Destiny 2 recently nerfed the strongest Hunter Exotic, Star Eater Scales. However, after an initial outcry, clever players discovered that there was also a substantial hidden buff. But that won’t last long.
This is the situation surrounding the Star Eater Scales: What a back and forth regarding the new Hunter Exotic Star Eater Scales from the ongoing Season 14. Initially rated highly, this new exotic leg armor quickly proved to be the best armor Exotic for the Hunter by far in practice. In short: The Star Eater Scales
- provided the highest damage buff for Supers in the game
- also strengthened your weapons
- could even heal you and provide a shield
In principle, they overshadowed all other armor Exotics with ease. This seemed too powerful to many – including Bungie. First, the boots were disabled for the first 24 hours of the raid, followed by a nerf:
- The bonus damage for weapons has since been removed
- You now need 8 instead of 4 orbs (regardless of size) to unleash the full effects of the Exotic. An orb now only fills half of the maximum 4 stacks of Feast of Light.
The nerf didn’t please everyone, and there was plenty of complaining – guardians should never feel powerful. But then some players discovered in further tests that with the latest Update 3.2.0.2, there was apparently not just a nerf for the Star Eater Scales.
Star Eater Scales still don’t work properly
What is the hidden buff about? As the tests revealed, the exotic Hunter leg armor was also buffed – significantly. Previously, the Super was only boosted by 60%, but now with full 4 stacks, the buff after the “nerf” is a full 90% and stacks with Super-boosting effects such as the Hunter’s “Mobius Quiver” perk. And that is enormous.
Just to put it in perspective: The lower skill tree of the Gunslinger Hunter now deals almost 80% more damage than with the exotic helmet Celestial Nighthawk – an Exotic specifically designed for the Hunter’s Golden Gun Super.
That many guardians found great, and could now overlook the cuts from the nerf calmly. But the problem is: Not a single word of this was mentioned in the official patch notes. And there is a reason for that.
This is what Bungie says: This secret change has been widely and thoroughly discussed in several Reddit threads. Cozmo23, a community manager at Bungie, spoke up and explained about the hidden buff:
- The bad news is: it is a bug and it will be fixed in the future.
- The good news is: They intend to keep the damage at full stacks higher than it was before the nerf update 3.2.0.2
- There are no concrete numbers yet. But 8 stacks (or orbs, since currently, there are a maximum of 4 stacks and one orb fills half of that) are supposed to bring more than the original 60% additional damage but less than the current 90%.
In summary: The controversially discussed Exotic still doesn’t have its final form and will only function as it should with an upcoming update (hopefully). When exactly the fix will come is currently still unknown. However, you can still benefit from the 90% Super buff through the Star Eater Scales.
What do you think about the Star Eater Scales after the nerf? Are they okay as they are, or do you think they really need another adjustment? Let us and other readers of MeinMMO know in the comments.
