This week’s This Week at Bungie weblog submit is a monster—as is often the case when the studio breaks down the foremost weapon adjustments coming with a brand new Future 2 enlargement. There’s loads of floor coated, together with an in-depth have a look at the brand new weapon crafting system, however there’s additionally some main adjustments to the way in which weapons work in Yr 5.
Let’s begin with an absurd buff: all Unique major weapons are getting a 40% harm improve to minor enemies (ie, those with the pink well being bars).
That is going to be a significant deal for Grandmaster Nightfalls—at present the toughest content material Future 2 presents, the place pink bars hit arduous and might take an excellent few bullets to place down. Unique primaries will now be meaningfully higher on the job than their Legendary counterparts—weapons like Huckleberry, Vex Mythoclast and Trinity Ghoul are going to be absurd. Relying on how artefact mods shift the meta subsequent season, this might make for some troublesome choices as to which weapon slot will get your Unique—particularly now, with orb technology transferring to the armour slot, there is not any penalty for operating an Unique major that may’t but be masterworked with a catalyst.
Legendary weapons are additionally getting a significant rework, with the introduction of Origin Traits, an additional perk column that is decided by the place that weapon got here from. “Each weapon that’s new or returning in The Witch Queen can have an Origin Trait decided by its supply in a 3rd trait column,” writes Bungie, “together with all 42 new Legendary weapons and all returning Trials, Iron Banner, and Dusk weapons.”
The Trials of Osiris trait, as an illustration, is Alacrity, which is able to give a gun +20 reload, +20 stability, +10 goal help and +10 vary if you’re the final residing member of your fireteam, or should you’re operating solo—as an illustration in Rumble or Grasp Misplaced Sectors.
Dusk weapons get Gorgeous Restoration, the place gorgeous a Champion will partially refill your journal and set off each an prompt well being regeneration and a brief increase to restoration.
Relying on the supply, a weapon can have a number of Origin Traits too, you can swap between very like different perk columns. A Trials of Osiris weapon, as an illustration, will function each the Trials trait Alacrity and the Crucible trait One Quiet Second, which will increase reload pace when out of fight.
That is each a cool change and a sneaky one. It is cool as a result of I like the thought of weapons having some further persona. Earlier than sunsetting was launched (and, subsequently, itself sundown) there was an actual downside with new weapons not being fascinating since you already had older variations of their identical archetype. A 3rd perk column, locked to the exercise you earned a weapon from, may meaningfully change that.
There are 14 Origin Traits being added for The Witch Queen and the season that launches alongside it, which suggests Bungie is concentrating on extra than simply the core actions. We’ll seemingly see traits primarily based round new content material, particular seasons, and sure even raids, which means there’s loads of scope to increase and experiment in future seasons too.
It is a sneaky change as a result of it’s, successfully, the softest type of sunsetting (deprecating outdated weapons by capping their energy or potential), as a result of the traits will not be utilized retroactively. A model of a Dusk weapon you earn subsequent season can have extra utility than one you earned earlier than The Witch Queen. Very like when Forsaken added mods to weapons and most Yr 1 weapons fell out of use, this looks like a extra natural method to get gamers to go away behind among the god rolls they have been utilizing for over a yr.
One further advantage of Origin Traits is that weapon foundries are returning. The world loot pool—these weapons you earn from engrams that drop from enemies—is being changed with 12 new weapons primarily based round Yr 1’s foundry units, and have Origin Traits particularly associated to their respective foundry’s persona. Suros weapons, as an illustration, favour consistency, and so its trait, Suros Synergy, provides bonus dealing with and decreased flinch after reloading.
Initially solely Suros, Omolon, Häkke and Veist weapons are returning, however Bungie teases extra sooner or later: “You’ll be able to anticipate to see weapon foundries obtain new additions every season for the yr following The Witch Queen, with some enjoyable surprises thrown in later within the yr.” Know this: if among the Black Armory forge weapons return, I’ll lose my shit.
These Origin Traits are additionally seemingly the lacking piece of the puzzle introduced when Bungie revealed plans to maneuver orb technology from masterworked weapons to armour mods a few weeks in the past. Bungie has spoken earlier than about weapons having a “perk price range”, and that “unhealthy issues occur” when a weapon has too many perks. Orb technology counted in direction of that perk price range, so altering the way it works frees up the price range for these new traits. This, in fact, would not clear up the neighborhood’s downside with the earlier announcement: primarily that armour mod house is already at a premium, notably within the helmet slot the place ammo finder and concentrating on mods already stay.
The TWAB additionally reveals that, going ahead, kill trackers will probably be normal on all weapons—so actually the one advantage of masterworking a weapon going ahead would be the small stat buff it presents. “Now we have no particular plans for adjustments to Masterworking at this stage however will revisit it later,” Bungie says.
Bungie’s submit additionally particulars a number of particular buffs and nerfs to weapons and archetypes—Chaperone and Duality are each getting bopped on the nostril for being too robust in PvP, as an illustration. In the meantime, Lumina is getting some love, which, alongside the worldwide Unique major buff, is giving me some concepts for middle-tree photo voltaic assist builds subsequent season. There’s loads of small adjustments to dig into and begin theorycrafting round, so head on over to the TWAB post to see the complete checklist.
