Rejoice Guardians, some nice buffs are coming to a variety of weapon archetypes later on this season in Destiny 2. Revealed in the latest TWAB (This Week at Bungie) blog post, auto rifles, hand cannons, pulse rifles, sidearms, scout rifles, and fusion rifles are all getting adjusted. We also got a glimpse at some weapon balance changes players can expect when Season 21 launches later this year. So if you don’t feel like pouring through the entire weapon balancing post, here’s what you need to know about future buffs and nerfs coming down the line.
PVE and PVP Weapon Buffs
The first set of changes is coming to quite a few different primary weapon types. Keep in mind these damage increases will not impact bosses, they are only against red and orange-bar enemies in every activity.
- Auto Rifles – 25% damage increase
- Pulse Rifles, Sidearms, and Handcannons – 20% damage increase
- Scout Rifles – 10% damage increase
These changes should make a lot more weapons viable in endgame content — especially auto rifles which have been in a bad spot for years now thanks to the absurdly strong submachine guns you can earn. Given the best Strand primaries are currently auto rifles, I strongly recommend players earn and craft weapons like Rufus’s Fury to prepare for this mid-season update. It’s also great to see hand cannons, pulse rifles, and sidearms getting some love. Hand cannons have always been strong, but with the ever-increasing density of enemies, they’ve fallen behind in effectiveness. Hopefully, a 20% damage increase will make managing the hordes of enemies much easier for players. Notably, submachine guns and bows are not receiving any alterations at this time, but Bungie is keeping an eye on them in case they need any additional PVE tuning.
Looking at the Crucible, Rapid Frame fusion rifles are also getting a nice buff with their damage per burst increasing from 245 to 260 and damage per bolt bumping up from 27.2 to 28.9. Additionally, trace rifle base damage is boosted by 4%, the precision hit multiple has been decreased from 1.40 to 1.35, and the flinch has been reduced by 10% when at 100 stability. Rapid Frame sniper rifles are also getting a nice PVP buff, with their recoil reduced by a whopping 50% and total ammunition increased by 30%. Keep in mind, this specific buff is for both PVE and PVP to make Rapid Frame sniper rifles more competitive in the current meta. Players can also expect a flat 10% damage increase for all sniper rifles in PVE when Season 21 releases.
As for exotics, the only weapon mentioned getting buff is Revision Zero. PVE damage is being increased by 25% for Hunter’s Trace rounds and 75% for Hakke Heavy Burst Rounds. The Fourth Time’s the Charm perk will also reset when players enter Hunter’s Trace with this firearm.
PVP Weapon Nerfs
Unsurprisingly, SMGs are getting looked at both in this season and Season 21. For now, we know that Bungie will be nerfing both Tarrabah and the IKELOS SMG with the entire Aggressive Frame archetype getting adjusted later down the road. Tarrabah’s Ravenous Beast energy generated when taking damage has been reduced from 3% to 1% while the zoom has been scaled down from 16 to 15. Unfortunately, the IKELOS SMG is only getting a small adjustment right now to bring it more in line with other Aggressive Frame firearms. Bungie will be removing “…some tuning in the custom scope causing these weapons to have significantly less recoil than intended.” Last but not least, Final Warning will no longer be able to track targets through a Titan’s barricade.
While we don’t have an exact date for when these go live, players should expect these weapon buffs and nerfs sometime later this season in Destiny 2.
