting has changed drastically. While there are fewer options, that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
A new mechanic in Armor Mods is the Armor Charge mechanic. Armor Charge is a temporary buff that players can store when picking up an Orb of Power. There are a series of mods that apply a variety of effects that consume Armor Charge. For example, Font of Vigor will cause Armor Charges to decay over time while speeding up the cooldown for the melee ability. Combined with Exotics like Synthoceps, this can allow Strand Titans to use their melee ability more often while also doing more damage as well.
Exotics
When creating a Strand build for a Titan, it is important to keep in mind what Exotics will pair well with it. Ideally, players will want to use Exotics that add additional features to abilities. At present, the only Strand Exotic for Titans is Abeyant Leap. It improves the Titan's Drengr's Lash aspect while also granting Woven Mail after players suspend a target. This Exotic Leg Armor can be obtained by completing the legendary campaign or from Legend/Master Lost Sectors. It is recommended to try and get Abeyant Leap by completing the legendary campaign as it is a guaranteed reward that players can choose at the end.
Of course, other Titan Exotics are viable for Strand builds as well. Heart of Inmost Light is a good option, as it allows players to enhance their abilities when one is used. Armamentarium gives players another grenade charge, which could be used for either another grapple or one of the other Strand grenades. For improved melee, Wormgod Caress and Synthoceps are great options for players as well. Since more Exotics are added to Destiny 2 with every release (regardless of if it is an Expansion or a Season), it is likely there will be more Exotics for Strand Titans in the future.
Destiny 2 is available now on Epic Games Store, PS4, PS5, Steam, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
