Destiny 2 finally shows how to nerf Exotics properly – How good is Hard Light still

In Destiny 2, a weapon recently dominated the entire PvP – Bungie then pulled the emergency brake and nerfed the exotic Hard Light. How does the once OP weapon stand now and which alternatives should you try?

Which weapon is being discussed here? The exotic Hard Light tyrannized the PvP of Destiny 2 since the launch of Season 10. The culprit was a series of general buffs for auto rifles and a number of adjustments for the Destiny classic itself.

With all the well-intentioned changes, Bungie overshot the mark and created a monster. Soon, not only one Guardian was armed with Hard Light in every match, but almost everyone played this OP exotic.

This is why the exotic was so strong: The reasons for the dominance and popularity were these abilities of Hard Light:

• No damage drop-off – meaning the bullets still dealt maximum damage even at the other end of the map
• The “bullets” are ricochet projectiles that bounce off walls, edges, and all hard surfaces – doubling the damage in the process
• A patch removed the strong screen shake caused by the exotic when shooting
• The stats impress with maximum aim assist and recoil direction – thanks to the catalyst, stability is also maxed out

The overall package and the generally increased damage of auto rifles led to some Guardians preferring a specific playstyle: They simply fired wildly into all corridors, with the flying projectiles also hitting behind cover.

Additionally, with the new strong TTK in combination with the theoretically infinite range and outstanding stats, no gun was a serious competitor. Against almost any other weapon, whether in close or long-range, Hard Light was the superior answer.

This nerf hit the tyrant: On April 29, Bungie released patch 2.8.1.1, which aimed to put an end to the terror of Hard Light.

The patch notes stated:

• The damage drop-off of Hard Light now starts at 0.7 x (auto rifles typically start at 0.5 x).
• Different ricochet bonus damage between PvE and PvP:
  • PvE damage remains at 2.0 x damage
  • PvP damage is now at 1.35 x damage
• A hidden recoil adjustment that made the weapon more stable than intended was removed.

We take a look at how the changes impact gameplay and why the patch is seen as a ray of hope in Bungie’s notoriously infamous nerf policy.

Not too hard and not too weak – the nerf finally hits just right

This is the current state of Hard Light: We dig into the hard facts and analyze how the exotic performs now:

• Damage drop-off now starts at 25 meters but does not fall off sharply – In contrast to regular auto rifles (which drop damage by 50%).
• Even at longer distances (40 meters), reasonably accurate firing is still possible, but critical damage is around 23-24 (instead of the maximum 26).
• TTK still sits strong at 0.7 seconds at medium distance and does not drop below one second even in long-range.
• The critical damage from ricochet projectiles is now at 34 – before the patch, this hit over 50.
• The recoil is still perfectly controllable after the patch – this applies to both controller and M&T.

Even the pros agree after their tests and still give the exotic top marks. The characteristics of Hard Light remain intact; it is just no longer the overshadowing tyrant.

For instance, Destiny expert Aztecross (via YouTube) summarizes: “Hard Light is still an excellent choice, but no longer completely over the top.”

This is why the nerf was good: In Destiny, it is often an infamous tradition that dominant weapons or abilities after their (sometimes really necessary) adjustments are “nerfed to death“, meaning they become almost unusable.

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Thus, it has become customary in the community to be highly critical of an update that targets exotics. All the more gratifying is that this time the nerf hammer did not hit all “prominent nails.”

The nerf also shows how Bungie treats PvE and PvP separately. Because in battles against AI-controlled enemies, the devastating ricochet damage remains unchanged. The criticism has often been: just because a weapon dominates in one area of the game, it also gets ruined for the other area – even though it functioned perfectly fine there.

This is why the timing was good: The patch also shows one cool thing: Normally, such balance adjustments come along with a new season. Guardians usually have to wait months for something to change in the sandbox (unless an item needs to be disabled due to bugs/glitches). This time, however, the adjustment came in the middle of a season.

Bungie has shown that they are capable of responding to such circumstances in a timely manner. It should always be kept in mind that patches not only need to be tested and developed but must also be certified by Sony or Microsoft – which takes time as well.

A look at the statistics shows that Hard Light is still used in the hardest PvP activities. However, the weapon now ranks well within the top 10 instead of holding the undefeated number 1 position:

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On the next page, we will look at the two auto rifles that want to replace Hard Light as the PvP king.