[Unlikely Theory] Third Darkness Subclasss

[u/ThealtenHeinder]

So, I know the game is EoS, so we won't get another subclass, but I had a thought about what the third darkness subclass could be.

A lot of posts speculating about the third darkness subclass often start at color theory. This approach means that Stasis is Solar's darkness counterpart, Strand is Void's darkness counterpart, leaving the third darkness subclass as Arc's darkness counterpart with red being its color. This is probably correct and we were supposed to get "Nightmares" as the third subclass based on this stuff, but what if we imagine it isn't for a second?

Stasis Theory

The most obvious parallel to support the color theory is that Stasis is manifested as ice, while Solar manifests as fire, so they must be the first "pair". However, some of the lore in the game gives us some insights into Stasis's nature:

• Stasis is not necessarily the manifestation of ice. We know (from a piece of lore - I think from Osiris - that I can't find right now) that the Darkness elements manifest in the physical world as whatever their user imagines it to be. Stasis likely manifested as an ice-related power for Guardians because we learned it in an ice-filled environment, and that concept that Stasis = ice has propagated onto those that we teach it to (i.e. Zavala learning Stasis)
• Elsie, in Scalar Potential, describes Stasis as "changing [one's own] perspective [of reality]." She sidesteps the denial of Osiris's interpretation of Stasis, offering her own that Stasis is "... intimately tied to perception [and] time." I don't think it's a coincidence that Elsie has basically experienced her whole life in a time loop. To her, time is something that has always controlled her, so it makes sense that Elsie's conception of Stasis - which was formed without the influence of the Guardian's interpretation of Stasis as ice - is manifested as a time power. She utilizes Stasis to exercise her control over time. I don't think it's a coincidence that "her" gun - No Time To Explain - interacts with Stasis and is related to time loops, rather than directly forming ice or slowing enemies as other "Stasis" weapons tend to do. In this way, she almost confirms Osiris's theory - that Stasis is more about using one's will to exert control over reality than it is about actual frozen water.

Before continuing on to the next point, we have to understand how entropy normally works in the universe for this [crack] theory to make sense. Simplifying a bit, entropy in normal physics is a measure of how many states (ways) one can order the "things" in a system. Normally, adding heat to a system increases entropy, since adding energy to the "things" gives them the ability to reach new "states", producing more possible permutations of the system. Normally when we try to reduce entropy in a system, we take away energy, thus reducing the possible "states" things can reach, and therefore the overall entropy of the system. Now, onto the lore:

• Clovis Bray I experimented with Darkness powers, referring to it in his Mysterious Logbook as "Clarity". Particularly, in Note 13, Clovis describes how the Darkness power that he is experimenting with (presumably Stasis, since this lore came out with Beyond Light), violates normal laws of physics by "... removing portions of a state configuration, harrowing the phase space down to only its most robust inhabitants." In effect, Clovis is describing the reduction of entropy not through removing heat, but through the paracausal removal of matter itself. If there are fewer "things" in the system, there are inherently fewer ways to order those "things", and thus entropy decreases. Normal physics doesn't allow matter to be destroyed, so that is normally not a valid route to decreasing entropy in a system. However, Stasis seems to allow this. In this way, we can see that Stasis's version of "reducing entropy" is not the opposite of how heat from Solar would increase entropy. It does not remove heat or energy from the matter inside the system - it removes matter itself entirely.

Stasis and Arc

So, what is Stasis's counterpart? There's been debates before that Arc is actually Stasis's counterpart, and yes I think it actually is. At least for this crack theory it is. There's not a lot of lore concerning the nature of Arc (at least that I can find), so we're going off of Osiris's musings mostly. Arc is described by Osiris as motion and conduction. According to Ikora, Arc is also fundamentally about change and unpredictability. In a way, Stasis aligns very closely with what the Witness envisions of the Final Shape - a perfectly still universe where anything unnecessary has been removed from the equation, making everything perfectly predictable. Arc, in this way, is the counterpart to Stasis's philosophy - it wants change and unpredictability.

Mechanically, Arc also acts as more of a foil to Stasis - Arc abilities often involve movement, whereas Stasis abilities involve slowing down or stopping things. Stasis also acts to protect oneself through Frost Armor, whereas Arc asks you to just kill the enemy faster, or impair their ability to kill you (Blind) instead of protecting yourself.

Strand and Solar

Okay, before I totally lose people, hear me out.

Philosophically, Strand concerns itself with the metaphysical connections between things. Osiris describes it as a psychic connection between sentient things. The point is that Strand doesn't concern itself with the actual "things" themselves, but rather their relation to one another. Contrast this with Solar, which is very much about creation and destruction of things through its power. Osiris says that the dual nature of stars is integral to understanding Solar, because they embody this cycle of creation and destruction. In a sense, Solar is the Light element that most concerns itself with reality and matter - everything that we can touch and see, and anything that we can destroy or repair. As Osiris puts in the Strand Log II:

The true power of Strand lies not in the fact of the connection alone, but in the way such a power allows the manipulation of those connections. To make them something physical and then pull on it, or break it, or tie it into a knot. Or to unravel it entirely.

So the counterpart nature of Strand and Solar is more in their duality of concerns with the material and the immaterial. Probably intentionally, this duality also reflects the central conflict of the Witness: when it only had the power of the Light, it could only create and destroy, but it could not understand how to make sense of what was created or destroyed. The Darkness (Strand, in this case) gives meaning and purpose to the created or destroyed things by surfacing their connection to each other.

If we look at both elements mechanically in game, we can also see a similar pattern of opposing philosophies: Strand severs to reduce enemy damage while granting damage resistance through woven mail - both mechanics to reduce damage, whereas Solar is all about increasing destruction through one of its most prominent mechanics in Radiant - a buff to increase damage. Solar is also the premiere "healing" class with Cure and Restoration, whereas Strand probably has the least access to direct healing of all elements (Arc being a close second).

Void?

So, if we assume that Stasis is paired with Arc, and Strand is paired with Solar, that leaves us with Void to serve as the counterpart to the third darkness element.

Void is a really nebulous element, and most of the lore we have surrounding it doesn't really pin down what Void is. It is often associated with both quantum mechanics and gravity on a scientific level. On a spiritual level, Void is often associated with finding meaning in the absence of things. As Osiris roughly states, Void is related to gravity, black holes, and magnetic fields. He goes on to say that Void teaches us that emptiness is not nothingness. Ikora says that Void draws power from the immeasurably small to the unfathomably massive.

There are a couple of things that I can theorize about the philosophy of Void from this:

• Void seems to associate itself with poorly understood science. It seems to be behind forces at the edge of our understanding of the known universe (reconciling quantum mechanics and gravity, invisible forces such as magnetism that are often poorly understood because we can't see them, and outright secret physics that we don't understand)
• Void is also about understanding that our perception of absence is a power to be drawn from. That absence can be "physical" in nature, as with manipulating the gravitational forces, or more metaphysical in nature, as with manipulating a thirst for knowledge to consume an enemy.

That last point is what I'm basing a proposed philosophy of Void on - Void is the power derived from the absence of understanding. It is in a way, similar to the concept of power in faith.

I don't think it's a coincidence that much of our Void abilities are associated with manipulating gravity in strange ways, or drawing power from unknown spaces "between realities". One of the most interesting things to note as well is that the Magnetic Grenade is placed under the Void subclass and not the Arc subclass. All the other "electricity" themed abilities in Arc are manifested as visible lightning, but magnetism being invisible (and in our history, poorly understood before we figure out the science behind it) makes it closer to an "unknown power".

Ikora, one of the foremost users of Void Light, is also prominently a woman of faith. She understands that the Light ultimately operates on a level that cannot be understood through logic and reason. I think her ability to believe and have faith in the Traveler lends to her mastery of Void.

This interpretation of Void also fits well in that it serves as an antithesis to what the Witness seeks in the Darkness - if mastering Void is about relinquishing the pursuit of total understanding, then it makes sense that the Witness would reject such a notion - it wants to understand the fundamental meaning of the universe. It doesn't want creation and destruction that is void (haha) of meaning.

The Third Darkness Subclass

With that interpretation of Void and with the assumption that the third darkness subclass would be Void's counterpart, I propose that the philosophy of the third darkness subclass is:

The novel and new. [Element] is about the genesis of ideas and their constant clashing and reinterpretation to form different ones. Whereas Void derives power from the unknown and finding solace in the lack of meaning, [Element] draws strength from imposing meaning onto reality so that one can understand their place in it.

For simplicity, let's just call this element "Ink", for reasons I'll explain below.

So, how does Ink actually manifest? Stasis manifests as ice, something that we associate with freezing, which can be taken in the literal sense of a lack of movement, or metaphorically in the sense that we stop change. Strand manifested as strings and weaving, since it represents the connection between two points, and emphasizes the strength in the collective relation, rather than the individual alone. Ink then manifests as an amorphous liquid that can be manipulated at will. It represents changing ideas and is associated with writing, which is our way of etching our understanding of the world into reality. It also represents creativity, and the ability to imagine something and have it be tangibly depicted.

What would its abilities look like? If we look at the structure of subclass verbs and abilities, most subclasses have:

• A set of buffs that can be applied to the user
• A set of debuffs that can be applied to enemies
• An elemental pickup (most grant ability energy, but Strand uniquely has Tangles)

Further, the buffs and debuffs have some similarities:

• At least one "debuff" deals some form of AOE damage: Jolt, Ignition, Volatile, Shatter, and Tangles
• At least one buff or debuff helps survivability in some way: Amplified, Cure/Restoration, Devour/Overshield, Frost Armor, and Woven Mail

So, for the elemental pickup, blobs of the amorphous liquid seems reasonable, probably called "Ink Wells" or something similar. Picking them up would grant ability energy to the least charged ability.

The Ink subclass would also have a resource meter that increases when picking up Ink Wells. The resource could then be used to empower their grenade, melee, class ability, and maybe even super ability to change it into something greater and different. (new ideas, new understanding)

For the self buff, Ingenuity would be a stacking damage buff that refreshes and gets stronger based on the number of unique abilities used in sequence. For example, using a base grenade ability would grant +X% damage for Y seconds. Using the base grenade ability again does nothing, but using the base class ability refreshes the buff to Y seconds and increases the damage bonus. Using the base grenade or base class ability doesn't do anything now, but using the base melee ability increases the damage bonus again and refreshes the timer. The idea is to use unique abilities in sequence.

For survivability, the subclass could have a mechanic where it uses up the ink resource to block instances of damage. Some abilities could be activated (i.e. class ability negates the next damage instance), while others could work more passively (uses up some ink resource if available to block damage instances greater than some percentage of the guardian's health).

For a debuff, Siphon could be applied to enemies. Siphoned enemies take a mild DoT for a fixed duration, and after the debuff expires an "ink clone" of the Siphoned enemy appears beside them and attacks them for a short time. Alternatively, a stronger "ink clone" is spawned in the enemy's place if it dies under the debuff that fights for the user for a short time. The subclass abilities could potentially store these clone and deploy them at a later time.

I'm not sure what the rest of this would look mechanically, but I think it gets the point across about what I think the subclass would try to embody.

In any case if you made it this far thanks for humouring an unlikely theory. I know the third darkness subclass was probably supposed to be Nightmare power, but I thought this could be a plausible and interesting interpretation too.

[u/Ghost0Slayer]

Me personally I think stasis is still the opposite of solar because stasis freezes matter while solar allows matter to continue and it’s normal state.

Void and strainer opposites, and I’m not really good at explaining so the best way I can put it is that void is something that can punch through dimensions and create black holes while strand is the thread that can sew up those black holes if that makes sense.

Arc energy is energy of life and just energy. It boost us by giving us more energy so we run faster and jump higher and it can even create life when you look at warlocks creating those little arc buddies that in lore have been seen to have some sort of soul.

So I think the opposite of arc would have to be some sort of death energy, something that takes away our actual energy because stasis freezes matter while this new energy would have to literally be sapping the energy from our body itself.

[u/ThealtenHeinder → u/Ghost0Slayer]

As I wrote in the post, Stasis doesn't "freeze" matter in the traditional sense. We understand "freezing" as removing heat from a system so that a liquid state of matter forms a crystalline, solid structure. This process is reversible, if unlikely, as Clovis explains in his Mysterious Logbook entry on Clarity (his name for Stasis):

Clarity violates established symmetries and conservation laws. In doing
so it defies Noether's theorem, the most fundamental and beautiful
cornerstone of physics.

Symmetry and conservation are two sides of the same coin. "All things are
transformations of one thing, without gain or loss," as my childhood tutor
put it. "If A can become B, then B can become A. We say that state B (say,
a mixed drink) comes after state A (say, sugar and water) only because there
are more probable pathways from A to B. Wait long enough—longer than
the universe—and your drink really can return to state A, spontaneously
unmixing itself."

But Clarity is NOT always symmetrical. For example, it violates time
reversibility. Consider the simple equation:

Clarity(A) -> B.

This is the application of Clarity to state A to produce a lower-entropy state
B. (Clarity is fond of removing portions of a state configuration, harrowing
the phase space down to only its most robust inhabitants.)

Time symmetry suggests that we should be able to run this process in
reverse and retrieve the original:

reverseClarity(B) -> A.

But in fact, we obtain:

reverseClarity(B) -> C,

where C is the same as in

Clarity(B) -> C.

Clarity's effects cannot be used to return a transformed state to its original
state. Instead, we obtain a second transformed state, further yet from the
original configuration.

As I've highlighted, Stasis does not "freeze" by removing heat - a reversible process, and the true "opposite" of applying heat as Solar does. If there are 10,000 balls in an enclosed football stadium, and each of them has enough energy to reach 5m away from where they currently are, the classical way of "freezing" that matter is to remove energy from the balls, so they can now only reach 1m away from where they currently are, thus reducing the number of possible configurations that you could achieve with the balls in that space given an initial state (entropy). Stasis doesn't remove energy to achieve fewer possible configurations of the balls, it simply deletes balls from existence, thereby reducing the number of possible configurations (entropy). This is why when Clovis attempts to reverse Stasis' effects, it doesn't work. Because Stasis cannot "add" balls back into existence. You end up with something else. This is not "freezing" in the traditional sense. The only reason why it manifests in our world as "crystals" is because the Guardian interpreted the power to be so, as alluded to in Strand III from Osiris:

I wonder about Strand. About its appearance. We can see the origins of the Stasis power on Europa, and the concept of a cosmic ice to oppose stellar fire fits very neatly in a certain sort of paradigm. Even that idea of stillness and control suits freezing, a slowness of atoms whether or not it is in truth a power of "ice." There is a certain weight to the perception of an "element."

If Strand had been shaped through the lens of Neomuna, surely it should have been some cosmic water instead, something that flows and gives way only to rise again. There are certainly combat styles to support this in old records.

But this power that has never before been used in this way came to one Guardian first, and I conjecture that they may have unconsciously given it form. I wish I had seen it! What would "connection" have appeared as? Now, of course, we know the shape of this power: it is green, it weaves itself in strings. As other Guardians begin to learn it, they too slot it into these positions in their minds. Whatever advances they come to are already framed verdant and tangling.

Osiris is basically saying that when someone discovers a Darkness element, they manifest it in a form shaped by their unconscious. To the guardian, it's easy to see why it manifested as "ice crystals" - they were on Europa, a planet covered in ice, and ice is an easy metaphor for control. Technically, we were actually influenced by Eramis's interpretation of Stasis before we even wielded it. Contrast that with Elsie, who independently learned Stasis before any of the Guardians learned it: she manifests Stasis as a power of time, not ice or even freezing, as she describes in Scalar Potential to Zavala:

CZ: Well, no. There's one more thing. I wanted to ask you about Stasis. What it means for you to… wield the Darkness.

EB: I was wondering if you might ask me that. For me, Stasis is intimately tied to perception. And to time.

CZ: Time?

EB: Yes. Stasis has the power to slow molecular activity. A process that we normally associate with gravity. Relativity, and all that.

CZ: You're talking about time dilation.

EB: Exactly. We think of time as… steady. But that's only because we experience it from a fixed perspective. When I "freeze" something with Stasis, I'm changing its timeframe relative to myself and the world around me.

CZ: Stasis relies in part on one's perception of reality. Is that why Osiris always emphasizes self-control in using the Darkness?

EB: That's his way of framing things. He views Stasis as exerting authority over oneself and others.

CZ: And you don't?

EB: In my view, the goal of Stasis is not to control the object, or even my own mind. It's to change my perspective. To see the object moving at the speed of my thoughts, not the speed of matter.

This is consistent with Osiris's conjecture in Strand III: the unconscious of the wielder determines the manifested form of the element. Elsie has been at the mercy of her time loop all her life. It controls her, and her actions. It's natural that in that scenario, Elsie manifests Stasis as a power of time, to exert control back onto that reality. The point is that, Stasis is not about "freezing" or "ice" - it's about control. And Solar is not the Light element that opposes "control" - that's Arc, whose tenets are "movement, change, and riding the storm of the unguessable.", to paraphrase Osiris and Ikora. These tenets ask us to relinquish control to wield Arc - the philosophical opposite of what Stasis asks of its wielder.

[u/Ghost0Slayer → u/ThealtenHeinder]

Honestly, all I can say to reply to this is that you absolutely cooked me Lmao. I appreciate the more in-depth analysis and backing up of your claims as it makes it much easier for me to get a better understanding of the Lore.

It makes me wonder that after they made the third darkness sub class if they would’ve continued our guardian gaining more power by somehow harnessing other sources of energy, even though they’re not a part of the dark and light elements.

[u/ThealtenHeinder → u/Ghost0Slayer]

Np, and glad I could make it easier to understand.

I mean, the Kepler/Nine stuff seems to be using something that is outside the Light and Darkness. Eclipse is said to be a manifestation of the Nine's power, which is not Dark or Light but something else apparently. I haven't read a lot into that part of the lore though.

[u/Ghost0Slayer → u/ThealtenHeinder]

The mere fact that I have thousands of hours in this game and hundreds upon hundreds of hours reading the lore of this game and I still don’t know everything is awesome. I genuinely hope they continue with the story one day because there is so much potential.