Destiny 2's The Witch Queen expansion added a lot of new content to the game in the form of a whole patrol area, a campaign, many features, and the Vow of the Disciple Raid. Raids are often considered the pinnacle experience of Destiny 2 because of their layered design, intricate mechanics, and the fact that they encourage communication and cooperation between players. Of course, Destiny 2 remains a game where mastering the various activities as players want to is still very possible, to the point that many try to solo the hardest content there is.
An example comes from coming up with builds that can effectively allow players to solo even Grandmaster Nightfall Strikes, the most punishing activity in the game, where a team-wide wipe means failing the whole run. Similarly, Destiny 2 players have been perfecting various strategies to complete Raid encounters in the least amount of time possible while also reducing the size of the team, only featuring mandatory roles.
One of the most renowned strategies to melt Destiny 2 bosses in a matter of seconds is to use a Titan with the Wormgod Caress Exotic Arms combined with a One-Two Punch shotgun to deal insane amounts of melee damage per hit. This often results in players even soloing Raid bosses with this combo and melee abilities, with Season of the Risen seeing a popular option in Shield Bash because of the Void 3.0 update. With today's patch, Destiny 2's update 4.0.1, Bungie reduced the scalar on melee damage from Wormgod Caress and One-Two Punch shotguns, nerfing the interaction.
This is likely due to the fact that this combo has been dominant for a while now, and a Destiny 2 YouTuber and content creator managed to kill Vow of the Disciple's Caretaker solo precisely with these two items. There were many components at play on that occasion, but weakening the Caretaker and hitting them with both a One-Two Punch shotgun and a subsequent Shield Bash with Wormgod Caress meant hitting the boss for over 900k damage every time. As such, this nerf is indeed a hard-hitter for players who like to solo Raid bosses, but it's not uncalled-for, given the state of things.
It's worth noting that Bungie teased upcoming Destiny 2 weapon changes ahead of this week's TWAB post, and it's very likely that players will learn of more buffs and nerfs coming with Season 17. Season of the Risen is approaching its closing weeks, too, meaning that players will have plenty of time to adjust to the changes before next Season once they're fully revealed.
Destiny 2 is now available on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Bungie.net