Following major reworks to the Void and Solar subclasses, Bungie has announced that Destiny 2's electrifying Arc subclass will soon be getting the 3.0 treatment with a "go fast and hit stuff" overhaul that the developers hope will turn players into cranked-up Jason Stathams.
One of the main inspirations for the Arc 3.0 rework is the 2009 flick Crank 2, in which Statham's heart is stolen and replaced by a big battery that he has to keep charged by electrocuting himself in increasingly bizarre and violent ways. It sounds stupid, and it is, but it's also a ton of fun—a self-aware showcase of bananas-grade action that wilfully, aggressively rejects any semblance of rationality. That's the kind of "emotional fantasy" Bungie says it's trying to generate with Arc 3.0.
"Arc is really just, 'go fast and hit stuff'," Destiny designer Sam Dunn said. "We call it the 'hold W' subclass. Everything is built around moving forward and enabling aggression and those abilities."
Central to the update is a new buff called Amplified, which grants a significant speed boost—"basically as fast as we can make our sprint animation go"—and PvE damage resistance buff after sprinting for a few seconds. The goal is to keep Guardians pressing ahead and kicking ass: Designer Mike Humboldt called it "a strong gap-closing tool" that makes players "like a jet engine, rocketing around the arena." Of particular note, the Amplified boost is available to all Arc subclasses, rather than being restricted to specific Aspects or Fragments.
A pair of new debuffs called Blind and Jolt are also on the way. Blinded enemies will be, well, blinded—PvE opponents will be disoriented and unable to fire weapons, blinded PvP players will be briefly stuck with a blanked-out screen and distorted audio—while jolted enemies will occasionally throw off bolts of chain lightning, damaging other enemies.
Destiny 2's Hunter, Warlock, and Titan classes will each have access to new Arc Aspects that enable further customization options. The Hunter's Arc Staff super is also returning with Arc 3.0, as is the Blink movement mode, while the Fist of Havoc and Thundercrash supers are returning to the Titan class.
Bungie also revealed four of the new Fragments coming with the Arc 3.0 rework, offering new perks, bonuses, and penalties to Guardian stats:
- Spark of Beacons: When the player is amplified, Arc special weapon kills create a blinding explosion.
- Spark of Resistance: When surrounded by enemies, the player has increased damage resistance.
- Spark of Momentum: Sliding over ammo will reload your weapon and grant a small amount of melee energy. Sliding over Heavy ammo increases the amount of energy granted.
- Spark of Shock: The player’s Arc grenades jolt enemies.
There's a lot going on in this update, and hopefully Bungie can deliver the goods. Channeling Chev Chelios for the Arc subclass is definitely not a bad place to start, but the studio has had mixed luck with the previous updates: The Void 3.0 rework went reasonably well, but Solar 3.0 did not live up to expectations.
A rollout date for Arc 3.0 hasn't been announced but Bungie will showcase the update in action during the Destiny 2 showcase that begins at 9 am PT/12 pm ET on August 23.
