Destiny 2 knows no shortage of enemy types, from the Fallen to the Cabal, from the Vex to the Hive, all of which come with their lore and dangers posed to the fighters for the Light. In Destiny 2's Lightfall, new enemy types will be introduced through Emperor Calus' Shadow Legion and The Witness's Pyramid legion, called Tormentors. While descriptions regarding the Tormentors have shown they'll be brutal and terrifying adversaries, they should resemble Champions rather than Hive Lightbearers.
Set to release February 28, 2023, Lightfall will provide Guardians with plenty of drama and enemies to fight with the return of Destiny 2's Emperor Calus, who has become a Disciple of The Witness. This entity seems to be an emissary of the Darkness looking to bring a second Collapse. With so many returning and new enemies, players hope for memorable foes that will impact the Destiny universe, worthy of Lightfall's tagline - the beginning of the end.
How Champions Impact Destiny 2's Gameplay Loop
Champions are unique bosses introduced in the Shadowkeep story expansion as foes that the Darkness has touched. Generally, they appear on more significant difficulties, such as Heroic for Nightfalls or Lost Sectors on rotation for higher challenges. They also occur during seasonal activities and Raids, starting with the Garden of Salvation. These enemies come in three variations: Barrier, Overload, and Unstoppable Champions.
Champions are easily identified by red and dark colors with tendril-like growths on their body. This takes a different form for each type of Champion, with Barrier Champions having a growth that looks like a crown, Unstoppable Champions having a double horn, and Overload Champions sporting two circles around the head and torso. Generally, each Season there are seasonal Artifact mods that allow players to use a corresponding weapon or ability to counter the different types of Champions. This makes players choose wisely and often requires someone in a Fireteam to own guns or skills equipped with the right builds to smoothly run through Destiny 2's Champions and Match Game shields.
While Destiny 2's Exotics act as Anti-Champion weapons in some cases, players can't always afford to run a specific Exotic just to deal with these enemies and instead resort to other tools. These tools are Anti-Barriers, Anti-Overloads, and Anti-Unstoppables, and they are the only way to disrupt each different Champion. For example, a Barrier Champion's shield can only be destroyed using a shield-piercing effect. Anti-Overload requires concentrated fire to disable Overload Champions, whereas Overload abilities take effect immediately, and Overload weapons generally activate after rapidly firing the gun.
Anti-Unstoppable mods and perks are the only tools that can stagger Unstoppable Champions and remove their damage reduction. Unstoppable weapon mods activate after aiming down sights for a brief period and stun other unshielded enemies, sometimes producing an explosive effect. With different options needed to tackle each type of Champion, players must be smart with filling out their arsenal, especially for tackling these challenges solo.
Hive Lightbearers in Destiny 2's The Witch Queen
With the release of The Witch Queen story expansion, a sect of Hive loyal to Savathun and found within her Court became prominent enemies for Guardians to tackle, and they are called the Lucent Brood. These enemies have been granted the Light just as the Traveler bestowed it upon the Witch Queen herself, and they are easily identified by their dark blue coloring, white armor, and grey skin. With the gift of the Light, the Lucent Brood can raise its members from the dead through the use of Ghosts, making for the so-called Hive Lightbearers in Destiny 2, which are often shown in three variations.
Lightbearer Acolytes often dodge to avoid projectiles aimed at them, throwing swarm grenades constantly at Guardians. When their Super is charged, they glow an orange color, and then launch a barrage of knives that deals excellent damage on impact. Lightbearer Knights prefer to stay near allies, using their barricades to protect themselves, while Lightbearer WIzards often throw pulse grenades that deal Arc damage. Their Ghost must be killed quickly after their demise, or else it resurrects them in total health, which Destiny 2's Fynch from The Witch Queen campaign proves by not resurrecting its Knight. Unlike Champions, there aren't specific weapons or skills needed to take them down.
Tormentors in Destiny 2's Lightfall
Tormentors are gigantic, towering, almost humanoid, adorned in long strips of cloth. Conveying an unsettling appearance, Tormentors lack faces and appear nearly headless, with simple metallic caps which emit a bright yellow-orange light. This description matches those told by Destiny 2's enigmatic Drifter regarding creatures he confronted on an unnamed icy world, which were also described as headless with a yellow glow, but whether they are the same is unknown.
At the Destiny 2 showcase, Bungie described these creatures as impossibly huge behemoths, wielding deadly scythes which they can use to attack at close range or from a distance. Tormentors could make Hive Lightbearers look like vanilla enemies, as they can summon Guardians in close range and drain them of life, making them almost the equivalent of a boss character except in regular battles and with several on the field at once.
While not much else has been shared, the information has ranked the Tormentors as formidable foes that will provide a worthy challenge for Guardians. If they are to last as foes of The Witness and the Darkness, they need to be like Champions, requiring special weapons and skills to take them down. As evident, the Hive Lightbearers were quickly dispatched after certain power levels. While this worked initially, it left them as weaker foes despite carrying the Light overall. Hopefully, Bungie will take notes from Destiny 2's Champion and apply similar concepts to Tormentors for Guardians to defeat them.
Destiny 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
