History Recap / Destiny2Lightfall

* CripplingOverspecialization: Characters always talk of the Traveler using the light in the sense of how the guardians use the light as RealityWarper warriors, but what is often overlooked is the Traveler for untold eons would move across the universe to {{Terraform}} other worlds and THAT is what caused the Golden Age when it came to the Sol System and gave life to planets and moons. When confronted by the Black Fleet the Traveler unleashed an impressive display of power via what looks like a WaveMotionGun, but was actually a form of HostileTerraforming and several pyramid ships were compromised by explosive vegetation. This was not enough to deter the fleet and the Traveler is soon overwhelmed and neutralized by the Witness. This reinforces what has been considered a fundamental truth for the Destiny setting, however powerful the Traveler may be its offensive capabilities are limited and that is why it has always moved on.

** The Vex have never been able to simulate Paracausal power, their interest in the Veil is because if they acquire it they WILL be able to simulate it properly. The CrypticBackgroundReference from the Insight Terminus strike regarding file MSUND12 turns out to be the Vex simulating Maya Sundaresh experiments, hoping to recreate the Veil. This instead turned into the Black Heart (the MacGuffin from the first Destiny campaign), which caused immense noise and static between the Traveler and the Veil because they operate in tandem. Osiris speculated this means the Traveler and Veil were once a single entity.

* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: The Cloud Striders serve as the vanguard of Neomuna, contrasting the lightbearer Vanguard in the rest of the system. While guardians have the light and are capable of ResurrectiveImmortality, Cloud Striders are said to be heavily augmented by [[ClarkesThirdLaw cybernetics that border on magic]] at the cost of capping their lifespan to ten years post procedure.

* DramaticIrony: When they first meet and discuss the arrival of the Shadow Legion on Neptune, Rohan assures Osiris that he knows the stakes, noting that "not all of us have lives to spare". Again, he says this to Osiris, who has [[BroughtDownToNormal lost his Ghost Sagira]] and is OutOfContinues. Ikors even notes in the first mission of the expansion that Osiris doesn't have anymore lives to spare.

* KnowsTheRopes: A new subclass element comes in the form of Strand, deriving power from the Weave and manifesting as thin strings and strands in the environment. One application involves stringing enemies up and stopping them cold, leaving them wide open to attack while they can't do anything.

* RedOniBlueOni: An example where a Blue has two Reds. Rohan is the Blue, being stoic and focused on the task at hand. Nimbus is the more obvious red, being far more expressive and laidback, and is a natural go-getter compared to Rohan preferring to assess the situation before acting. Osiris is a more subtle Red, having a short temper and being combative and agitated on a regular basis while Rohan's more straightlaced and able to see the bigger picture.

* XanatosGambit: Much of the main campaign is trying to prevent Calus from gaining access to the Veil and using the Radial Mast, both artifacts of the light, to link to the Witness so it can do something to the Traveler. Rohan sacrifices himself to destroy the Radial Mast, but if Calus gains direct access anyway he could manually transport it to the Witness. As it so happens, once Calus is defeated and the guardian gets closer to the Veil the players' Ghost is also an artifact of the light and the Witness was able to create a link to the Veil through it.

* TheBadGuyWins: A truly bleak example here - despite the Guardians managing to slay Calus, the Witness is able to access the Veil (implicitly because its chosen interface for it was not Calus, but ''[[DemonicPossession your Ghost]]'']], and use it to open a portal on the surface of the Traveler. While previous Seasons have had the villains achieve their goals, this is the first time to Guardians totally fail their objectives, and it's made plain that the Witness' victory likely heralds the end of the universe.

* OddlySmallOrganization: The Cloud Striders are built up to be an elite militia with advanced cybernetic enhancements who protect Neoluma. While we see a memorial for hundreds of previous Cloud Striders only two are seen and interacted with in the story, Rohan and Nimbus. Dialogue implies that this is a limit related to the nanontechnology that creates the Cloud Striders, with only two able to exist at one time.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The Traveler's beam fired at the Witness accidentally strikes a Pyramid, which ''does'' wear it down enough for the Light to begin terraforming the impact site. Flash forward a couple weeks later, and it turns out that it's since grown into a chaotic, splintered mess that has also revived an AncientEvil to be the antagonist of the Root of Nightmares raid. Oops.

* OddlySmallOrganization: The Cloud Striders are built up to be an elite militia with advanced cybernetic enhancements who protect Neoluma. While we see a memorial for hundreds of previous Cloud Striders only two are seen and interacted with in the story, Rohan and Nimbus.

* CyberPunk: Neomuna is a major contrast to the UsedFuture of the rest of the setting, especially the Last City on Earth. It is a massive metropolis with neon billboards and extravagant architecture.

* TheReveal: The Darkness [[BlackBox does not fully understand the nature of the Vex, even though it is directly responsible for creating them]]. In the Thrilladrome, Nezarec can be overheard pointedly wondering to himself [[DoAndroidsDream if they have individuality]], even though it would seem like the Witness and the Disciples could easily find out the answer.

* SequelHook: The main post-campaign quest, which rewards Winterbite, reveals the Occlusion has discovered an enemy of the Witness on "Saturn VI," another name for Titan. It is seemingly trying to secure them to help prevent the Final Shape.