Future 2 Season 20 weapon tuning to nerf Linear Fusion Rifles & buff Heavy Grenade Launchers


The upcoming weapon steadiness may also see Kinetic weapons and Machine Weapons getting a buff whereas extra Exotics get Subclass 3.0 verbs.

Future 2: Lightfall is shortly approaching. Not solely does it deliver a brand new marketing campaign, raid, construct crafting and a number of different options, it additionally marks a shift within the weapon meta. Bungie has given gamers a preview of what adjustments they’ll count on to reach in Season 20, together with changes to Energy weapons, Kinetic weapon injury modifiers, and Unique weapons.

Future 2 Season 20 weapon tuning

In a publish on February 1, 2023, Bungie provided a short take a look at among the weapon tuning that can be launched alongside the launch of Future 2’s subsequent main growth, Lightfall. It ought to come as no shock that Linear Fusion Rifles had been the primary weapons to be addressed. These Energy weapons have dominated the endgame expertise for a few 12 months because of their ammo financial system, injury, and perk choices.

Taipan-4FR with Firing Line perk highlighted
Taipan was as soon as the go-to choice for boss DPS. With the bevy of nerfs incoming, it may fall from grace.
Supply: Shacknews

Aside from Unique Heavy Linear Fusion Rifles, LFRs can be receiving a nerf throughout the board of 15 % to their injury. Furthermore, the Veist Stinger perk – which noticed Taipan-4FR skyrocket in use – will now solely reload 25 % of the journal as an alternative of your complete factor. This could make different Linears extra interesting to make use of, like Fireplace and Neglect or Cataclysmic.

The publish does observe that Sleeper Simulant and The Queenbreaker can be unaffected by this modification. The opposite profit Legendary LFRs provided was that gamers may use an Unique within the different weapon slot, like Arbalest, which had excessive injury and anti-Champion results. It’s unlikely that customers will go for an Unique within the Energy slot until its injury far outweighs the advantage of one other weapon – or if it supplies some crew profit like Gjallarhorn or Tractor Cannon.

Sleeper Simulant with perks displayed in inventory
Sleeper Simulant can be unaffected by the LFR nerfs.
Supply: Shacknews

As for what you would possibly use within the Energy weapon slot, it could possibly be a Rocket Launcher or Heavy Grenade Launcher come Lightfall. Heavy GLs will obtain a 20 % injury bump, improved projectile collision, and a blast radius improve. With Wendigo-GL3 developing for farming in Grandmaster Nightfalls, and its wealth of damage-boosting perks, we may see GLs return to the highest spot like with Season of Opulence.

Nevertheless, these buffs might not be sufficient to make them compete with the at the moment robust Rocket Launcher meta. Proper now, Bump within the Night time is proving to be monstrously efficient with Warlocks, and that’s earlier than the boosts of Gjallarhorn.

One other huge change coming with Season 20 is a rise to Kinetic weapon injury. A weapon on this slot with Major-type ammo can have its injury multiplier elevated to 1.1 from 1.05 whereas Particular-type ammo will improve to 1.15 from 1.05. Stasis-type weapons will lose the intrinsic 5 % injury bonus Kinetic weapons deal to unshielded targets in PVE.

Izanagi's Burden with Exotic catalyst highlighted
Izanagi’s Burden’s injury output is big and it could possibly be the go-to choice when the Kinetic buff drops.
Supply: Shacknews

What all of this implies is we may see a Kinetic weapon and Rocket Launcher meta much like what we’ve got now. Witherhoard, regardless of its nerf, stays a superb set and neglect weapon, particularly for Starfire Protocol customers. As Saltagreppo factors out, Izanagi’s Burden is likely to be the following champion if it receives the Kinetic weapon increase. Alternatively, Quicksilver Storm is being barely up to date for Lightfall whereas Revision Zero has spectacular DPS with its Fourth Time’s the Attraction catalyst.

The one different wild card in all of that is Machine Weapons. Thunderlord popped off throughout Season of Plunder with its Unique catalyst and now Bungie is tweaking the ammo-spewing beasts. Machine Weapons will obtain a roughly 10 % injury increase and have the reserve ammo upped by 10 to 50 % primarily based on a Machine Gun’s base ammo rely.

Corrective Measure with Subsistence
The rise to Machine Gun reserves may see them develop into extra common, although, whether or not that interprets to raised DPS choices for Day One raids stays to be seen.
Supply: Shacknews

Bungie additionally went into element about a number of Exotics that may be receiving subclass 3.0 verbs. These verbs (scorch, suppress, blind and so on) will enable the weapons to work together with builds in new methods. The publish notes that equipping Ember of Ashes will increase the quantity of scorch stacks when an Unique makes use of the scorch verb.

  • The Queenbreaker – pictures now chain to close by enemies and makes use of Arc 3.0 blind
  • Ruinous Effigy – Transmutation sphere slams now suppress enemies
  • The Leviathan’s Breath – Risky on good draw, Champion injury elevated by 30 %
  • One Thousand Voices – Every explosion now applies 10 scorch stacks
  • Sunshot – Explosion on kill applies 10 scorch
  • Polaris Lance – Good Fifth now applies 40 scorch stacks
  • Two-Tailed Fox – Photo voltaic rockets apply 60 scorch, void rocket suppresses, the catalyst will add one other verb
  • Prometheus Lens – Incandescent added to catalyst
  • Grand Overture – Catalyst makes use of Arc 3.0 Blind

There’s a variety of data to unpack right here nevertheless it’s price studying, particularly in case you’re making ready for Lightfall by gathering Unique catalysts, weapon patterns, or farming GMs. Maintain it locked to Shacknews as we proceed to cowl Future 2, together with data on the weapon meta, upcoming balances, and extra. Our Future 2 technique information has invaluable data that can assist you in your approach.

Guides Editor

Hailing from the land down below, Sam Chandler brings a little bit of the southern hemisphere aptitude to his work. After bouncing spherical a number of universities, securing a bachelor diploma, and getting into the online game trade, he is discovered his new household right here at Shacknews as a Guides Editor. There’s nothing he loves greater than crafting a information that can assist somebody. Should you need assistance with a information, or discover one thing not fairly proper, you possibly can Tweet him: @SamuelChandler