Bungie detailed several weapon changes arriving in Destiny 2 Season of the Deep’s mid-season update in its weapon tuning blog post. The Season of the Deep mid-season update launches on July 18, but here are some of the changes players can expect.
Season of the Deep mid-season tuning
First, Bungie said that pulse rifles received a slight nerf. With the auto-aim cone reduced, those with a low aim assist stat will be less forgiving — the reduction is around 10%. Lightweight bows received some buffs to increase their range as well. The distance at which the damage falloff starts has been increased from 15m to 25m, and the damage falloff end distance has been increased from 20m to 45m. The final accuracy of Lightweight bows was increased by 10%.
Also, lightweight shotguns have been buffed, with the spread angle of outer pellets reduced by 15%. This should make it easier to deal full damage with each shot, and bring it in line with other shotgun archetypes. For SMGs, the dynamic reticle on Shayura’s Wrath has been improved to clear up the sight picture and reduce its opacity too.
Bungie detailed some of the changes it made to Exotic weapons too. The Graviton Lance pulse rifle, which has had a major resurgence this season, had its PVE damage increased by 67%. However, its PVP glory has taken a hit with a 40% nerf to the damage dealt by its Cosmology explosion against players. The No Time To Explain Exotic pulse rifle has also seen a slight nerf. Bungie reduced its range by 10, which could impact how much damage the pulse rifle does when fighting distant targets. Also, Fighting Lion received a bug fix restoring the functionality of its catalyst.
For perks, Gutshot Straight and Slickdraw were improved. Unsatisfied with initial stats, Bungie reduced Gutshot Straight’s auto-aim penalty by 37.5%, and Slickdraw’s was reduced by 35%. For Target Lock, the maximum damage the perk can grant when damaging players is only 25%, down from 40%.
Season 22 and 23 tuning
Season 22’s sandbox updates primarily have to do with damage falloff distance. For a full table of damage falloff stats, check out Bungie’s post.
Additionally, hand cannons will have a faster reload speed, and receive a damage increase to minor and major enemies, improving it in PVE activities. In Season 23, the developer plans to improve glaive base projectile speeds, reduce delay between firing and melee, and change how to get shield energy.
Bungie’s tuning post didn’t go into much detail about Season 22 and 23, but we’ll keep you posted as we learn more.
