Destiny 2 Patch Notes January 14: Graviton Lance Nerf, SMG Buffs, Guitar Error Fix, and More Updates

The newest update for Destiny 2 is now available, bringing significant balance adjustments to the game’s sandbox. Among the most notable changes is a substantial nerf to the Exotic weapon, Graviton Lance, which has dominated the Player versus Player (PvP) landscape for several months.

Bungie’s decision to reduce Graviton Lance’s fire rate from 324 rounds per minute (RPM) to 300 RPM aims to restore balance to the game. This adjustment mirrors the weapon’s performance prior to the Episode Revenant content drop.

Interestingly, the developers indicated that Graviton Lance was particularly overwhelming in lower and mid-skill lobbies, while its impact in high-skill matches was less severe. Although its effectiveness in Player versus Environment (PvE) modes was acknowledged, it was not the primary concern driving this nerf.

The Graviton Lance in Destiny 2. — dexerto

The reduction in Graviton Lance’s fire rate will notably impact its time-to-kill (TTK) in The Crucible, making it less competitive compared to other available options.

Update 8.1.53 introduced numerous other adjustments beyond Graviton Lance, affecting various Exotic weapons, archetypes, and perks throughout the game.

Patch Notes for Destiny 2 Update 8.1.5.3

Activity Changes

Crucible Updates

General Fixes:

Resolved an issue where certain ability kills could improperly generate Special ammo bricks.

Dungeons & Raids Enhancements

Vesper’s Host:

Raneiks Unified:
- Fixed a bug where the Hunter’s Shadowshot Super caused the encounter to crash.
- Decreased the number of active servitors during DPS phases.
- Adjusted boss health to balance out the servitor reductions.
Infiltration:
- Corrected an issue that allowed nuclear cores during traversal to be exploited outside encounters.

Gameplay Mechanics and Investments

Exotic Armor Adjustments

Titan Changes:

Stoicism:
- Reduced healing impulse when using Thruster to 30 HP.
Crest of Alpha Lupi:
- Decreased the Thruster healing impulse to 60 HP.

Warlock Changes:

Ballidorse Wrathweavers:
- Fixed a damage scaling issue with frozen targets affected by Winter’s Wrath.
Mantle of Battle Harmony:
- Resolved an issue where its perk could unnecessarily extend duration during Song of Flame.
Stormdancer’s Brace:
- Fixed a refund energy issue when in Transcendence during Stormtrance Super.

Hunter Adjustments:

Celestial Nighthawk:
- Corrected a bug where Golden Gun was incorrectly benefiting from Super recharge enhancements while equipped with Celestial Nighthawk.

General Fixes:

Fixed missing “Iron Lord’s Pride” intrinsic perk on the “Iron Intent” armor set.
Addressed issues with applying Solar Weapon Boost x4 across various Exotics.

Weapon Adjustments

Changes to Weapon Archetypes:

Sidearms:
- Increased body shot damage from 30 to 33.
- Critical hit damage increased from 48 to 52.8.
Submachine Guns:
- Magazine size increased by 10-15%, depending on the weapon’s stats.
Pulse Rifles:
- High-Impact models now require six critical hits to achieve optimal damage at higher resilience levels.
- Body shot damage reduced from 22 to 21.5, and critical damage from 39.6 to 38.7.
- ADS damage falloff scalar decreased from 1.7 to 1.6.
Auto Rifles:
- Increased body shot damage from 13.5 to 13.6.
- Increased critical hit damage from 23 to 23.1.

Perk Adjustments

Skulking Wolf (Iron Banner Origin Trait): Now operates in PvE, reducing enemies’ accuracy when targeting you.
Target Lock: Reset to settings prior to Update 7.3.5 for Submachine Guns.

Exotic Weapon Changes

Graviton Lance: Fire rate reverted back to 300 RPM.
Ace of Spades: Resolved an issue in which the Firefly perk caused Kinetic damage instead of Solar damage.

Platforms and Systems Fixes

Addressed audio issues that caused disruptions during specific cinematics.
Resolved server instability, reducing the frequency of #Guitar errors across various activities.

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