This is a theory regarding the origins of the Classes and Subclasses present in Destiny. This is mostly conjecture and Grimoire, though, and I'd like to see your own opinions in the comments. Coincidentally, my Group, the Fallen Theorists, is dedicated to theorising about Destiny and I have already posted other theories on the Group Forums as well. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// The Theory The "Classes" seen so far in Destiny are distinct, in both function and origin. In general, Guardians are Humans, Awoken and Exo who are chosen by their Ghost for their ability to weaponise the Traveller's Light. The Light gives them mastery of weapons of all kinds, superhuman strength, speed and health as well as a selection of powers. Judging by the supposed lack of "new" Guardians being born, it could be assumed that only people who were alive during the Golden Age can wield the Light, as only those who were present during that period seem to be Guardians. These "Chosen Dead" remember little of their previous life. The Class a Guardian becomes seems to have something to do with their persona pre-revival. Hunters, overwhelmingly described as being roguish, solitary and criminal, likely were once such; criminals, fighters or others who fought the Darkness and were redeemed through the Light. Scattered survivors of the Collapse, Hunters find their origin in those forced to survive in the Wild, escaping the natural predators the Traveller's arrival seeded our worlds with and the Fallen scavenging the ruins. This explains the regressive nature of many Hunter sub-classes, with the Bladedancers and Nightstalkers having been forced to survive without technology, while Gunslingers were able to maintain their more advanced equipment. This would also explain why the Nightstalker subclass was lost to Guardians, as its practitioners hid in the darkest parts of our worlds (this might also explain why, from images shown so far, the Nightstalker Bow is found in the jungles of Venus). Warlocks and Titans, surprisingly, seem to share a similar origin. Titans are what remains of pre-Collapse militaries and other official forms of resistance against the Darkness. This explains how quickly they were able to find the Traveller after the Collapse and their efficiency at building the Wall. This might also help to justify how the City's military commanders, Zavala, Saladin and Shaxx are all Titans who are seemingly advised by the other Class' leaders. While defensive and counter-offensive Subclasses like Defenders and Strikers remain, the hyper-offensive Sunbreaker Subclass was likely lost due to early failures in fighting the Darkness (e.g the loss of the 1st Fleet at Saturn, the defeat of Halborn's Host on Mars, etc.) and this both explains the presence of the Sunbreaker Hammer on Mercury (likely a failed attack) and the outcast nature of Titan Orders like the Firebreakers (does that name sound familiar) that preach highly offensive strategies. A military origin also explains the over-representation of Exos amongst Titans, as the Exo were war machines and thus automatically soldiers (until whatever the "Deep Stone Crypt" event was). The large number of Titan orders at the Battle of Twilight Gap also supports this interpretation. Warlocks, based on my findings, also share and official, military origin. Warlocks were, originally, high-ranking military leaders and strategists that fought the Darkness. This explains their intellect (as only the brightest could be leaders) and how largely they are affected by both the Light and the Dark (they are both the best and wielding the Light and the most susceptible to persuasion by the Darkness, e.g. Toland, Eris, etc.). Warlocks wear trench coats/robes, both associated with the military and intellectual castes of society and wear armbands to show their allegiances (another thing seem in some militaries, you know the ones). Sunsingers and Voidwalkers have likely persisted where Stormcallers have not as both classes are able to offset the "glass hammer" nature of the Class (the former with self-resurrection and the latter with draining-abilities). This status as a highly offensive/low defensive Class also holds with an official origin with leaders on the battlefield being better armed if less defended. Notable are the different nature of the Class armours. A Hunter cloak may have, originally, been used to hide in the wake of the Collapse. As Hunters now have little reason to hide from either the law or the Darkness they have gradually become more ornate. Historically speaking, many soldiers wore symbols of their loyalty at their waists (e.g. the Romans, which many Titan armour looks similar to) and this may have been inherited by Titans. Warlocks wearing symbols of their loyalty/status on their arms and being heavily offensive strikes similar to certain early-20th century military organisation leaders. This concludes my theory about the origins of the Classes. Feel free to comment on anything I may have missed or your own interpretations. Thanks for reading. -PLASMA