Destiny 2's The Witch Queen is close to its official release, and players are already trying to figure out what sort of builds they should run on day one. This is not an easy task, as there are plenty of new items coming with the yearly expansion, ranging from a plethora of weapons with several Exotic guns to a brand-new archetype - the glaive. Among the new armor pieces, each class is getting an Exotic item for Light subclasses and another Exotic for Stasis, opening up uncharted possibilities alongside the Void 3.0 update.
Even before The Witch Queen changes, Destiny 2's Hunters were the class that needed buffs the most because of how hard it's been hit by PvE nerfs as other classes get buffs to outshine Hunters across the board. Destiny 2's Cuirass of the Falling Star is a big issue with Hunters in PvE because of the immense damage buff it provides to Titans, outclassing Celestial Nighthawk and every other damage Super. With the Void 3.0 changes that will indirectly nerf Omnioculus, Hunters needed a team support Exotic even more, and it is finally coming in the form of the Exotic gauntlets Renewal Grasp.
Destiny 2: How Revenant Hunters Can Become Meta
Destiny 2's recently announced nerfs to Hunters didn't improve the class' dire situation, leading to Omnioculus' interaction with the former Combat Provisions perk being much weaker because it now requires melee kills to activate, instead of making allies invisible. This doesn't mean that Hunters won't be able to run Omnioculus, but it means that a big part of its endgame viability was taken away and not replaced with anything. Enter Renewal Grasp, the newly revealed Hunter Exotic for Stasis Revenants.
Destiny 2's Renewal Grasp Exotic gauntlets come with a perk that increases by a huge margin the radius of Duskfield Grenades, also making allies within the grenade's radius take reduced damage from outside enemies. Another facet of the perk makes enemies locked inside Duskfield Grenades deal even less damage, providing Revenant Hunters with a sort of portable Ward of Dawn they can set up using grenade energy. While staying inside the Duskfield Grenade radius doesn't provide bonus damage like a Titan's Ward of Dawn, and even though it can be limiting to remain in a specific area, this provides Hunters a tool for area control.
Area control is something that usually Warlocks excel at, and Bleak Watcher's Stasis turrets are the prime example of this logic, constantly shooting projectiles that freeze enemies in place. Revenant Hunters already have a utility Super in Silence and Squall, and adding more utility to Duskfield Grenades through an Exotic is a great idea to improve the gameplay for Stasis in PvE, even in high-end content. It's not uncommon for GM Nightfalls and Raids to require players to use multiple defensive tools, and this new Exotic for Hunters might finally make the class more viable in endgame content.
Placing a Duskfield Grenade with Renewal Grasp can lead to Champions and bosses dealing negligible damage to players who already use a defensive loadout, making Hunters essential in harder activities. Because the effect is tied to grenades, having high Discipline and using Fragments and Aspects that improve the performance of this build could allow Hunters to spam their Duskfield Grenades. Overall, while this Exotic doesn't single-handedly improve general gameplay for Destiny 2's Hunters, it is a step in the right direction.
Destiny 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.