Philwin Register

I still remember the first time I encountered the Dread faction in Destiny 2's latest expansion—it was like nothing I'd experienced in my seven years playing this game. As someone who's logged over 2,000 hours across various Destiny content, I thought I'd seen everything Bungie could throw at players. But these new enemies? They fundamentally changed how I approach combat in ways that even major expansions like The Taken King never quite managed. The Dread aren't just reskinned versions of existing foes with slightly different attack patterns—they represent what I believe is Bungie's most innovative enemy design since the franchise began.

What makes the Dread so revolutionary is how they've rewritten the entire tactical playbook that veteran players like myself have developed over countless raids and Nightfall strikes. Previously, most enemy factions followed predictable patterns—Cabal would rush your position, Fallen would flank, Hive would swarm. The Dread completely upend this established order by focusing on what I call "positional warfare." Their abilities specifically target the safe spaces and defensive positions we've all learned to rely on. I've lost count of how many times I've been perfectly positioned behind cover, only to get yanked into open ground by one of their grappling attacks. It's frustrating in the best possible way—the kind of challenge that makes you rethink strategies you've been using for years.

The most common Dread units wield powers that were previously exclusive to players, which creates this fascinating mirror match feeling during combat. When a Dread soldier freezes me in place or suspends me mid-air, it's using versions of Stasis and Strand abilities that I've been using against enemies for seasons. This creates what I'd describe as a tactical parity that Destiny has never quite achieved before. Suddenly, the tables are turned—the hunter becomes the hunted, and all those cheap tricks we've been pulling on regular enemies are now being used against us. I've noticed my death count has increased by about 30% in encounters with the Dread compared to other factions, and honestly? I love every second of it.

What's particularly brilliant about the Dread's design philosophy is how they force adaptation rather than repetition. In higher difficulty content like Master-level activities, their ability to disrupt positioning becomes absolutely devastating. I was running a Grandmaster Nightfall last week with my regular fireteam, and we wiped six times before we finally adjusted our approach. The old strategy of finding a safe spot and plinking away at enemies simply doesn't work when the Dread can literally pull you from safety. We had to develop entirely new communication protocols and positioning tactics—something I haven't had to do since the early days of the Leviathan raid.

The suspension ability deserves special mention because it's arguably the most psychologically disruptive tool in their arsenal. There's something uniquely terrifying about being lifted into the air, completely vulnerable, while combat continues around you. It creates these heart-pounding moments where you're shouting warnings to your teammates while desperately hoping someone can break the effect. I've found that these suspension attacks are particularly effective at breaking coordinated team play—they separate us, disrupt our rhythm, and often lead to chain reactions where one suspended player leads to two more going down trying to rescue them.

From a game design perspective, I'd argue the Dread represent Bungie's solution to what veteran players call the "cover meta"—the tendency for experienced players to find safe positions and exploit them indefinitely. The Dread specifically counter this playstyle by making nowhere truly safe. Their toolkit seems deliberately designed to flush players out of comfortable positions and force dynamic, mobile combat. I've noticed that since facing the Dread regularly, my entire approach to movement and positioning has changed even when fighting other factions. That's the mark of truly great enemy design—it doesn't just affect encounters with that specific faction, but improves your overall gameplay.

The introduction of the Dread has also breathed new life into weapon and ability choices that had fallen out of favor. Suddenly, mobility-enhancing abilities like Hunter dodge or Icarus Dash have become essential rather than optional. Weapons with high handling stats that allow quick target acquisition after being displaced have seen much more use in my loadouts. I've even started using certain exotic armor pieces I hadn't touched in years because they provide movement benefits or escape options. This meta shift is exactly what Destiny needed—it's forced innovation in player builds rather than encouraging everyone to use the same optimized loadouts.

If I have one criticism of the Dread faction, it's that their difficulty curve feels somewhat inconsistent. On standard difficulty levels, they're challenging but manageable, while on higher difficulties like Grandmaster content, they can feel overwhelmingly punishing. The difference isn't just in their damage output or health pools—it's in the frequency and coordination of their ability usage. I've recorded instances where Dread units chain their abilities in ways that feel nearly impossible to counter without specific countermeasures. While I appreciate the challenge, there are moments where it crosses from "tough but fair" into "cheap difficulty" territory.

Looking at the broader picture, the Dread represent what I hope is the future direction for Destiny's enemy design. They're not just bullet sponges with new models—they're thoughtfully crafted opponents that challenge players tactically rather than statistically. The way they interact with the environment and player positioning creates emergent gameplay moments that feel fresh even after dozens of encounters. I'd estimate that about 70% of my most memorable combat moments from the last season have involved the Dread in some capacity. They've added a layer of tactical depth that Destiny's combat was starting to lack after years of similar encounters.

As I continue to face the Dread in various activities, I'm constantly discovering new nuances to their behavior and counterplay options. Just last night, I found that certain terrain features can partially block their grappling attacks, and that quick vertical movement can sometimes evade their suspension abilities. This ongoing process of discovery is what keeps Destiny's combat engaging after all these years. The Dread haven't just added new enemies to shoot—they've added new problems to solve, and for a veteran player like myself, that's the most valuable addition any expansion can provide. They've successfully disrupted the comfortable rhythms we'd settled into and forced us to become better, more adaptive Guardians.