Destiny 2 Season 18 Will See Big Nerfs Made To Popular PvP Exotics Lord of Wolves And Omnioculus

Season 18 of Destiny 2 arrives in a few weeks, and while Bungie is still keeping details on the theme of its next quarter a secret, the studio has revealed more information about its plans for weapon-tuning. The main focus is to buff under-utilized weapon archetypes, boost multiple perks, and to nerf certain Exotic weapons that have been too dominant in PvP and Trials of Osiris.

When it comes to major Exotic reworks, Lord of Wolves, Dead Man’s Tale , Collective Obligation, and Omnioculus are getting substantial tweaks that are mostly focused on PvP. Lord of Wolves, a very popular PvP shotgun currently, will have its starting ammo decreased to 10 rounds–two bursts, essentially–and the burst size from the Release the Wolves perk has dropped from 10 rounds to five. The burst delay has been reduced by 60% for this perk to compensate, but base damage has also been reduced. In PvE, Lord of Wolves will now do 20% extra damage.

Dead Man’s Tale is being fine-tuned to serve as a “hip-firing cowboy rifle” fantasy, which will see an increased focus on shooting quicker from the hip. The main perk, Cranial Spike, will no longer buff damage against players, but an increase in reload speed, aim assist, and range will be added for each Cranial Spike stack. The extra damage buff will remain for PvE activities, and upon reaching max stacks of Cranial Spike, the catalyst will increase the rate of fire for hip-firing, but with 20% reduced damage per bullet.

Stasis fragment Whisper of Chains’ perks will be easier to activate and more effective in PvE. Bungie has increased the Void Leech timer Exotic perk to 15 seconds in PvE activities and kept it at 10 seconds for PvP. The cooldown has also been removed, a 20% damage bonus against PvE combatants while Void Leech is active has been added, and it will take fewer hits to fully charge the Void Leech ability. Additionally, kills against debuffed targets will instantly charge Void Leech or your Guardian has been affected by Void debuffs.

For Exotic armor, damage resistance used by the Hunter gear Omnioculus in PvP has been substantially reduced, Whisper of Chains will also provide less resistance. In PvE, damage resistance will remain unchanged. Looking ahead to the future, Bungie has a number of other changes lined up for weapons, such as making trace rifles easier to use, reducing the ability of snipers to shoot through flinch in PvP, and making glaives even more useful with some Exotic armors that buff melees. For a more granular breakdown, you can click through to the link that’ll take you to this week’s Bungie blog post.

According to Bungie, in PvE activities, scout rifles will be buffed for PvE activities with a 10% damage increase against minor enemies, high-impact auto rifles will gain increased stability, lightweight bows will be able to hit perfect critical damage shots more easily, and heavy grenade launchers will do increased damage against yellow-bar major enemies.

Elsewhere in the Exotic department, Bungie plans to add anti-Champion functionality to several weapons. Le Monarque, Thunderlord, and Malfeasance will gain intrinsic Overload, while the Wish-Ender bow will gain intrinsic anti-barrier properties for its ammo. Players can also expect buffs for Legend of Acrius, Sweet Business, and Fighting Lion.

Season 18 of Destiny 2 will officially begin on August 23 with a showcase event. Bungie is keeping its cards close to its chest, but the next decay-themed subclass for the upcoming Lightfall expansion may have leaked early already. If you’re looking to grab some great loot this weekend, you can also check in tomorrow to see where Xur is and what rewards will be on offer in Trials of Osiris.