One of Destiny 2’s most powerful perks is getting ready to get nerfed as part of the upcoming sandbox changes coming ahead of Forsaken. During the live test-fire stream, Bungie showcased several weapons that feature random rolls, one of which is the linear fusion rifle Crooked Fang which featured the Box Breathing perk. Unfortunately, it seems that Box Breathing will work a bit differently when the sandbox changes hit Destiny 2.

Currently, Box Breathing grants bonus damage after aiming down sights for a short time without firing. Originally it was the unique perk for the Ikelos Escalation Protocol sniper rifle, and later added to the Whisper of the Worm exotic sniper through its masterwork. When this perk activates, the bonus damage helps greatly when paired with the Tractor Cannon buff or Whisper’s White Nail perk.

destiny 2 forsaken box breathing nerf linear fusion rifle

However, with the sandbox changes coming at the end of the month, Box Breathing will no longer stay active until you de-scope. When players fire a shot, Box Breathing will deactivate and have to be reacquired through waiting, making the perk less effective for burst damage. Overall this will make the Ikelos sniper less effective, but skilled players with Whisper will still be able to crank out massive damage if they can land the precision shots.

This change makes sense when considering what the perk is designed to be: a sniper waiting and pacing out shots to ensure accuracy. Currently, Destiny 2 players wait for the perk to activate and unload all their shots quickly. However, now players will have to pace out shots if they want to maximize damage for each shot.

While DARCI may not be quite as good as Whisper, it may overtake the Ikelos weapon since DARCI’s intrinsic perk is the same as Box Breathing without the upcoming change. While this change may not be able to dethrone Whisper as the go-to DPS weapon, it may make loot in the game a little more interesting so players may not gravitate solely to one gun. Hopefully other perks will pop up to make guns even more unique.

Destiny 2: Forsaken launches September 4 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.