Destiny 2's Season of the Haunted introduced a brand-new patrol zone in the form of the derelict Leviathan, Calus' star-eating ship now filled with clone Loyalists and the Egregore fungal infection that plagued the Glykon from the Presage mission in Season 13. Alongside the Leviathan, several weapons from Season of Opulence returned to Destiny 2 with a new selection of perks, including fan-favorite combos like Outlaw and Rampage for Austringer or Snapshot Sights and Moving Target for Beloved. However, a few new perks were added to the game with Season 17, and one of them is mainly found on the newly reprised Opulent weapons - Incandescent.
Incandescent is now extremely desirable for its synergies with the Solar 3.0 update and because it's overall a fantastic add-clearing choice in all PvE game modes, as well as a great way to reveal the position of Scorched enemies in PvP. Speaking of Scorch, what Incandescent does is Scorch nearby enemies when the primary target dies by gunfire, which means that they will take damage over time while Scorched and also activate various things like Ember of Singeing or work with Ember of Ashes. This sort of synergy wasn't really there with Void 3.0 perks, but instead, it came from seasonal mods like Suppressing Glaive or Volatile Flow, and Destiny 2 needs more weapons with this type of trait.
Why Destiny 2 Needs More Perks Like Incandescent
Seasonal mods in Season of the Risen were a tremendous addition when it came to crafting Void 3.0 builds, but they suffered the same fate as every seasonal mod in the history of Destiny 2 when Season 16 came to an end. Season of the Haunted then introduced a new set of flashy mods to go with the Solar 3.0 update, and while it makes sense for Bungie to try out new things with artifact mods and weapon perks, it's important to accent Incandescent's permanence in the game now that sunsetting weapons is not a thing anymore.
Incandescent won't go away when Season of the Haunted transitions into Season 18, which means that its build-enabling interactions will remain even when Arc 3.0 goes live because this perk is not tied to the seasonal model. This makes all the difference when it comes to buildcrafting in Destiny 2 because it allows players to have a sense of stability among all the moving parts in the current sandbox, and while Incandescent can still undergo changes in the future, it's good to see it stay for good.
The fact that so many Destiny 2 builds end up depending on seasonal mods is expected because its meta is ever-shifting, but lowering that degree of dependency could ultimately be good for the game. Continuity is not something Destiny 2 players expect any longer because of all the sandbox changes that are made both mid-Season and at the start of a new Season, and it further validates the point that perks like Incandescent should become more common. Seasonal mods should never become build-defining because they are meant to be temporary additions to the game, whereas weapon perks can and should do that more often.
Season of the Haunted sees a similar pattern with great new perks like Repulsor Brace, which don't add complex layers to existing mechanics but rather implement them seamlessly into the gameplay flow and are overall awesome for build variety. Incandescent, on the other hand, has a lot of depth to it thanks to Scorch damage being increased by several sources, like Font of Might and Radiant. As such, Incandescent shouldn't be Destiny 2's epitome of perk uniqueness, but rather the first step toward independence from seasonal mods.
Destiny 2 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.