Of all of the weapon types in Destiny, the least practical has historically been swords. In a game about ranged combat, using a sword is literally bringing a knife to a gunfight. Sure, there are some interesting Exotic ones and they’re occasionally useful for exploits, but few experienced players would prefer to use up their Heavy weapon slot on a sword rather than a reliable machine gun or rocket launcher. All that might change next season, though, when Bungie rolls out a host of new changes to the weapon type.
Firstly, swords now have their own energy reserves. This replaces your melee slot when you’ve got a sword out, and is used to perform various actions. For instance, guarding with a sword now uses up sword energy rather than ammo. That in itself is a big change, since it gives swords a defensive edge over other weapons. Previously, guarding was almost never worth the Heavy ammo cost.
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Secondly, sword attacks have been retooled. Light attacks now chain into an infinite combo rather than a three hit one, and heavy attacks now use sword energy. These changes make sword users a little more nimble and mean that mashing heavy attack is no longer always the best option.
Lastly, most sword attacks will partially hit through elemental shields, like this season’s Bastion Exotic weapon. That makes them just a little deadlier, and a little more useful in PVE situations where enemies have powerful shields.
It’s hard to say just how much these changes will affect Destiny 2‘s meta, but it seems like the weapon type will be at least a little more viable when season 10 rolls around. This season, I’ve only used swords to cheese Riven and occasionally to peek around corners in the Crucible and prep a Handheld Supernova. And I don’t think I’ve ever really used my Black Talon, a gorgeous Exotic weapon that shoots lasers like the Master Sword. I’m excited to revisit these elegant, civilized weapons when Destiny 2‘s next season begins on March 9.
