Destiny 2 Renegades: Full Ability Changes Breakdown
▼ Summary
– Destiny 2’s Renegades expansion launches on December 2, bringing players back to Mars with new activities, gear, and quality-of-life updates.
– Bungie has released the final sandbox preview for Renegades, focusing on ability changes aimed at buffing player abilities.
– Hunters receive significant ability buffs, including damage increases for Golden Gun, Blade Barrage, and melee abilities across multiple subclasses.
– Warlocks and Titans also see ability adjustments, such as damage boosts for Daybreak and Nova Warp, and new mechanics for Sentinel Shield and Hammer Throw.
– General ability changes include grenade improvements, fragment stat adjustments, and updates to Invisibility and Overshield visuals for better Crucible balance.
With the highly anticipated Destiny 2 Renegades expansion launching next week, Bungie has unveiled the final piece of its sandbox preview, focusing entirely on ability tuning. This comprehensive update aims to significantly boost player power across all classes, introducing a wealth of changes designed to refresh the gameplay experience. Players can expect a return to Mars, the new Lawless Frontier activity, Blasters, and an array of exotic gear alongside these foundational ability adjustments.
The development team has clarified that the primary objective for this update is specifically buffing player abilities, a directive reflected in nearly every change detailed below.
Hunter Ability Updates
For Gunslingers wielding Solar light, substantial improvements are on the way. Golden Gun: Deadshot and Six Shooter will see a 15% damage increase against standard enemies and a massive 26% boost versus bosses. These projectiles will now apply Scorch, and when fired from within a Well of Radiance, they will benefit from the Radiant damage buff. Blade Barrage receives an even larger 39% damage increase against all combatants. Melee knives like Proximity Explosive Knife and Knife Trick get a 50% damage buff against red-bar foes and a 36% increase against other enemies. The Acrobat’s Dodge class ability will have its passive energy regeneration in PvE more than doubled.
Void Nightstalkers gain impactful upgrades to their Shadowshot Supers. Deadfall will now attach to enemies on direct hit, increases its Weaken effect to 35%, and immediately weakens and suppresses targets in an area upon impact. Moebius Quiver sees its base duration extended from 10 to 16 seconds, with damage building on successive shots. Smoke Bomb adjustments include a longer surface-stick time but reduced potency in player-versus-player encounters.
Arcstriders will notice a 25% increase in passive energy regeneration for Storm’s Edge. The Tempest Strike Aspect, however, will have its player damage reduced. Stasis Revenants will find that Shatterdive now grants Frost Armor when shattering crystals or frozen enemies, and the Silence and Squall Super receives a colossal 63% damage buff. Strand Threadrunners get quality-of-life improvements for Widow’s Silk, allowing allies to use Grapple Tangles, and the Silkstrike Super gains both energy regeneration and damage resistance.
For all Hunter subclasses, the Marksman’s Dodge ammo pickup radius is expanded, while Gambler’s Dodge sees a reduction in melee energy refunded in PvP.
Warlock Ability Updates
Solar Dawnblades will find their Daybreak Super deals 20% more damage and its projectiles now apply Scorch by default. Voidwalkers using Nova Warp will find its primary attack pulls enemies inward and deals increased damage, while the Vortex Nova Bomb continuously pulls enemies into its center.
Arc Stormcallers benefit from a higher maximum damage bonus for Stormtrance and a 20% damage increase for Chaos Reach. The Ionic Sentry Aspect no longer blinds the user upon creation. Stasis Shadebinders will see a dramatic 210% increase in Winter’s Wrath’s shatterwave damage against frozen targets, though Frostpulse’s freeze radius in PvP is reduced. Strand Broodweavers can rely on Needlestorm to intelligently prioritize high-value targets like bosses and Champions.
A universal change for Warlocks is significant: Healing and Empowering Rifts can now be cast while moving at a reduced speed, and their radius has been increased. The Empowering Rift also boosts melee and grenade recharge rates.
Titan Ability Updates
Solar Sunbreakers will notice that their Hammer Throw melee impact damage now scales with distance traveled. Void Sentinels gain new utility with their Sentinel Shield, which now periodically reloads weapons for allies standing behind it and grants them a Void Overshield. Arc Strikers will find that light attacks during Fists of Havoc increase the damage of the subsequent heavy attack. For Stasis Behemoths, using Howl of the Storm during their Super consumes more energy. Strand Berserkers will see the Banner of War Aspect’s player damage bonus now scale with stacks rather than being consistently at full power.
General Ability Changes Across Elements
Several grenades and fragments have been rebalanced. Void Suppressor Grenades no longer affect the user and have increased detonation damage, while Spike Grenades now attach to enemies. Key Void Fragments have had their stat penalties reduced or removed. The visual effects for Invisibility in PvP have been made slightly more noticeable, and Overshield visuals now reflect their remaining health.
Arc Lightning Grenades now attach to combatants, and Flashbang Grenades no longer blind the user while also receiving a damage increase. For Strand, Threadlings that lose their target will now land and seek a new enemy rather than detonating uselessly.
Bungie will continue the Renegades discussion with a new ViDoc and the full launch trailer during its developer stream. A brief version of the trailer has already appeared online. These ability changes represent a significant shift in power for Guardians, setting the stage for a transformed combat experience when the expansion arrives.
(Source: The Game Post)
