In Destiny 2, Bungie is changing the new pinnacle weapons in Season 8. They will become ritual weapons. What does that mean?
This is about these weapons: Pinnacle weapons are legendary weapons in Destiny 2 that you receive through elaborate quests. Each season, a new Vanguard, Crucible, and Gambit pinnacle weapon is added. These have unique perks and are among the best weapons in the game, such as the Recluse or Luna’s Howl.
What is changing in Season 8? As Bungie informs now, the new pinnacle weapons of the Season of the Undying, Season 8, will no longer be “pinnacle” weapons. They will even be renamed to “ritual weapons.” This means:
- They no longer have special perks
- They only have a curated roll
- Since they are no longer “pinnacle weapons”, their quests will not be too lengthy
Why are new pinnacle weapons becoming ritual weapons?
This is what the developers say: According to Bungie, this was a difficult decision but a necessary one. There were several reasons why they no longer deliver extremely powerful pinnacle weapons:
- Many of the current pinnacle weapons are currently significantly more effective than intended
- They cause problems in the ecosystem, especially the Crucible pinnacle weapons. Because they are also very strong in PvE, Guardians who normally play little or no PvP are forced to use the best loadouts in the Crucible.
- Moreover, pinnacle weapons should not be the only best legendary weapons, but they were meant to be interesting new additions that are worth hunting.
These problems became increasingly apparent as more pinnacle weapons were introduced into the game. Therefore, it has now been decided to not introduce any new pinnacle weapons in Season 8, but ritual weapons instead.
Bungie has now revealed what the new ritual weapons of Season 8 will look like.
These are the new ritual weapons in Season 8
In Season 8, there will be three new ritual weapons:
Ritual Vanguard weapon – Edgewise (a machine gun):
The ritual Crucible weapon – Randy’s Throwing Knife (looks like a scout rifle):
And the ritual Gambit weapon – Exit Strategy (a submachine gun):
Legendary weapons will be nerfed
This is what Bungie says about legendary weapons in Season 8: According to Bungie, legendary weapons are currently generally too powerful. In many cases, they outclass exotic primary weapons, so they will soon be slightly nerfed – in the form of perk nerfs.
For example, Bungie says: In Destiny 1, there was a perk called Crowd Control, which could increase damage by up to 15%. This was the predecessor of the Rampage perk in Destiny 2. Rampage, however, can provide a damage bonus of up to 67% – which is a significant increase compared to Destiny 1 times.
Therefore, the effectiveness of these perks in PvE will be nerfed:
- Rampage
- Kill Clip
- Swashbuckler
- Multikill Clip
- Desperado
- Surrounded
- Master of Arms
- Onslaught
How is the community reacting to the ritual weapons? This is a big topic on reddit. “RIP pinnacle weapons” is being read. Moreover, people would have preferred more unique weapons instead of weapons with curated rolls. These don’t have to be extremely powerful, but at least unique.
The ritual weapons seem to be nothing special in their current form, which is disappointing, one writes. “Reskins with fixed rolls,” summarizes another the weapons.
One Guardian states that it is definitely a shame that there will be no new pinnacle perks, but it is also understandable.
By the way: From “This Week at Bungie” it was not clearly stated whether the previous pinnacle weapons will still be obtainable when Bungie shifts to ritual weapons in Season 8. However, community manager Cozmo states on reddit: “You can still get them.” He also confirms that old pinnacle weapons will retain their unique perks.
What buffs and nerfs Bungie will bring to the weapons, you can find out here:
