Bungie has announced an update to the nerfs that will be applied to Destiny 2’s Still Hunt Exotic, reducing its damage even more than initially stated.
The Exotic Perk, Cayde’s Retribution, introduced in The Final Shape, enhances the Sniper Rifle by providing powerful Golden Gun shots when the Super bar is fully charged.
This feature will remain unchanged and the default damage of each Golden Gun shot will not be altered. The nerf is specifically aimed at reducing the damage dealt by each empowered round when Celestial Nighthawk is used in conjunction.
The combination, exclusively available to Hunters, played a crucial role in the competition to be the first team to successfully complete The Final Shape’s Salvation’s Edge Raid.
Despite players being aware of upcoming nerfs for weeks, Bungie confirmed in a July 22 post on Reddit that after thorough testing, they found it necessary to slightly decrease the damage of Golden Gun in order to balance it with other classes.
“The developer announced that there will be a 33% decrease in Still Hunt’s Golden Gun damage while using Celestial Nighthawk compared to its current functionality.”
Bungie had originally planned to nerf the combo’s damage by 25%
Despite a few concerns about the nerf being too severe, the general consensus was in support of Bungie’s decision.
“Despite the criticism, one reply defended the gun, stating that it will remain at the top of its class with the use of artifact mods. This person believed that some individuals simply fail to comprehend the concept of balance.”
Another user agreed, stating that the change was fair and pointing out that players can still easily build up a mini Super. Others echoed this sentiment, with one person even expressing their rare acceptance of a nerf. They believed that Still Hunt was an extreme outlier and the nerf was completely justified.
The impact of these changes on Destiny 2’s current PvE meta is yet to be determined. However, even if Still Hunt falls out of favor, Hunters still have numerous build options at their disposal. Outbreak Perfected is one viable choice, but players of Cayde-6 should also consider utilizing the Corrasion from Episode: Echoes Act 2.
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