Heading into Season 10 and the return of Trials of Osiris in Destiny 2, PvP players had a few exotic armor pieces at the top of their lists. These were both the exotic armor pieces that would be most essential to their classes and subclasses in the endgame PvP mode, but also ones that should be hit with at least one nerf. Luckily, Bungie has listened and will be making some changes.
One-Eyed Mask (Titan)
First up is One-Eyed Mask, the popular Titan exotic that has been a point of confusion for Destiny 2 players for quite some time. When originally launched, the One-Eyed Mask gave Titans a tracking icon (a red X) on a target that damaged them, and then granted increased damage against that target while they were marked. On top of that, if the Titan got a kill against a marked target, they gained a full overshield.
Needless to say, the advantages that the One-Eyed Mask offered to Titans in Crucible were too useful that almost every other exotic fell by the wayside. The only thing that really kept every Titan from using the exotic in Crucible was a sense of pride or a lack of good RNG. But then Xur sold the One-Eyed Mask with a really good perk roll and all was done for.
Not too long ago, Bungie did nerf One-Eyed Mask but not in the way that most Destiny 2 players hoped they would. The longstanding belief was that the tracking is the major problem for the exotic and that should be removed. Keeping the extra damage or the overshield was fine and could even make the weapon beneficial in PvP. However, Bungie’s first nerf targeted the damage and overshield functionality and the tracking remained.
- In Season 10, Bungie is replacing the tracking with target highlighting, so as long as the player can see the enemy, they will be extra visible in some fashion. These enemies will not be visible through walls, though.
- The damage bonus is gone altogether.
- The overshield values from before the last nerf are back but it only lasts for 6 seconds instead of 8. This benefits both PvP and PvE players because it means getting a kill essentially gives someone a “new life.”
Contraverse Hold (Warlock)
The other Destiny 2 exotic that was high on PvP players’ radars was the Contraverse Hold because of how deadly it could be when paired with the Nova Warp Warlock’s Handheld Supernova ability. Luckily, Bungie already has a significant nerf planned for that ability, but Contraverse is getting crippled as well.
For Season of the Worthy, Contraverse will only grant a 20% damage reduction bonus while holding the Handheld Supernova, down from 40% previous The Handheld nerf also reduced the length that players can hold the ranged grenade down to 2.5 seconds.
Overall, these two changes should go a long way towards making the exotic armor choices feel a bit more balanced heading into Trials of Osiris’ first weekend in Destiny 2. There are certainly other items that could also use some attention that are not currently getting touched, but perhaps after a few runs Bungie can highlight other problematic items.
Destiny 2 Season of the Worthy launches March 10, 2020 and Trials of Osiris starts on March 13 at daily reset.