Can you unlock strand for free?

As a hardcore Destiny 2 gamer, unlocking that shiny new Strand subclass is likely at the top of your priorities. The good news? You can add the powerful new thread-weaving abilities to your arsenal simply by playing through Lightfall‘s 6-8 hour campaign.

Once you wrap up the climactic final mission, some chat with the Vanguard unlocks your first taste of Strand for free on that character. But there‘s a decent grind ahead to unravel its full potential. Let‘s dive into the work needed to fully tap into this creative new powerset!

Unlocking the Strand Basics By Finishing Lightfall

Lightfall‘s ominous campaign spans around half a dozen hours if you focus on the critical path. I took nearly 8 hours soaking in the neon-bathed vistas of Neomuna and uncovering lore. The missions themselves are a thrill ride, blending combat challenges with platforming through Vex architecture.

The stakes rise with Emperor Calus threatening to drain the Traveler‘s light. And that leads to a fateful showdown where the bonds of the Vanguard are tested. I won‘t spoil it here, but the climax left me pumped!

Once you help Zavala and Ikora clean things up, they instruct you to visit the Hall of Heroes. Meditating there unlocks the way of Strand on that character, no strings attached.

You‘ll immediately have access to the base Sentinel Shield and Warlock Filament supers. Plus a standard melee and grenade option. It‘s only the beginning though…

The Grind to Unlock Strand‘s Full Potential

Earning more aspects and fragments through post-campaign content vastly expands your options with Strand. The key avenue for progressing is taking on combat meditations that test your skills in battle simulations.

Here‘s a quick breakdown of what you‘re unlocking:

• Fragments – These passive bonuses enhance ability regeneration, buff stats, or add secondary effects to your Strand abilities. You‘ll want to mix and match to support your combat style.
• Aspects – The signature modifiers that change up your Super, melee, and grenade abilities. Unlocking all 4-5 aspects per class opens up way more build variety.
• Additional Grenades – Each class gets an assortment of grenade types to choose from. You start with just one, so meditations to earn more are key.

The meditations offer bite-sized challenges focused on combat scenarios to test your skill. I found they struck a nice balance between fun and progression without feeling like a repetitive grind.

Expect to spend another 5-10 hours earning enough meditation rewards to fully spec out your Strand abilities.

Raiding the Pyramid Ship to Maximize Strand Power

Once you‘ve unlocked all aspects and fragments, it‘s time to fine tune the perfect Strand builds to suit your playstyle. I‘m all about maximizing ability uptime as a Warlock main.

The Season of Defiance brings a new raid in Lightfall as well – Spire of the Watcher. It takes place within a Pyramid ship with some intense encounters. But conquering it nets you powerful seasonal artifacts to boost Strand abilities further.

I can see exotic armor synergizing very well too. Graviton Forfeit for Hunters or Verity‘s Brow for Warlocks could work nicely. And using Strand echoes to weaken groups then decimate them with grenades looks super satisfying.

There‘s still plenty of experimentation needed to discover the most potent builds. But that‘s half the fun with new elemental powers!

Unlocking Strand on Alternate Characters

While your main likely has access to Strand after finishing Lightfall‘s campaign, what about your alts?

Unfortunately there‘s no easy route. You‘ll need to play through all of Lightfall again if you want your other characters wielding Strand.

Yes, up to 18 hours of campaign replay isn‘t very appealing. But Bungie offers campaign skip items on Eververse to auto-complete the story. Using one of these items lets you instantly unlock Strand on another character.

They cost 1500 Silver though, which is roughly $15. That lets you bypass the narrative too if you just care about builds.

I can understand not wanting to replay 6-8 hours per character. But try to soak in the story again if you can make time. It sets up future plotlines, and the missions themselves feature some great moments!

My Take – Enjoy Unraveling Strand‘s Potential!

As both a lore enthusiast and min-maxing buildcrafter in Destiny 2, I found unlocking Strand to be a highly rewarding experience rather than feeling like a repetitive chore.

Taking time to soak in the campaign narrative and worldbuilding pays dividends for future story beats. And the light challenge of combat meditations makes acquiring more customization options an enjoyable loop.

Bungie noted they may need to tweak Strand balance as more players unlock its capabilities. But so far it provides creative support and control options rather than breaking PvE or PvP gameplay balance.

I can‘t wait to experiment more with builds using the new fragments, grenades, and exotics. Unlocking Strand organically through Lightfall‘s content gives you plenty to dig into rather than rushing to copy the latest overpowered loadout!

Will you be unlocking Strand as a new or returning Guardian? What ability combos are you most excited to try out? Let me know in the comments!