Bungie has given a first look at upcoming sandbox changes for Season 9 in Destiny 2. In this context, two popular items will also be nerfed – the exotic Titan helmet One-Eyed Mask and the legendary submachine gun The Recluse. We show what changes specifically.
This is what many have been waiting for: The Titan helmet One-Eyed Mask is currently among the most popular and effective armor exotics in the Crucible. The mask marks enemies who deal damage to the wearer. If you manage to eliminate this enemy, you receive bonus damage and a overshield. In addition, health regeneration is initiated.
Anyone who regularly participates in PvP will certainly have noticed how powerful this exotic is and how often it is used by Titans. Although this helmet has already been adjusted, many Guardians felt it was not enough – the item is still considered overpowered and extremely annoying by numerous players.
That should soon be over. Because as Bungie announced in its current “This Week at Bungie” blog (TWaB), this exotic Titan helmet will soon finally be nerfed.
And this is what many expected: The legendary submachine gun The Recluse is a top weapon from the Crucible. It has been among the best in PvE since its introduction in Destiny 2’s arsenal.
To this day, it still overshadows many weapon exotics and represents an absolute must-have – basically for any PvE player. Many therefore believed it was only a matter of time before this weapon would be nerfed in its current form.
And the fans were right with this assumption. Because in addition to the nerf of the One-Eyed Mask, Bungie also announced in the current TWaB an upcoming nerf of The Recluse.
Nerfs for One-Eyed Mask and The Recluse – The changes in detail
When do the changes take effect? The studio did not specify an exact date. However, it is mentioned that next season, which according to Bungie will start in about 4 weeks. The end of the current Season 8 is indicated with the Weekly Reset on December 10th. Presumably, the next season will start immediately after.
How the exotic Titan helmet One-Eyed Mask will change: The exotic helmet will undergo a major nerf. It will lose a whole mechanic:
- The effects of the exotic perk Vengeance have been changed
- The granted overshield when defeating an opponent who dealt damage will be removed.
The perk will still provide health regeneration if you defeat an opponent who dealt damage to you. However, there will no longer be an overshield in this context. This should make it significantly easier to eliminate users of this exotic when encountering them in duels.
How the legendary top weapon The Recluse will change: The Spiders unique perk Weapon Mastery will also be adjusted. This ensures that kills with any weapon temporarily increase the damage of this SMG. The following is set to change soon:
- The effects of Weapon Mastery have been changed:
- The precision damage modifier has been removed.
- The Recluse will still receive a damage bonus from Weapon Mastery, but damage will not apply to precision values when the perk is activated.
The precision damage modifier allowed for blind fire to be just as effective as precise aiming. Therefore, it was decided to remove this part of the functionality while keeping its activation methods. The alternative would have been to retain the effect, which Bungie deemed too strong for a legendary weapon.
This exotic will also be adjusted for Season 9: However, there will be not just nerfs for the upcoming season. For example, the exotic MG Xenophage, which many consider too weak, will be buffed – as follows:
- The damage in PvE will be increased by 50%
- The ammunition from PvP crates has been changed from 3/4 to 4/6, respectively from shared and solo crates with heavy ammunition
If you still need the Xenophage – here’s how to get it:
By the way, the changes mentioned so far are not all that Bungie has planned for Destiny 2 in the next season. In the coming weeks, there will be more insights into upcoming sandbox adjustments, bug fixes, “Quality of Life” changes, and more.
What do you think of these changes? Right and long overdue? Or is Bungie overreacting and essentially stripping two of the currently best items in Destiny 2 of their justification for existence?
