Destiny 2 Hunters may have to retire Celestial Nighthawk after brutal nerf

Since the debut of The Final Shape, the combination of Celestial Nighthawk and Still Hunt for Hunters has stood out as the most dominant in the Destiny 2 PvE meta. While recent adjustments have weakened the effectiveness of this combo, they may have been more severe than initially thought.

The original concern was initially raised in a Reddit post, where a player reported that the Celestial Nighthawk was now granting a mere 2.5% boost to the base damage of Still Hunt Golden Gun. This was a significant decrease from the previous increase of approximately 53% prior to the implementation of the nerfs.

Still Hunt damage Numbers byu/RealFake666 inDestinyTheGame

The figures they provided in full are as follows:

Still Hunt without Celestial:
- 309,789

Pre Nerf Still Hunt with Celestial:
- 473,583 (~53% more)

Post Nerf Still Hunt with Celestial:
- 317,265 (~2.5% more)

Still Hunt without Celestial:
- 71,216 + 103,264 + 135,310 = 309,790
Still Hunt with Celestial
- 317,265 – Celestial + Still Hunt (+2.5%)

Regardless, the equivalent amount of damage being dealt is sufficient evidence to prove that the recent nerfs have been extremely harsh. Although having the ability to deal high damage in one shot with Celestial Nighthawk is beneficial, there could be instances where using this combination may not be the most effective strategy.

To give credit to Bungie, the numbers mentioned above do indeed equal the 33% nerf that was promised to players. While the disparity in damage output has become more noticeable, the overall decrease in damage is still in line with the expected amount.

The damage output of Still Hunt remains impressive overall, indicating that it will likely continue to be a valuable asset in raids and other challenging PvE activities. The role of the Snipers Meditation artifact should also be considered, as it enhances Still Hunt’s effectiveness against Barrier champions for the community.