Hive Lightbearers were first introduced toDestiny 2in the Witch Queen expansion in 2022. These enemies can be found throughout the Witch Queen’s campaign, Savathun’s Throne World destination, as well as Vanguard Strikes. In the Lightfall expansion, returning seasonal activities were added to the Strikes playlist that also feature Hive Lightbearers. These reprised Strikes come from the Witch Queen era’s Season of the Risen PsiOps Battlegrounds activity, while the rest of the Strikes that feature Hive Lightbearers are from the Witch Queen’s original campaign, such as the Birthplace of the Vile and the Lightblade. Outside the increased difficulty some of these activities can offer, the Hive Lightbearer enemies fail to show up in any major endgame content, likeDestiny 2’s Dungeons or Raids.
Hive Lightbearers are fun and innovative enemies inDestiny 2, so reserving them for Strikes, campaign, and patrol bosses is quite a missed opportunity. What would really make these enemies shine is a featured appearance in a Raid or Dungeon encounter. Instead of Hive Lightbearers, the Raid fromThe Witch Queen expansionis strictly Scorn and Taken, with 2 unique boss enemies. Given how neglected they are throughoutDestiny 2, giving them the spotlight in endgame content would be a well-deserved change to keep these unique enemy types from being underappreciated.
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Enemies Throughout Destiny 2’s Raids and Dungeons
In the endgame content from before the Witch Queen and the Lightfall expansions, some of the enemies are rather overused, especially in comparison toDestiny 2’s Hive Lightbearers. For example, the Taken are featured in the Shattered Throne and Prophecy Dungeon as well as appearing in King’s Fall, Vow Of The Disciple, and the Last Wish Raids. Hive, Vex, and Cabal also have appearances across endgame content. Eliksni and Scorn have less of a presence than most other enemy types, yet Hive Lightbearers are still the most neglected enemy type inDestiny 2.
The latest new enemy to appear inDestiny 2is Tormentors. These enemies are extremely new to the game and already have a featured appearance in Lightfall’s Root Of Nightmares Raid. The final boss of the new Raid is modeled after a Tormentor and there are also Tormentors throughoutthe first encounter of Root Of Nightmares. Compared to the new Tormentors, Hive Lightbearers are severely underutilized inDestiny 2. What’s surprising about Hive Lightbearers is that they didn’t even end up in the Witch Queen expansion’s Raid in any capacity, neither as standard enemies nor bosses.
Hive Lightbearers' Significance in Destiny 2’s Story
Not having Hive Lightbearers in any endgame activities makes these enemies seem insignificant in the grand scheme ofDestiny 2. Ultimately, the Hive Lightbearers should be a formidable and relentless adversary for Guardians, because these enemies can draw from the power of the Arc, Void, andSolar Light Subclasses, unlike any other unit in the game. For every Ascendant Hive that players defeat, there is almost always a successor that steps up to the newly vacant role of Hive leadership that Guardians eventually confront. When it comes to Hive Lightbearers though, simply crushing their Ghosts is enough to spell their demise and quell their numbers.
The reprised PsiOps Battleground Strikes are a good example of what a difficult encounter with Hive Lightbearers could be, more so than a majority of their appearances throughout the Witch Queen expansion. In comparison to the rest of the bosses inDestiny 2’s Vanguard Strikes playlist, Hive Lightbearers should be among the most powerful, yet the activity has a way of equalizing enemies of the Traveler. Having an appearance in a Dungeon or Raid encounter could be an effective way for the enemies to live up to their potential power.
Destiny 2is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
