Destiny 2 studio Bungie is giving the Recluse SMG a second round of balance tweaks in an upcoming patch to the game, the developer announced in a blog post Thursday.

A reward for completing a Crucible PVP quest from Destiny 2's sixth season, the Recluse is a legendary SMG with a perk that improves the weapon's damage with kills from any weapon in a Guardian's loadout. Taking the Recluse into PVE content allowed players to hit enemy targets with precision-level damage anywhere, ignoring critical spots entirely and placing the gun's damage well above comparable legendaries and even exotics.

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With the new patch, scheduled to drop at the end of Destiny 2's eighth season on December 10, Bungie will modify the buff granted to the Recluse by the Master of Arms perk, preventing it from activating precision damage on activation and instead providing a simple bonus to the gun's regular damage levels.

destiny 2 nerf recluse

Bungie previously made attempts to tweak the Recluse's performance with the initial release of Shadowkeep in early October, but the buffs made to SMG damage across the board for the expansion resulted in a nerf with minimal effect. While granted as a reward for competitive play in Destiny 2, the effectiveness of the Recluse made it into a prime weapon for encounters like the game's strikes and endgame content without taking up a coveted exotic slot for players.

The announcement of the Recluse's tweaks came alongside news that the infamous One-Eyed Mask exotic Titan helmet, another piece of exceptionally effective gear for Crucible-minded Guardians, would also be receiving further modifications for Season 9 of Destiny 2.

Bungie also detailed some upcoming edits to the stats for the Xenophage, an exotic heavy machine gun that recently arrived in Destiny 2: Shadowkeep with an elaborate quest, but was falling short of expectations set by the game's live development team. The Xenophage will be 50% more effective against enemies in PVE content after the release of the patch.

Fans of the Recluse's unrestrained damage and the One-Eyed Mask's overshield effect will inevitably be disappointed in the nerfs made to the fan favorites, but the evolving nature of Destiny 2's metagame will ensure that even if the gear falls out of the game's top tiers, worthy successors will always be present on the horizon.

Destiny 2 is available now for PC, Xbox One and PS4. The Stadia version will launch alongside the service on November 19th.

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Source: Bungie.net