Destiny 2 class guide - your first look at abilities for all classes

Each subclass has three core abilities that will recharge over time: a grenade, a class ability, and a melee power (you'll always be able to make a melee attack, but it'll have an additional effect when your melee power is charged).

Each subclass also has a unique and devastating 'super' ability on a much longer cooldown, and a choice of two perk trees, which will further modify all these powers. Finding the best subclass build for each situation should be a lot of fun for theorycrafters.

Destiny 2 will feature three brand-new subclasses, which will join three reworked ones returning from the original. We know that the newcomers will be playable in the imminent beta:

• The Dawnblade; a Warlock with the ability to summon a massive, fiery sword and fly around throwing waves of energy at the bad guys.
• The Sentinel; basically a Titan Captain America, throwing a shield around and knocking enemies back. 
• The Arcstrider is a Hunter with a summonable staff. They hit people with it. Natch.

Final details are still trickling through, but we've got a pretty solid picture so far. With no further ado, here's everything we know about all of Destiny 2's subclasses.

Warlock Dawnblade

Super: Daybreak - weave Solar Light into blades and smite your foes from the skies

Grenades

• Solar Grenade - a grenade that creates a flare of Solar Light that continually damages enemies trapped inside.
• Firebolt Grenade - a grenade that unleashes bolts of Solar Light at nearby enemies
• Fusion Grenade - an explosive grenade that deals bonus damage when it attaches to a target

Class ability: Rift 

• Healing Rift - conjure a well of Light that continually heals those inside it.
• Empowering Rift - conjure a well of Light that increases weapon damage for those inside it.

Jumps

• Strafe Glide - jump while airborne to activate Glide and start an airborne drift with string directional control.
• Burst Glide - jump while airborne to activate Glide and start an airborne drift with a strong initial boost of speed. 
• Balanced Glide - jump while airborne to activate Glide and start an airborne drift with both moderate speed and directional control. 

Passive abilities

Attunement of Sky

• Winged Sun - engage your enemies mid-flight. Fire weapons and throw grenades while gliding. 
• Heat Rises - airborne kills recharge your grenade and melee energy. Casting Daybreak instant refills all your ability energy.
• Icarus Dash - dodge in mid-air.
• Swift Strike - strike an enemy with this melee ability to burn your target and temporarily increase your movement and reload speed. 

Attunement of Flame

• Igniting Touch - strike an enemy with this melee ability to burn them and cause them to explode when killed. 
• Fated For The Flame - Daybreak projectiles seek targets as they travel and, upon impact, launch a streak of deadly flames. 
• Everlasting Fire - killing an enemy with Daybreak extends its duration. 
• Phoenix Dive - descend from mid-air to quickly restore your health. While Daybreak is active, descending causes explosive damage.

Warlock Voidwalker

Super: Nova Bomb - Hurl an explosive bolt of Void Light at the enemy, disintegrating those caught within its blast.

Grenades

• Vortex Grenade - A grenade that creates a vortex which continually damages enemies trapped inside. 
• Axion Bolt - A bolt of Void Light that forks into smaller bolts on impact that seek out enemies. 
• Scatter Grenade - A grenade that splits into many submunitions and covers a large area with multiple explosions. 

Class ability: Rift

• Healing Rift - conjure a well of Light that continually heals those inside it.
• Empowering Rift - conjure a well of Light that increases weapon damage for those inside it.

Jumps

• Strafe Glide - Jump while airborne to activate Glide and start an airborne drift with string directional control.
• Blink - Jump while airborne to teleport a short distance. 
• Burst Glide - Jump while airborne to activate Glide and start an airborne drift with a strong initial boost of speed. 

Passive abilities

Attunement of Chaos

• Chaos Accelerant - Draw power from your Super to overcharge your grenade, making it deadlier and more effective. 
• Bloom - Void ability kills cause enemies to explode. 
• Cataclysm - Nova Bomb travels slowly and seeks enemies. Detonations shatter into smaller seeker projectiles. Fire your weapon at the Nova Bomb to detonate it early. 
• Entropic Pull - Strike an enemy with this melee ability to drain your enemy’s life force and use it to recharge your grenade. 

Attunement of Hunger

• Devour - Kill an enemy with this melee ability to fully regenerate your health. For a short time afterward, kills restore additional health. 
• Feed The Void - Consume your grenade energy to regenerate your health. Grants the Devour effect. 
• Insatiable - While the Devour effect is active, killing enemies extends its duration and recharges your grenade. 
• Vortex - Nova Bomb creates a singularity which continually damages enemies trapped inside. 

Arc Warlock

Bungie have been deliberately coy about the possibility that each class might have a third subclass at launch, but at Gamescom 2017, it was quite concretely proven. Evidence for an Arc Warlock was uncovered by Game Informer, who found a 'Cracked Talisman' in a region chest (these are special chests you'll find in the wild, like the original's gold chests).

Described as a 'Warlock Relic' and marked with the Arc element, a HUD notification says it's filled with "lost power." The new Milestones quest tracker then lists a new Arc subclass as a quest reward later in the same capture. It sounds like one stage in that quest is a simple grind, as the description reads:

"Rekindle your lost abilities by defeating enemies and fighting alongside fellow Guardians in public events."

A Hunter Relic marked with the Void element was also found at Gamescom (see below), and it's inconceivable that Titans would be left out, so this is basically proof of nine subclasses.

An Arc Warlock was added to the original Destiny in The Taken King expansion. It was called 'Stormcaller' and was notable for having an incredibly long-ranged melee attack, as well as abilities that chained lightning damage between enemies. 

Hunter Gunslinger

Super: Golden Gun - summons a flaming pistol that disintegrates enemies with Solar Light. Carries six bullets, each of which can kill a low-tier mob in one shot, but it'll take two to finish an enemy Guardian in PvP. 

Grenades

• Swarm Grenade - a grenade that detonates on impact, releasing multiple drones that seek nearby enemies. 
• Incendiary Grenade - A grenade whose explosion catches enemies on fire. 
• Tripmine Grenade - an explosive grenade that sticks to surfaces and detonates upon enemies who pass through its laser trigger.

Class ability: Dodge

• Marksman’s Dodge - dodge to perform an evasive maneuver with a steady hand. Dodging automatically reloads your weapon. 
• Gambler’s Dodge - dodge to perform a deft tumble, avoiding enemy attacks. Dodging near enemies fully recharges your melee ability. 

Jumps

• High Jump - while airborne, jump a second time to reach greater heights.
• Triple Jump - while airborne, sustain your air control with a second or third jump. 
• Strafe Jump - while airborne, jump a second time with strong directional control. 

Passive abilities

Way of the Outlaw

• Explosive Knife - throw a knife from a distance that explodes shortly after impact with this melee ability. 
• Chains of Woe - Precision kills increase weapon reload speed for you and nearby allies.
• Six-Shooter - Golden Gun can be fired quickly up to six times, but has a shorter duration.
• Deadshot - Significantly improves your ability to hit with Golden Gun. 

Way of the Sharpshooter

• Knife-Juggler - throw a knife from a distance. Precision knife kills with this melee ability immediately recharges it.
• Practice Makes Perfect - enter a trance with each precision hit, reducing the cooldown of your Super. 
• Crowd-Pleaser - enables precision damage with Golden Gun. Precision hits with Golden Gun generate Orbs of Light.
• Line ‘em Up - Precision hits with Golden Gun increase its damage and extend its duration.

Hunter Arcstrider 

Super: Arc Staff - conjure a staff powered by arc light, and run around hitting things with it.  

Grenades

• Skip Grenade - a grenade which splits on impact, creating multiple projectiles which seek enemies.
• Flux Grenade - an explosive grenade which deals additional damage when attached to enemies.
• Arcbolt Grenade - a grenade that chains bolts of lightning to nearby enemies.

Class ability: Dodge

• Marksman’s Dodge - automatically reloads your weapon when dodging.
• Gambler’s Dodge - dodging near enemies generates melee energy.

Jumps

• High Jump - upgrades Double Jump with even greater height.
• Triple Jump - upgrades Double Jump with a third jump.
• Strafe Jump - upgrades Double Jump with better directional control while in the air.

Passive abilities

Way of the Warrior

• Combat Flow - melee kills recharge your dodge skill.
• Deadly Reach - dodging temporarily increases melee range.
• Lethal Current - Arc Staff attacks hit twice after dodging.
• Shocking Blow - striking an enemy with this powerful melee attack emits a deadly bolt of lightning from your fist.

Way of the Wind

• Disorienting Blow - striking an enemy with this debilitating melee attack. disorients the target. Killing a target with Disorienting Blow instantly recharges it.
• Lightning Reflexes - take less damage while dodging with Arc Staff active.
• Battle Meditation - when critically wounded, melee and grenade skills recharge faster.
• Focused Breathing - sprinting reduces dodge cooldown, increased sprint speed.

Void Hunter

As with the Arc Warlock (see above), evidence for a Void Hunter was unearthed at Gamescom 2017, this time by Polygon. Playing as a Hunter, they found a relic in a Lost Sector chest - the relic appears functionally identical to Game Informer's 'Cracked Talisman', down to triggering the same HUD notifications, so this is also pretty definite proof of a third Hunter subclass.

The Void Hunter added to the original Destiny in The Taken King was named Nightstalker, and its Super attack summoned a bow - the fractured arrow seems a pretty clear hint that Destiny 2's Void Hunter is also a fan of archery.

Destiny's Nightstalkers were agile and effective debuffers. Theirs was the original dodge, which has now become the Hunter's class ability, and their melee attack also threw smoke bombs, which could grant invisibility to allies or debilitate enemies. Their Super slowed enemies and caused them to receive more damage - it was hugely valuable against bosses, and made Nightstalkers a mandatory pick in Raid teams.

Titan Striker

Super: Fists of Havoc - supercharges your fists and slam the ground with the force of a maelstrom.  

Grenades

• Pulse Grenade - a grenade that periodically damages enemies inside its explosion radius.
• Flashbang Grenade - an explosive grenade that disorients enemies it damages.
• Lightning Grenade - a grenade that sticks to any surface and emits bolts of lightning

Class ability: Barrier

• Towering Barricade - a large barrier that can be used to reinforce a position with cover from enemy fire.
• Rally Barricade - a small barrier that allows you to peek over it while aiming down sights and instantly reloads your equipment when you take cover.

Jumps

• High Lift - Jump while airborne to activate Lift and launch into the air at greater heights.
• Srafe Lift - Jump while airborne to activate Lift and launch into the air with strong directional control.
• Catapult Lift - Jump while airborne to activate Lift and launch into the air with a strong initial burst of momentum.

Passive abilities

Code of the Earthshaker

• Aftershocks - damaging enemies with Seismic Strike recharges your grenade.
• Magnitude - gain an additional grenade charge. Increases the duration of grenade effects. 
• Terminal Velocity - Fists of Havoc’s ground slam attack leaves a damage-dealing field in its wake and deals more damage the longer it’s in the air. 
• Seismic Strike - while sprinting, active this melee ability to slam shoulder-first into your target and release an Arc explosion on impact. 

Code of the Juggernaut

• Frontal Assault - strike an enemy with this melee ability to reload your weapon and increase your weapon stability. 
• Reversal - melee kills immediately trigger health regeneration.
• Knockout - critically wounding an enemy or breaking their shields increases your melee range and damage. 
• Trample - killing enemies with Fists of Havoc extends its duration.

Titan Sentinel

Super: Sentinel Shield - Summon a shield of Void Light. The shield can be used to attack, guard, and perform a Shield Throw.  

Grenades

• Magnetic Grenade - a grenade that attaches to enemies and explodes twice.
• Voidwall Grenade - a grenade that creates a horizontal wall of burning Void Light.
• Suppressor Grenade - an explosive grenade that prevents enemies from using abilities for a short time.

Class ability: Barrier

• Towering Barricade - a large barrier that can be used to reinforce a position with cover from enemy fire.
• Rally Barricade - a small barrier that allows you to peek over it while aiming down sights and instantly reloads your equipment when you take cover.

Jumps

• High Lift - Jump while airborne to activate Lift and launch into the air at greater heights.
• Srafe Lift - Jump while airborne to activate Lift and launch into the air with strong directional control.
• Catapult Lift - Jump while airborne to activate Lift and launch into the air with a strong initial burst of momentum.

Passive abilities

Code of the Protector

• Rally Force - Melee kills restore health for you and nearby allies.
• Turn The Tide - Your Overshield from Defensive Strike lasts longer and increases melee damage and reload speed.
• Ward of Dawn - When Super energy is full, press and hold activation key to create a shielding dome to protect you and your allies.
• Defensive Strike - Kill an enemy with this melee ability to create an overshield around you and nearby allies.

Code of the Aggressor

• Shield Bash - After sprinting for a short time, use this melee ability to unleash a devastating Shield Bash that disorientates enemies.
• Superior Arsenal - Grenade kills recharge your grenade energy.
• In The Trenches - Kills while surrounded by enemies reduce the cooldown of your Super.
• Second Shield - Gain an additional Shield Throw charge while Sentinel Shield is active.

Solar Titan

This is the only one of the third subclasses of which we haven't seen any real proof, but since Arc Warlocks and Void Hunters are now a practical certainty, so are Solar Titans.

The Solar Titan in Destiny: The Taken King was the Sunbreaker. They were probably the most destructive Titan subclass in that they were the only one with a roaming Super - where Strikers got one big AoE attack, Sunbreakers could run around for a couple dozen seconds throwing explosive hammers. Those hammers one-shot other Guardians in PvP, cleared adds in PvE like nobody's business, and could be modified to leave pools of AoE damage wherever they landed. A Sunbreaker melee power could also cause bosses to take more damage, which came in handy for Destiny's many DPS races.

We'll update this guide with full skill trees for the third subclasses as soon as we have them.