Destiny 2: Forsaken has a massive overhaul coming to its weapons system and combat

Guns! You need them (digitally I hope) and Destiny 2 has them! So many guns in fact, that Bungie’s sandbox is in dire need of a rethink on the philosophy of its weapons, which will begin with the Forsaken expansion in September. While player loadouts will drastically change and allow Guardians to outfit themselves with any combo of weapons if they choose, like say three shotguns for example because that’s going to be awesome, Destiny 2 will also be revamping its regular weapons significantly along the way.

In a livestream last night, Bungie detailed this new approach to weapons, that is aimed (Ha!) at making these tools of death feel a bit more special when one drops for you. Here’s the breakdown of what was revealed last night:

Masterwork weapons

Fancy that Origin Story which you’ve been using in the Crucible and want to make it track your kills with a Masterwork upgrade? That system will be revamped in Forsaken, as Guardians won’t just be able to upgrade their Legendary and Exotic weapons to the Masterwork level, they’ll be able to increase its potency with tiers.

Maxing out at Tier 10, Bungie says that the first few levels of this system will be cheap as chips and available to all weapons. If you’re looking to invest heavily into a tier 10 Masterwork weapon, you’re going to need some substantial funds to do so, which will eventually cost you 10 000 Glimmer, 27 Legendary Shards and 17 Masterwork Cores to ding a weapon to the max. The system costs will function like this:

• Tier 1: Stock, random mod comes applied with weapon drop
• Tier 2: 2500 Glimmer
• Tier 3: 2500 Glimmer, 1 Legendary Shard
• Tier 4: 2500 Glimmer, 1 Legendary Shard, 1 Masterwork core
• Tier 5: 2500 Glimmer, 2 Legendary Shards, 1 Masterwork core
• Tier 6: 2 Legendary Shards, 2 Masterwork cores
• Tier 7: 3 Legendary Shards, 2 Masterwork cores
• Tier 8: 3 Legendary Shards, 3 Masterwork cores
• Tier 9: 5 Legendary Shards, 2 Masterwork cores
• Tier 10: 10 Legendary Shards, 5 Masterwork cores

It’s worth it though, as not only do players get to choose between making their gun of choice a PVE or PVP Masterwork, but they’re able to switch between the two for free at any time.

Weapon Mods

Here’s the big one. In Destiny 2, mods were a convoluted system to use. Disassembling lower-tier mods, racking up components and hoping for some luck at Banshee’s stall did not help sell the system. Forsaken will revamp the entire system, as weapon mods will now have an actual function to them that scraps the five-point power boost system.

Instead, mods will offer perks that can be used to create far more effective weapons in conjunction with the return of random rolls on dropped guns. Reddit user aussiehalo#1645 (Thanks VG247) scribbled down a bunch of the perks that were seen in the livestream last night

• Major Spec (Deals extra damage against powerful enemies)
• Minor Spec (Deals extra damage against rank-and-file enemies)
• Radar Tuner (Radar immediately returns when you stop aiming down sights)
• Targeting Adjuster (This weapon gains better target acquisition)
• Icarus Grip (Improves accuracy while airborne)
• Freehand Grip (Increased accuracy and ready speed while firing from the hip)
• Backup Mag (Increases magazine)
• Boss Spec (Increases damage against bosses and vehicles)
• Counterbalance Stock (Reduces recoil deviation for the weapon)
• Range (Increases the range of your weapon)

That’s a much better system overall I think. As usual you’ll be able to acquire mods from scrapping weapons, but the catch here is that players who seek a certain mod will need to grab it from the remains of a gun that already had it inserted. So no more rampant scrapping just so that you can get some Legendary Shards quickly. It will be worth hanging on to your collection of mods for now, because even though they’ll be pointless after the Forsaken patch arrives, you can still trade them in at Banshee’s shop for the newer and better mods on the market.

Exotics

More details on three of Destiny 2: Forsaken’s Exotics were shown off last night. Here’s a quick rundown of them:

Ace of Spades

The iconic hand cannon returns, this time as a primary weapon that includes a Firefly perk, as well as the Memento Mori bonus that gives players extra damage after a reload on a kill and active radar while aiming.

Black Talon

A new Exotic sword, Black Talon’s perks are based on pure power: Heavy Guard and Tireless Blade allow you to close a gap and strike hard, while Crow’s Wings give you the ability to fling fire projectiles that’ll have Warlock Dawnblades crying foul.

Wish-Ender

A primary Exotic bow, Wish-Ender is going to be a nightmare in the Crucible as its Queen’s Wrath perk allows Guardians to see through walls as it creates highlights of other players.

Other combat changes

The stream ended last night with Bungie detailing a few other miscellaneous changes. Here’s the crib notes version of what was said:

• Changes to Supers will be available for all players, regardless of whether or not they purchase Forsaken
• Players who don’t purchase Forsaken, just won’t have access to thenew sub-classes and Supers
• Melee supers will now kill in two shots as opposed to three
• Shoulder charge will be a one-hit killer
• Tether will trigger much quicker
• Grenades and throwing knives will have their power boosted
• Stormtrance will be more lethal (F*** YES!)
• Hand cannons will kill in three taps, just as the gods intended

Sounds good! Destiny 2: Forsaken will be on September 4 for PC, PS4 and Xbox One.

Last Updated: August 8, 2018