Published , by Sam Chandler
Published , by Sam Chandler
Big sandbox changes are coming to Destiny 2 with the release of The Final Shape. Today, Bungie outlined the adjustments to the various subclasses across the game. There are some minor improvements for many abilities however the main focus for players of this upcoming tuning is going to be the dramatic changes to Well of Radiance, Ward of Dawn, and Strand Grapple.
Let’s start with the big two: Well of Radiance and Ward of Dawn. Bungie is pushing these two Supers further apart, making Well more offensive focused and Ward more of a defensive option. Well of Radiance’s damage reduction and healing has been gutted but it now grants radiant for 8 seconds after leaving it. The inverse is true for Ward, with Weapons of Light being removed from the Super and applied to Helm of Saint-14. Armor of Light is now an immediate Void Overshield for those inside the bubble and a steadily charging overshield for anyone nearby. Both Supers can now generate more Orbs of Light, too.
On the Strand front, big changes are coming with Grapple. One of the best damage strategies in the game at the moment is a Berserker Titan grappling to a Tangle and using two shotguns and its melee. Bungie believes that using a single attack type back-to-back is not interesting or healthy gameplay. To curb this behaviour, Grapple Tangles no longer fully refresh and instead will increase their duration per Grapple on a decreasing basis.
As for Strand Titans, there will now be diminishing returns when utilizing Banner of War together with Exotic armor that boosts melee damage. Add to this a 20 percent reduction in the uptime of Banner of War and Berserker Titans will more in-line with other classes.
Players have long been waiting for a Stasis tuning and this preview delivers. The icy element is getting an overhaul in the form of Frost Armor and changes to Fragments. Frost Armor is a stacking buff that reduces incoming damage. By speccing into the ability, players can increase how many stacks they receive and how long it lasts. One of the ways to gain Frost Armor is to collect Stasis shards, which Bungie is also making easier to generate through various Fragment changes.
Whisper of Chains will now grant a chance to create a Stasis shard when you defeat a target while you have Frost Armor, while Whisper of Fractures and Torment have also been adjusted. There will be two new fragments in the form of Whisper of Chill which has a chance to generate Stasis shards on Stasis weapon final blows and Whisper of Reversal which slows your attacker (or victim) when you take or deal physical melee damage while you have Frost Armor.
There are a host of other adjustments coming as well. The three Stasis subclasses will be tweaked in The Final Shape, too. While Warlocks have remained basically untouched, Hunters and Titans can enjoy several quality-of-life improvements to their kits. Bungie hasn’t forgotten about Arc, Solar, and Void either with underperforming abilities being lifted up like Disorienting Blow, Stormcaller Super, Thunderclap, and more.
Take some time today to read over the entire post on Bungie’s site. It is full of information that will help you better prepare for The Final Shape. Stay tuned to Shacknews as we bring you more content in the lead up to and after the release of Destiny 2’s next major expansion.