Forgot password
Enter the email address you used when you joined and we'll send you instructions to reset your password.
If you used Apple or Google to create your account, this process will create a password for your existing account.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Reset password instructions sent. If you have an account with us, you will receive an email within a few minutes.
Something went wrong. Try again or contact support if the problem persists.
Category:
News

New Destiny 2 Sniper Rifle Nerfs Result In Major Community Backlash

Some changes are good - others, not so much.
Image of Liana Ruppert
Liana Ruppert
|

Published: Feb 24, 2020 04:10 pm

This article is over 4 years old and may contain outdated information

Some changes in games are good, others – not so much. The recent Destiny 2 sniper rifle nerfs definitely fall into the latter category, at least if you’re going by fan reaction alone. There are many amazing snipers in Destiny 2, some are pretty darn hard to get, which makes the damage they do much more satisfying. Unfortunately, that damage has just been decreased among other recent changes. 

Recommended Videos

We saw incredible buffs with the last two seasons and expansions of Destiny 2, including the famous Izanagi’s Burden advantage. Fun, but not meant to last forever because Bungie is now in the process of setting back a lot of recent buffs for this particular weapon type, including up to 20% weapon damage reduction across all snipers as well as nerfs to certain modifiers and range. 

Many took to Reddit to air out their grievances and the initial pushback has seen massive support across all social media. Many cite the nerfs as a major combat design issue, stating that many of the high-tiered enemies are not designed for close-quarter combat. Ranged weapons play a key factor, especially in raids, and limiting an entire class of weaponry this drastically has the potential to turn the entire meta on its head. 

For those needing a little catching up, here are all of the proposed changes in prep for the season ahead, according to Bungie: 

Izanagi’s Burden
Since the removal of auto-reload effects from Rally Barricade and Lunafaction Boots, as well as the introduction of a catalyst for Izanagi’s Burden, it’s seen a significant uptick in use. Izanagi’s Burden solidified itself within the majority of endgame builds due to its excellent burst damage, sustained damage, ammo economy due to Special ammo, and safety due to being a Sniper Rifle. The Outlaw trait was swapped out for No Distractions to be more in-line with the fantasy of the weapon and to ensure the trait on the weapon would still work with Honed Edge.
    • The animation speed of Honed Edge is no longer affected by the reload stat
    • Outlaw has been replaced with No Distractions
Sniper Rifles
We gave Sniper Rifles an increase in PvE damage back in Shadowkeep. We’re removing that change for a few reasons. Sniper Rifles have a lot of utility and safety due to their range and the increased damage was giving them too much of a leg-up on their closer range counterparts. That gulf only widens as the difficulty of any given encounter goes up. The direct changes to Adaptive and Rapid-Fire Snipers were to make the differences in the sub-archetypes more impactful again as well as to give some amount of parity with the adjustments to Shotguns and Fusion Rifles.
    • Damage to Major enemies and above have been reduced to pre-Shadowkeep values (~-20%).
    • Adaptive Snipers precision multiplier has been reduced from 3.25x to 2.95x.
    • Rapid-Fire Snipers base impact has been reduced from 100 damage to 90 damage.

While the damage changes are super unrealistic, that’s a lot of changes to the core reasons why people opt for a sniper option in the first place. With the rising backlash against the upcoming changes and many sites reporting on the potential damage this could do to the meta, it’s unclear if Bungie is going to shift their plans or not. Personally, I hope they do. I love my Izanagi’s Burden and my Whisper and I love how they operate. 

Post Tag:
Destiny 2
Prima Games is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy
related content
Author
Image of Liana Ruppert
Liana Ruppert
With an arguably unhealthy obsession with Dragon Age and Mass Effect, Liana is wildly passionate about all things in the gaming community. From shooters, to RPGs, if it's out - she's playing it. A medically retired US Sailor and now full-time hoarder of gaming collectibles, Liana's passion for everything in the gaming industry is palpable. Also, if you lose her in a crowd, just casually mention any BioWare game and the crazy pterodactyl screech will without a doubt follow. You can follow her on Twitter @DirtyEffinHippy or email her for editorial inquiries at [email protected]!