Destiny 2 developer Bungie has revealed planned nerfs for the Not Forgotten and Luna’s Howl hand cannons, two of the most popular weapons in Crucible PvP. The changes won’t go into effect until the Season of Opulence next month, but they are substantial enough to change some of the current meta in Destiny 2’s competitive community.

Bungie revealed its plan for Luna’s Howl and Not Forgotten nerfs as part of its weekly Destiny 2 blog post. According to the developer, the goal is not to ignore the requirement necessary to obtain these Pinnacle Crucible Weapons, but their status at the top of the PvP food chain apparently needed addressing. To put it simply, Bungie felt that because Luna’s Howl and Not Forgotten have such low time to kill, very few weapons can compete in a direct gun fight.

The first change to Luna’s Howl and Not Forgotten is that they will have their fire rate reduced from 180 rounds per minute to 150. As a result, players will need to pace their shots even more than they do already when using the hand cannons.

In addition to the RPM nerf, Luna’s Howl and Not Forgotten’s signature perk, Magnificent Howl, will change in Season 7. Previously, the perk would grant bonus damage after two precision hits until either the player got a kill or they missed. After the change, the perk will only grant bonus damage for body shots, not precision hits. Bungie says this should still result in a two precision hit and one body shot kill in Crucible, but it's worth mentioning that all 150 RPM hand cannons can "three-tap." The advantage

While the nerfs to Luna’s Howl and Not Forgotten hand cannon don’t seem that significant at a glance, the fire rate will really determine a lot. For many, the 180 RPM hand cannons were the most accurate and the best to use. On console, hand cannons are even harder to use in PvP and some argue that Luna’s Howl and Not Forgotten are the best options in Destiny 2. Perhaps a better solution would have been to re-balance hand cannons first and then look at the two pinnacle weapons, but those changes could be in the works.

Of course, there is also the debate that will rage over the fact that these are Destiny 2 pinnacle weapons. They take a lot of effort (for some) to acquire and so they should feel strong. It’s the tricky line that Bungie must toe in Destiny 2 – offering strong weapons as rewards but making sure they aren’t too strong.

But the good news is Bungie prefaces these changes with the idea that this is a discussion. The developers want to talk about their planned changes and see how players respond. They also want anyone who is currently trying to get the Luna's Howl hand cannon to know what changes are coming.

Destiny 2 is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Image Source: Stephen Boe