Destiny 2.0 Update Brings Major Weapon Changes

[UPDATE: Destiny Update 2.0 is live. See below for all the major weapon changes.]

It may have taken a little longer than expected, but big changes have hit Destiny’s weapons. As promised, Bungie is addressing weapon balance across the board in Update 2.0, and the changes they have made should drastically impact the PvP and PvE experiences.

In today’s Update 2.0 patch notes, the developer outlined numerous weapon balance changes coming to Destiny with the latest. Clearly Bungie has been listening to fan complaints regarding overpowered weapons and abused perks, and now those issues should be gone.

While past Destiny patches have carried their own signature trait – i.e. “the Auto Rifle nerf” or “the shotgun buff” – this latest update is all encompassing, and therefore hard to give a label to. It’s fitting that this update is called 2.0 because it literally addresses every weapon in the game, and tweaks each one in some fashion or another. Some highlights include:

Thorn:
- Base Damage of Thorn DoT reduced by 1/3 for both PVE and PVP
- Thorn DOT now stacks up to 5x over multiple shots: This is a net buff, but it is now spread over multiple shots to eliminates the PVP “2-shot walk away.”
- Thorn DoT damage now correctly reports as poison

Auto Rifles:
- Base Damage increased across all archetypes
- Damage Falloff now starts closer to the player to emphasize its role as a close range weapon
- Base Stability reduced slightly. Landing consistent precision shots require more weapon control
- Damage done against AI combatants increased by 30%

Sniper Rifles:
- Final Round perk now buffs precision damage, not base damage. This change only affects this perk when combined with Sniper Rifles

Shotguns:
- Shotgun precision damage scalar grants 10% bonus damage (Was 25%)
- Shot Package perk reduces the cone spread by 20% (was 50%)
- Rangefinder perk adds a 10% base Range increase on zoom (was 20)
- Damage done against AI combatants reduced by 45% ( 2.25-> 1.15)

The Thorn Nerf is Here

Of course, the biggest weapon changes for Destiny will be those that affect PvP, specifically the exotic hand cannons, shotguns, and sniper rifles. For months, players have hoped that Bungie might make Thorn less overpowered, and now they are finally doing so. Similarly, the update knocks down the viability of Hawkmoon and The Last Word – two hand cannons that have their own “overpowered” qualities.

On the special weapon front, players should expect to see less long-range shotgun kills thanks to the new Destiny update. We wouldn’t go so far as to say that shotguns rivaled sniper rifles, but the range on some of them (with specific perks) made the PvP experience frustrating. Add to that the ability to re-roll perks to maximize range and it was hard not to find a shotgun that could kill at a surprising distance.

Finally, the other major PvP change coming with Update 2.0 has to do with the Final Round perk on sniper rifles. Now players will have to land a precision shot in order for the perk to register, meaning no more insta-kill body shots. Moreover, this change is likely to deter players from firing off their rounds to get to the final round bullet, since they will still need to hit the opponent’s head for it to work.

PvE Changes are Hit or Miss

While many of Update 2.0’s weapon tuning changes are likely to please longtime players, there are still some that are head-scratchers. Adding to the recharge time of Icebreaker makes the sniper rifle less useful, and making the Black Hammer’s White Nail perk draw from reserve ammo seems like a punishment.

Since few actually use these weapons in PvP, it feels like Bungie is trying to take away Destiny player’s fun rather than improve the experience. Similarly, instead of boosting rocket launcher damage on competing rocket launchers, they are diminishing the strength of the Gjallarhorn.

All told, though, Update 2.0 is sure to be a welcome change for Destiny players that are tired of getting killed by the same weapons in PvP. A major weapon balance patch has been a long time coming for the game.

Full Destiny Update 2.0 Weapon Patch Notes

Auto Rifle

Base Damage increased across all archetypes
Damage Falloff now starts closer to the player to emphasize its role as a close range weapon
Base Stability reduced slightly. Landing consistent precision shots require more weapon control
Damage done against AI combatants increased by 30%

Pulse Rifles

All Stable (low recoil) Pulse Rifles (i.e., Hopscotch Pilgrim) now use “Medium” Rate-of-Fire base stats
“Medium” Pulse Rifle’s Rate-of-Fire has slightly increased, but with base Damage reduced slightly (2.5%)
PVP: Bursts-to-kill (all precision hits) is 2 or 3, depending on victim’s Armor stat
Magazine Size increased on all base stats
Base Stability reduced slightly. Landing consistent precision shots require more weapon control
Damage done against AI combatants increased by 25%

Scout Rifles

Base Damage increased slightly for “Medium” to “High” Rate-of-Fire Scout Rifles. Small adjustment, does not change shots-per-kill in PVP against another Guardian with full health
Magazine Size increased on all base stats
Accuracy when firing from hip is reduced
Damage done against AI combatants increased by 5%

Hand Cannons

Damage Falloff distance has been reduced to be closer to the player to limit long range lethality
Accuracy while in Aim-Down-Sights reduced slightly, making long range snap-shooting less reliable
Accuracy when firing from hip is reduced
Magazine Size reduced on all base stat settings
Base Optics (zoom) reduced so Aiming Down Sights grants more width (in favor for depth)

Shotguns

Shotgun precision damage scalar grants 10% bonus damage (Was 25%)
Shot Package perk reduces the cone spread by 20% (was 50%)
Rangefinder perk adds a 10% base Range increase on zoom (was 20)
Damage done against AI combatants reduced by 45% ( 2.25-> 1.15)

Sniper Rifle:

Final Round perk now buffs precision damage, not base damage. This change only affects this perk when combined with Sniper Rifles

Fusion Rifles

Fusion Rifles now no longer get more accurate with each projectile fired
Fusion Rifles that are slow charging, high impact now have a slightly lower base Range value, making it harder to max out
range for these weapons
Accuracy increased for low range Fusion Rifles; Accuracy reduced for high range Fusion Rifles
Max Fusion Rifle projectile speed decreased slightly
Damage done against AI combatants increased by 15%

Sidearms

Base Reload Speed increased
Ammo Stats for Sidearms have been reduced to match other Secondaries, but still retain starting bonus ammo

Rocket Launchers

Blast Radius distance slightly increased
Grenades and Horseshoes perk proximity detonation distance reduced to 1.3 meter (was 2 meters)

Machine Guns

Fixed an issue with all Dead Orbit Machine Guns where attached plasteel plate failed to animate properly on reloads
Damage done against AI combatants increased by 5%

Weapon Perks

General

Reduced Damage bonuses and penalties granted from weapon barrel upgrades
Overpenetration perk now only works on bipeds (no longer works on environment materials)
Mulligan perk chance increased to 20%

Year One Perks

We have revisted all of these Year One stat perks and reduced the amount they buff your weapon stat to re-normalize against Year Two weapon lethality and reinforce specialization so players are making meaningful trade-offs on weapons.

To compensate for the weaker stat perks from launch weapons, we added some new stat perks (introduced in House of Wolves) that provided a significant increase to a stat in exchange for a reduction in other stats. This allows players to be able to spike a stat that reinforces their specialized play style, but at a cost.

Accelerated Coils: Reduced charge time by 50%
Accurized Ballistics: Reduced range and damage bonus by 50%
Aggressive Ballistics: Reduced damage bonus by 50%. Increased stability and range penalties by 100%
Aggressive Launch: Reduced damage bonus by 50%. Increased stability and projectile speed penalty by 100%
Confined Launch: Increased projectile speed penalty by 25%. Reduced stability bonus by 33%
CQB Ballistics: Reduced range bonus by 25%. Reduced stability bonus by 33%
Enhanced Battery: Reduced magazine bonus by 60%
Extended Mag: Reduced magazine bonus by 33%
Field Choke: Reduced damage bonus by 50%. Reduced range bonus by 60%. Reduced stability penalty by 20%
Field Scout: No longer affects magazine. Reduced inventory bonus by 37%
Fitted Stock: Reduced stability bonus by 60%
Flared Magwell: Reduced reload bonus by 80%
Hammer Forged: Reduced range bonus by 50%
Hand Loaded: Reduced range bonus by 50%
Hard Launch: Reduced projectile speed bonus by 50%
Heavy Payload: Reduced blast radius bonus by 50%
Javelin: Reduced projectile speed bonus by 50%
Linear Compensator: Reduced damage bonus by 50%
Luck in the Chamber: Reduced damage bonus by 3%
Perfect Balance: Reduced stability bonus by 40%
Send It: Reduced by range bonus 40%. Inventory and equip penalties added
Smart Drift Control: Reduced stability bonus by 40%. Reduced range penalty by 33%
Smart Drift Control (Rocket Launcher):
Reduced stability bonus by 40%. Reduced projectile speed penalty by 33%
Smallbore: Reduced stability and range bonuses by 25%
Smooth Ballistics: Stability bonus made into penalty. Range penalty is now a bonus.
Soft Ballistics : Reduced damage penalty by 50%
Soft Launch: Stability bonus made into penalty. Projectile speed penalty is now a bonus.
Speed Reload: Reduced reload bonus by 80%
Warhead Verniers: Reduced blast radius bonus by 37%. Reduced projectile speed bonus by 60%. Reduced stability penalty by 20%

Exotic/Legendary Weapons

Hard Light

Base Stability increased to 80
Hard Light projectiles now have increased bounce count
Hard Light projectiles are now not affected by Damage Falloff
Hard Light projectile FX updated so it is easier to track the projectile ricochets

Suros Regime

Stability reduced
Added a Range boost to the Focus Fire node on the Talent Grid

Necrochasm

Base Stability increased to 60
Magazine Size increased
Cursebringer perk will now always trigger on a precision kill
Cursebringer perk explosion radius increased and deals more damage
Rangefinder perk has been replaced by Zen Moment

The Last Word

Range reduced by 10
Base Stability reduced by 10
Accuracy while in hip fire is increased
Precision Damage aim assist while in hip fire is increased
Fixed an issue where damage bonuses while in hip fire was not applying correctly

Thorn

Base Damage of Thorn DoT reduced by 1/3 for both PVE and PVP
Thorn DOT now stacks up to 5x over multiple shots: This is a net buff, but it is now spread over multiple shots to eliminates the PVP “2-shot walk away.”
Thorn DoT damage now correctly reports as poison

Hawkmoon

Luck in the Chamber and Holding Aces perks now have a stacking limit of 2. Only 2 of the bonus damage perks will ever stack, which should eliminate the Hawkmoon 1-hit PVP kill to an undamaged opponent
Holding Aces perk now increases magazine by 2 rounds

Icebreaker:Ammo Recharge time increased to 7 seconds between rounds (was 5 seconds)

Gjallarhorn: Reduce damage of Wolfpack Rounds by roughly 1/3

Black Hammer: White Nail perk now fills the magazine from your ammo reserves

No Land Beyond

Fixed an issue where there were overlap/parallax issues in Sights during aim-down-sights view
Base Handling increased
The Master perk has an increased base precision damage bonus scalar (2.6x -> 3x)

Lord of Wolves: Rally perk now grants +5 Recovery to allies in close proximity

Thunderlord

Arc detonation chance for Lightning Rounds kill increased to 50%
Magazine size increased to offset ammo stat changes

Vex Mythoclast

Projectile Speed increased to compensate for global Fusion Rifle changes
Stability increased to compensate for global Fusion Rifle changes

Universal Remote: Base Range increased by +20

Monte Carlo

Stability increased to compensate for global Auto Rifle Changes
Fixed an issue where the Method perk did not only trigger when killing players or combatants. Can no longer trigger when “killing” destroyable objects

Bad Juju: Stability increased to compensate for global Pulse Rifle changes

Red Death

Stability increased to compensate for global Pulse Rifle changes
Fixed an issue where Rate of Fire and Impact stats were displayed incorrectly. Stat values were not changed, UI display only

Plan C