Complete Guide to Weapon Buffs and Nerfs in Destiny 2: Episode Revenant

Episode Revenant is poised to introduce a significant array of buffs and nerfs to Destiny 2, so here’s a comprehensive rundown of every change you can expect to get ready for the monumental update.

As Echoes Act 3 concludes, Destiny’s next significant update will take center stage. This new content will include Tonics, artifact mods, and Vesper’s Host, an uncharted dungeon poised to host both a World First Race and Contest Mode.

Every new season typically features extensive balance adjustments, encompassing buffs and nerfs across various archetypes, Exotic Weapons, and weapon perks. These tweaks are crucial for keeping both the PvE and PvP metas dynamic and engaging, and this season’s modifications are among the most extensive we’ve witnessed.

Revenant Act 1 rolls out substantial buffs for Sniper Rifles, Shotguns, and all primary weapons. Furthermore, several underappreciated Exotics will finally take the spotlight, with weapons like The Huckleberry, Bad Juju, and The Prospector receiving notable enhancements.

The Huckleberry in Destiny 2 — Image source: Dexerto

With that in mind, here’s the complete list of buffs and nerfs coming in Destiny 2 Episode Revenant:

PvE Weapon Archetype Changes

All Primary Weapons

Rebalanced PvE damage to slightly favor critical hits.
- Critical hit damage has been increased by 5%-7% based on frame.
- Body shot damage has been reduced by 5%-7% based on frame.

Pulse Rifles

Heavy Burst (includes Graviton Lance and Revision Zero’s Heavy Burst)
- RPM increased from 300 to 324.
- PvE damage for Legendary weapons in this subclass decreased by 18%.
  - Graviton Lance and Revision Zero Heavy Burst mode damage reduced by 8%.

Sniper Rifles

Flinch against Combatants reduced by 50%.
Camera roll against players decreased by 10%.
Damage increased against:
- Minors – 60%
- Majors – 75%
- Minibosses – 35%
- Champions – 25%

Sword

Fixed an issue where perks altering magazine size sometimes displayed incorrect preview values.

Shotguns

Minimum damage after falloff increased from 0% to 40% against AI only.

Sidearms

Rocket-Assisted Sidearm
- Reserve ammo reduced by 25%.

Trace Rifles

Increased base (spawn and crate) PvP ammo from 25 to 29.

Machine Guns

High Impact
- Increased critical hit damage by 4%.

Grenade Launchers

Heavy Ammo Grenade Launchers
- Detonation damage against combatants decreased by 5%.
- Projectile impact damage globally increased.
- Overall damage in PvE remains constant, split between detonation and impact.
- In PvP, Heavy GLs now deal approximately 7% and 26% more impact damage based on the Blast Radius stat.
Rapid Fire Frame
- Increased impact and detonation damage by 7%.

PvP Weapon Archetype Changes

Buffs

Adaptive Submachine Guns
- Base Damage increased from 10.9 to 11.5.
  - Shortens body shot time-to-kill.
Precision Auto Rifles
- Base Damage increased from 19 to 19.4, Critical Hit Damage from 33.6 to 33.95.
  - Reduces the nerf they received in Destiny 2: Into the Light by approximately 50%.
High-Impact Auto Rifles
- Base Damage increased from 22 to 23, Critical Hit Damage from 40.1 to 41.4.
  - Improves forgiveness and range post-damage falloff.
Precision Hand Cannons
- Base Damage increased from 40.4 to 45.3, Critical Hit Damage from 70.25 to 70.2.
  - Decreases body shot time-to-kill.
Heavy Burst Hand Cannons
- Base Damage increased from 23.8 to 24, Critical Hit Damage from 49.6 to 52.8.
  - Enhances forgiveness and range post-damage falloff for better interaction with damage boosts.
Heavy Burst Pulse Rifles
- Critical Hit Damage increased from 41.95 to 42.55 (RPM increased to ~320).
  - Reduces optimal time-to-kill from 0.87s to 0.80s.
Aggressive Scout Rifles
- Critical Hit Damage increased from 91.1 to 91.8.
  - Enhances interaction with damage boosts.

Nerves

Adaptive Hand Cannons
- Base Damage decreased from 44.7 to 44.5, Critical Hit Damage from 80.3 to 80.1
  - Slightly reduces 3-tap range post-damage falloff (<1m).
Adaptive Auto Rifles
- Critical Hit Damage decreased from 26.5 to 26.25.
  - Reduces effectiveness against higher resilience tiers.
High-Impact Pulse Rifles
- Critical Hit Damage decreased from 40.1 to 39.6.
  - Lowers the resiliency threshold to force 6C instead of 5C1B to 5.

Exotic Weapons

Choir of One

Base reserves reduced from 250 to 200.
Max reserves reduced from 384 to 300.
Impact damage of the Point-Blank projectile decreased by 50%.
Increased hip-fire projectile damage against players by 10%.
Now starts with seven ammo in Crucible and gains seven from crates and ammo drops.

Huckleberry

Now fully reloads on kills. Catalyst replaced with Kinetic Tremors.

You raise him

When Ravenous Beast is active, gain damage resistance against incoming Solar damage.
- 50% against combatants, 15% against players.

Symmetry

Now gains a stack of Dynamic Charge on kills alongside precision hits.

Duality

Stacks for max effect reduced from 5 to 3. Buff duration extended from 7s to 10s.

Bad Juju

Lifetime of String of Curses increased from 3.5s base to 5.5s base; 7.5s with the catalyst. Magazine size increased from 27 to 36.

Ex Said

Direct hit damage against combatants increased by 33%.
Adjusted recoil and projectile for a flatter trajectory:
- Camera recoil from firing reduced by ~50%.
- Increased projectile velocity.
- Reduced projectile gravity.
+5 ammo in reserves.
Now spawns a moth on 2 direct hits.
Moth cooldown reduced from 4s to 3s, shared with the kill trigger.

Fighting Lion

Now spawns a volatile burst on direct hits.

Prospector

Now spawns three powerful cluster bombs on detonation, dealing significantly more damage over a larger area compared to before.
Removed sticky grenade, flame grenade, and remote detonation function.
Magazine size reduced to 6.
Bonus ammo reserves on the catalyst switched to +50 Reload speed.

Chaperone

Added the ability to trigger Roadborn with two rapid precision hits.
+20 stability, +25% reload speed with Roadborn active.
Base ammo reserves increased.

Light

Updated hip-fire projectiles to behave similarly to Support Auto Rifle healing shots.

Weapon Perks

Slice

Now functions correctly in Crucible.

Slideways

Can now be refreshed by sliding again after completing the initial slide.

Alloy Mag

Now boosts reload speed when the magazine is nearly empty.

Auto-Loading Holster

Reload time increased by one second for both base and enhanced.

Reconstruction

Time to start reloading increased by two seconds for both base and enhanced.

Master of Arms

Can now stack up to x2. x1 grants 15% damage for 7s, x2 grants 25% damage for 4s, and reverts to x1 once the timer expires.

Dawning Origin

Time limit between kills removed, now requires kills within one life instead of rapid succession.

Iron Reach, Iron Gaze, Iron Grip

Downside stat penalties reduced from -30 to -20 at base, and from -25 to -15 for the enhanced version.

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