[GameSpot] - Destiny 2 Is Making Big Changes To Auto Rifles, SMGs, And Machine Guns

[343iBot]

As part of its constantly-evolving design, a number of changes are on the way for Destiny 2's arsenal. Weapons will be getting tweaked once again in Season 17, with an emphasis on making auto rifles and pulse rifles more competitive at certain ranges, buffing machine guns, and some extreme changes for rocket launchers.

For auto rifles and pulse rifles, Bungie explained in its latest TWAB update that a number of granular tweaks will see these weapons perform better in mid-long range when compared to hand cannons and they will outrange standard zoom submachine guns. damage falloff distance has been increased slightly, and players who favor pulse rifles should find themselves needing to land a reduced number of critical hits on opponents in PvP.

For SMGs, some bigger changes are on the horizon. The variance in zoom between these weapons have been reduced and damage falloff distance has been increased in order to make SMGs more competitive in PvP. With these changes, the inaccessible SMG with highest perk or trait from a lucky RNG drop--Multimach--will compete less with auto rifles and it will no longer straight-up outclass every other SMG in PvP.

With changes to aerial combat on the horizon, Bungie is also fine-tuning precision hand cannons that have an Icarus Grip perk. Expect a massive switch from the huge airborne accuracy penalty reduction to a +25 Airborne Effectiveness stat once these changes kick in, as an example.

In the heavy weapons department, machine guns will gain an additional buff for when dealing with mobs of enemies. Bungie doesn't want these weapons to upend boss fights, but the general idea is that a machine gun will annihilate smaller enemies when used. The buff will be available for the Xenophage and Grand Overture machine guns, and will deal 40% more damage against PvE enemies and 20% against bosses.

Minor changes for swords include an increased charge rate stat of Sola's Scar from 20 to 50, and several inconsistencies in stat display between different swords are being addressed.

Lastly, rocket launcher subfamilies will feel more distinct. A marked tradeoff for the intrinsic tracking on precisions and a greater benefit for the other brands are being introduced. Precision rocket launchers will deal less 10% damage, high-impact weapons will still retain their massive blast radius trait, and an increase in damage will be added to adaptive and aggressive rocket launchers. You can check the link above for a more granular breakdown on upcoming weapon changes that Bungie has in store for Destiny 2.

Other changes on the horizon also include an overhaul of aerial combat, some massive buffs in the Exotic weapons category, and some big glaive adjustments to look forward to.

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