In Destiny 2 Warlocks are challenging Titans’ reputation as the ultimate survivable tank. The reason is a revised Exotic. We’re introducing what you can now easily withstand in PvP.
This is the Exotic in question: The exotic chest armor Wings of Sacred Dawn has been available for Warlocks since the launch of Destiny 2. Originally, the Dawnblades could essentially hover in the air. Warlocks just had to aim with the weapon while gliding or jumping. Precise hits also extended the hovering.
Since the Dawning Season, this outdated Exotic has received a little update. In addition to the old abilities, the armor now has these features:
- Your precision is improved while in the air (most weapons in Destiny 2 become significantly less accurate while airborne)
- While hovering, you experience less flinch. Incoming hits won’t make you recoil as much.
- While in the air, you gain additional damage resistance.
Why is this Exotic suddenly so strong? An important factor for the strength of Wings of Sacred Dawn is the new damage reduction. You receive approximately 15% less damage from all conceivable sources.
In line with this, the Dawnblade in Destiny 2 has been revised. Like other Solar classes, the Warlock now has some new tricks up its sleeve. Specifically, the upper skill tree (Celestial Alignment) has been completely overhauled.
The focus of this alignment is now entirely on fighting in the air. You can among other things hover longer, there is a brand new melee attack at range, and kills in the air even grant melee energy.
Especially in the Crucible, the Dawnblade benefits particularly from the changes. With the buffed Exotic, you come out victorious in duels that were previously impossible to win.
Which weapons are less threatening in PvP?
In general, many weapons are now losing their bite against a hovering Warlock. The 15% less damage is noticeable everywhere. However, faster firing weapons like auto rifles or pulse rifles do not see such drastic changes.
Particularly weapons that rely on slow and precise hits now take significantly longer to take down hovering Warlocks. We have listed the most prominent examples that you will encounter in the Crucible. The damage numbers in parentheses correspond to the reduced damage.
These primary weapons are less dangerous:
- The Last Word – you can survive the otherwise deadly 3 headshots (58), and the usual 4 body shots (43) are also easily survived.
- 150 hand cannons – it is not enough here either, as the standard 3 headshots (58) won’t suffice. Even 5 body shots (36) are not enough to take you down. Examples of 150 hand cannons include Sunshot or since the adjustments Luna’s Howl.
- 140 hand cannons – once again, you survive the 3 headshots, but the usual 5 body shots can still kill you. An example of a 140 hand cannon is the Pika.
- Dorn – whether without or with poison buff (6), you survive one shot longer. This means that your opponent can no longer escape after 3 critical hits, and you die from the poison.
- Sturm – the combination of an overloaded shot (138) and a body shot (43) is no longer a threat to you.
These special weapons are less dangerous:
- Rapid-fire sniper rifles – two quick body shots (86) are no longer lethal for you. Among these snipers is for example the Dämmerbruch-Schwur.
- Shotguns – Guardians using shotguns now need to get closer to you. Instead of the 8-9 meters, the aggressive shotguns are now deadly only from about 7-7.5 meters away.
- The Chaperone – The exo shotgun is now dangerous only from about 11 meters instead of the roughly 12 meters.
These power weapons are less dangerous:
- Heavy grenade launchers – even direct hits with proximity grenades (179) are not strong enough to stop the Warlock tank.
- Swords – a simple hit from a sword (192) is no longer lethal. However, this applies only from 6 resilience.
- Heavy machine guns – Famous MGs like the Hammerhead now require 6 critical hits (35) or even 8 body shots (25). This means your opponent now needs one more projectile in any case.
Not only weapons lose their bite
In the PvP of Destiny, not only weapons are used for combat. Guardians possess very powerful special abilities. We introduce which abilities against Warlocks with the Wings of Sacred Dawn are now at a disadvantage.
These abilities are less dangerous:
- Close combat hits – The standard strike no longer kills you in 2 hits (85).
- Hunter’s throwing knives – The recently buffed throwing knife from the gunslinger can no longer take you out with a single hit (180).
- Titan shoulder charge – You shrug off both Arc and Void close-combat hits without a problem. Only the Solar shoulder charge remains an instant kill.
These supers are less dangerous:
- Arcstrider – The light attack (175) of the Hunter super is not enough to kill you.
- Spectral Blade – The same applies here, a normal attack (175) is not deadly for you.
- Striker Titan – Even in its super, the Arc Titan cannot take you down with a shoulder charge (175).
- Sentinel Titan – Neither a light shield bash (175), nor a thrown shield (176) can take down the hovering Warlock.
Check out this video of Drewsky exploring the potential of the Warlock Exotic “Wings of Sacred Dawn”:
What do you think of the Warlock as a tank – did you think that even supers wouldn’t end fatally anymore? Will you give the revised Exotic a chance in PvP?
