Destiny 2 just launched Season 14: Season of the Splicer yesterday. The new season brought a lot of changes to Destiny 2, but it also seems to have bugged the Sleeper Simulant exotic weapon.
Sleeper Simulant is an exotic linear fusion rifle that was added to Destiny 2 as part of the Warmind expansion. It is an exotic that takes up players' heavy weapon slot and has a unique upgrade that allows its lasers to over-penetrate enemies and refract off hard surfaces in the world. The launch of Season 14 brought a large balancing update for nearly all weapons in Destiny 2, but it seems that the adjustment for linear fusion rifle isn't working correctly for the Sleeper Simulant.
The bug was pointed out on the games' subreddit by Reddit user IMADragonAMAA. The post breaks down the numbers well, showing that the Sleeper Simulant did not receive the 15% damage buff that all other linear fusion rifles got in Destiny 2. IMADragonAMAA found that a critical hit with the Sleeper Simulant dealt 23,745 damage when last season it deals 23,017 damage. The damage change shows that the Sleeper Simulant only received a 3% increase in damage rather than the planned 15% for some reason. The issue comes following the launch of Season of the Splicer causing a widespread crashing issue for Destiny 2 players.
Sleeper Simulant apparently did not receive the +15% damage buff it was supposed to. It got 3% from DestinyTheGame
A developer from Bungie did respond to the post saying that the team would look into it and thanking IAMADragonAMAA for finding the bug. Other players are voicing their disappointment in the comments as they hoped that the linear fusion rifle buff would help Sleeper Simulant be more useful than it has been in recent seasons. Other commenters are venting their frustration with Bungie's treatment of the weapon, saying that it has never recovered after a severe nerf in 2018 in reaction to the weapon dominating Destiny 2's Gambit game mode. Some comments even say that in it current state the Sleeper Simulant is outclassed by nearly every legendary linear fusion rifle in the game.
However, the developers' response to the post does make it look as though the lacking damage boost was unintentional. Hopefully, the developers will be able to remedy the issue rather quickly and bring the Sleeper Simulant up to the damage levels that players were expecting it to be at for Season 14. The Season of the Splicer does bring a lot of weapons to Destiny 2, however, so either way players should have no trouble finding a gun that fits their preferences for the remainder of the season.
Destiny 2: Beyond Light is available now on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.