Destiny 2 post-The Witch Queen is in a pretty good state, with many fans applauding Bungie for the choice of implementing a Legendary version of the campaign, weapon crafting, and Light subclass reworks. The game is ever-evolving, and the fact that old systems and mechanics often get another pass to keep them balanced is a good thing, especially for those features that can be problematic in the long run. An example is how players can now change the affinity of their Masterwork armor without spending an Ascendant Shard every time, effectively improving the quality-of-life for crafting builds in Destiny 2.

As the game moves forward, with future Seasons in Year 5 including the Solar 3.0 update and the Arc 3.0 update, it may also be time for Bungie to reconsider some long-standing systems that are clashing with the developer's view of creative freedom in making builds. The main issues lead to a very limited variety in terms of loadouts to deal both with Champions and the Match Game modifier. These two features are often used to increase the difficulty of endgame content, and while they succeed at doing that, they also inevitably take a toll on how viable many builds can be in hard activities.

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Why Destiny 2's Seasonal Anti-Champion Mods Are Limiting

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One of the reasons why Destiny 2's Champions are not in a good place is there are three different types of Champions to deal with, and the way to do that is tied either to Exotics with intrinsic Anti-Champion rounds or seasonal mods from the artifact. Currently, there are very few weapons with intrinsic Anti-Champion capabilities, and the only one that really shines in endgame content is Arbalest, which only works against Barrier Champions.

Arbalest is a good pick in endgame content because it is a Kinetic Special linear fusion rifle that deals a good amount of damage on its own, but it also destroys all shields regardless of their element, and its catalyst provides it with Genesis for extra ammo. The other Exotic weapon that sees some use in endgame content for stunning Champions is Divinity, as it comes with intrinsic Overload rounds, but it is not as efficient as Arbalest against shields, and it burns through ammo much faster despite being great for boss DPS.

As far as seasonal mods are concerned, there are only a handful of available options every Season, among which there is usually just one option for Special weapons or Heavy weapons. This is an issue because most of the time it's preferable to have a varied loadout with a Primary, a Special, and a Heavy weapon to cover all needs while retaining a bit of damage against harder enemies. However, the current artifact system can often lead to meta loadouts that only consist of double Primary weapons and a Heavy, with the former being the only guns capable of stunning a Champion.

Season of the Risen is a prime example of this logic, as there is a single mod for Special weapons to stun Unstoppable Champions, and it is reserved for glaives exclusively. Because Destiny 2's glaives are currently not in the best spot, using them in endgame activities isn't a popular option, and it often leads to players using Arbalest if Barrier Champions are present, or double Primaries if they aren't. Because seasonal anti-Champion mods only work on a handful of specific weapon archetypes, they end up limiting the players' choices for endgame content. Instead, players have to resort to one or two of those weapons, even if they don't like them - all because stunning Champions is vital for completing activities.

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Destiny 2's Match Game Modifier is Outdated

A Void subclass Titan throws a shield at a Cabal trooper in Destiny 2.

On a similar note, Match Game is an outdated modifier in Destiny 2 because it forces players to have answers to specific elemental shields if they want to rapidly defeat powerful enemies. In fact, Match Game makes a given enemy's elemental shield extremely resistant to damage coming from sources that don't match that element, making specific elements more desirable than others.

While The Witch Queen provides a partial solution to the problem via a new perk called Adaptive Munitions, which progressively increases the damage that weapons deal to non-matching elemental shields until they are broken, the issue posed by Match Game persists. The problem is that many elements of the game promote a gameplay flow and a loadout that sports weapons of the same element. Even if that is not the case, it's likely players will have their preferences in terms of which weapons or elements they want to use.

Match Game negates that freedom, especially in activities where many shielded combatants are present, such as Grandmaster Nightfall Strikes. Combining the side effects of both Match Game and anti-Champion seasonal mods, Destiny 2 players are often left with five-to-10 viable options, which is detrimental for Bungie's newfound interest in making build-crafting more important. A solution would be to broaden the seasonal anti-Champion mods to weapon slots instead of weapon archetypes, and to reduce the impact of Match Game in high-end activities. Yet there is no official statement from Bungie on the matter, and players shouldn't expect changes any time soon.

Destiny 2 is now available on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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