Here's my question to you then, and it is meant as a friendly one. If Arcstrider is relegated to add clearing only, will you pick it as a subclass for endgame material over Nightstalker or Gunslinger? Or will you switch, even towards the ends of activites? Now, before you answer, consider that your special weapons (which did have their uses for damaging bosses; many people ran snipers for large portions of the raid just to use in boss phases) have now been conglomerated into the power weapon slot and you have fewer ways to damage the boss. Class abilities are thankfully not tied to supers, but they still exists before, so that sort of remains on an even field. Will you really run Arcstrider in strikes and raids when the other two possibilties would so much more useful?

As of right now, it appears to be more of a patrol/ dungeon clearing/ playing with friends subclass. If I get good at it, sure I'll run it in strikes with randoms. Raids? Whew, that's a tough one. I would probably stick with a longer range subclass; but if my team needed invis/add control subclasses I would totally volunteer. I don't usually switch subclasses mid or late activity, but it might be an interesting way to further enjoy this game, for me anyway. I am curious to see how the ammo drops are going to be. I want that grenade launcher and it would be a shame to see a very limited power ammo drop rate. The beta is coming out soon, maybe a month or so, and I will be trying it out the first night. If arcstrider is a bit of a laugh then maybe I'll only take it out on special occasions.

Alright. Good perspectives. Now, I apologise for this, but let me put some pressure on those answers. If you get to the end of a strike and find that Arcstrider is really just too ineffective, would you switch? If the close range abilities are keeping you near enemies long enough that you're regularly in more danger than your allies, would you switch? And for raids, if you're running Nightstalker (rumored to be returning) and that will do quick and easy invisibility, or if you've got an exotic like Khepri's Sting that will do it quickly for you, would you switch to Arcstrider or just use one of those for invis instead? And lastly, if Arcstrider is something that only comes out on special occasions, won't you get a little bored at the endgame when you've done all the lost sectors and adventures and you only have two subclasses for some variation in gameplay? Because that's my biggest issue with Bladedancer now. Also, yeah, grenade launchers look AWESOME. I thought it would be awesome to get them as slightly weaker special weapons in Destiny 1, but I'm cool with them being power weapons in D2. They'll likely be the same drop rate as heavy ammo in PVE, it's just PVP where they'll be limited, but I more meant that condensing special and heavy together has removed a lot of our guardian strength.

I am hoping arcstrider will have a bit more armor than the other two subclasses. I think a lot of this comes down to their neutral game. If arcstrider has great grenades, a strong melee(possibly an overshield) or easy invis, I would keep it throughout the strike. Supers are great, but my grenades and melee will be used much more frequently throughout activities and on a boss fight, regarding adds and even damaging the boss. One very important thing to keep in mind is the fun factor. Even if arcstrider isn't the most effective tactic available, is it fun? Are you having a good time with it? Is the agility and speed top notch? If I can answer yes to these then I'm good with using it. I remember when fourth horseman came out and shotguns were terrible at the time. I couldn't put it down because it was so much fun to use. Big risk, but great reward. Raiding is a whole different experience at the beginning where you want to be the most effective for your team. In this case arcstrider will probably be put on the shelf until the mechanics and encounters are down smoothly. Then it's time for fun. I have all the same concerns as you, but my outlook boils down to this: if it is fun, I'm using it. People can laugh at me, send me messages to please switch etc. but if I'm having a blast I'll risk the boot.

Fun isn't as easy to answer as the immediate mechanics though. After all, if the mechanics of the subclass are initially fun, then sure, it seems viable. But this is why I keep referring to the endgame. By the time you're in the endgame, the enemies you face are tougher and the required skill to stay alive has increased. If the mechanic of the subclass you're using is constantly putting you in danger (because using a melee on a boss, as you've reported you will do, tends to do more harm than good in these situations) then you will be dying more regularly. And that certainly decreases the fun of a subclass. I don't doubt that you have the same concerns, but I have thought through and about this since halfway through TTK when I realised just how ineffective Bladedancer is, and there are a lot of people who share my doubts that haven't shared my thoughts. No offense is meant in that statement, by the way, and I do appreciate that you have been very civil in your replies, especially with me putting pressure on the way you personally play. But I do have one last important question. You may enjoy playing a subclass that you find fun even if it's ineffective, but do you believe that it is good for the Destiny community that that kind of subclass exists and goes unchallenged?

No worries, I enjoy discussing these things. Now I don't recommend melee'ing bosses, but if you do you better high tail it out of there. I'm more of a grenade chucker at bosses and melee adds. My year one buddies and I used to run strikes melee only. Even bosses just to have some fun. Destiny is not a strategy game. It's a run and gun loot shooter. It's also debatable if weapons are more situationally functional than subclasses all together. Personally, good weapons have got me out of more sticky situations than a subclass(it is pretty close though) With the new load out, I can see running a melee subclass, hand cannon, scout rifle and grenade launcher. You have all the bases covered. Hopefully the melee subclass will have more armor which hunters desperately need. Finally, the functionality and effectiveness of the subclass is very dependent on the skill of the handler. Blade dancer lost a lot of effectiveness due to pvp nerfs, but in the right pve hands it was still a beast. It wasn't ever a support subclass or a high dps subclass, but the agility, super high jumps, better armor, and sweet exotic armor made up for it. I had saved a bunch of engrams before RoI and the first one I decrypted was shinobu's vow. I put blade dancer back on and started chucking grenades like a maniac. It was really fun and with the right weapons, I barely had to use my super because everything had already died. I wouldn't be too concerned about it because with the right friends everything in Destiny can be fun.

Let me also make an observation. Personally, if we have two options, one to play close range and do flippy-flips, and another to throw thunder spears from a distance or just one thunder spear that acts as a lightning rod doing damage over time in an area... I'll pay both. I'll DEFINITELY play both. I'd be INCREDIBLY happy to have the BANG ZOOM THWACK and pound some adds into sparks, then find a spot behind a rock to switch over and a few minutes later CRACKOW spear from the heaven to smite the evil bosses. I'd be so happy. But having just one option? And it's a very limited option? And a very dangerous option? And it's only really useful in one situation? I'm just really not excited for it. It might LOOK like fun, but so do a lot of things that turn out to either A) not actually be fun OR B) be fun up until you realise how broken your vehicle (subclass) is, and now you're in danger.

I can't wait to find out! E3 will shed quite a bit of light. At least we will have a general understanding of the subclass/super options. Im year one anytime I solo'ed anything it was with a blade dancer. I like the idea of the lone wolf class. I spec'ed for invis mostly. It fit my stealth play style as a solo runner. How it handles in team activity will be revealed soon enough👍🏼

Yes, and hopefully it will not be a monopoly for one subclass. Or forgotten (I don't think I've seen it in any presentation so far, or at least, I haven't noticed it).