New Destiny update balances all weapons, including Thorn, Gjallarhorn, shotguns

For some time, Destiny’s PvP mode, Crucible, has been about as balanced as a crane with a rhinoceros strapped to one side, and that’s putting it lightly. The recent addition of Trials of Osiris, a 3v3 elimination mode with tantalizing rewards on the line, further reinforced how unfair some weapons and perks were.

In an effort to address these and other concerns, Bungie will soon release the comprehensive update, Weapon Tuning 2.0. Rather than pick on Thorn or The Last Word one by one, designer Jon Weisneski wrote on the Destiny blog, the team elected to release a raft of changes at once. Those are (note: all changes are Crucible-specific unless otherwise indicated):

Auto Rifles:

Shorter damage falloff to emphasize mid-range combat

Increased base damage, reduced base stability, boosted PvE damage by 10 percent

Pulse Rifles:

High-armor opponents now require three precision bursts to kill (was two)

Reduced base stability, increased magazine size

Scout Rifles:

Increased base damage for medium to high rate of fire weapons

Increased magazine size, reduced hip fire accuracy, boosted PvE damage by five percent

Hand Cannons:

Shorter damage falloff to emphasize mid-range combat

Reduced accuracy and long-range aim assist

Reduced hip fire accuracy, magazine size and zoom (aiming now grants “more width in favor of depth”)

Shotguns:

Shot Package perk accuracy reduced by 30 percent, Rangefinder perk range reduced by 15 percent

Precision damage reduced by 10 percent, reduced PvE damage by 10 percent

Fusion Rifles:

Reduced range for slow charge, high impact weapons

Reduced speed of projectiles, requiring users to lead targets at longer range

Improved accuracy for short range weapons, reduced accuracy for long range weapons

Sniper Rifles:

Final Round perk will now only affect precision hits (unique to sniper rifles)

Rocket Launchers:

Grenades and Horseshoes perk proximity detonation range reduced

Increased blast radius

Exotic Weapons:

Hard Light: increased stability by 23 percent, increased ricochet count for projectiles, removed damage falloff

Necrochasm: increased stability, increased magazine size, Cursebringer perk always triggers on precision kills and deals increased damage over a wider radius

The Last Word: reduced range by 50 percent, reduced stability by 33 percent, reduced range while aiming, increased accuracy and aim assist while hip firing, fixed bugs with hip fire damage bonus

Thorn: Reduced damage of Mark of the Devourer DoT by roughly 66 percent, allow DoT to stack with multiple projectiles

Hawkmoon: limit Luck in the Chamber and Holding Aces to maximum two perks on a single round, increased magazine by two when Holding Aces is unlocked, Luck in the Chamber bonus reduced by three percent

Ice Breaker: increased round recharge time by three seconds

No Land Beyond: increased weapon handling (aim, ready and stow speed), improved sights, increased The Master time decay to eight seconds, increased The Master precision bonus by 20 percent

Black Hammer (not an exotic, but every bit as sought after): increased ammo inventory to 18, White Nail perk now pulls ammo from inventory

Lord of Wolves: tripled strength of recovery boost

Gjallarhorn: reduced strength of Wolfpack Rounds

In addition to these individual changes, Bungie has also reduced the base values for unspecified traits across multiple weapon classes. This change will come into play with the addition of new weapons in the upcoming Taken King expansion.

Original weapon perks such as Field Scout and Hammer Forged have also been nerfed to bring them in line with modern weapon talent grids. Similarly, future talent grids will be laid out in a way that promotes tradeoffs, allowing players to accentuate one stat to match their play style while still making meaningful sacrifices.

Moreover, Weisnewski and the team plan to be more vocal about weapon rebalancing in the future in order to more readily answer player concerns and, presumably, to prevent the sort of mob mentality that quickly sprung up around Trials of Osiris and Thorn.

Source [Destiny Blog]