On May 8, 2018, the update 1.2.0 brings, among other things, revamped exotic weapons for Destiny 2. Bungie showcases some examples of the overhauled Exotics ahead of the update’s release.
In the lead-up to the update 1.2.0 releasing on May 8 and the 2nd expansion “Warmind”, Bungie offered a small glimpse of the changes to the exotic Hand Cannon Sturm and the exotic Pulse Rifle Graviton Lance during a weapons showcase.
Now the studio shows how the exotic weapons Dawnblazer and Rat King will play in the future.
Kabal Tech Upgrade in Action – The Dawnblazer
Initially, Bungie showed in a familiar manner through a short clip how the revamped version of the exotic Scout Rifle Dawnblazer will play. Senior Designer Jon Weisnewski then explained the changes to this weapon.
The Dawnblazer scout rifle is a relatively solid weapon that is suitable for various ranges and works with different fire rates and damage outputs both when using the sights and from the hip.
When using the scope, the weapon fires slower but deals higher damage. Additionally, it deals more damage against Cabal adversaries and can penetrate Phalanx shields.
However, this weapon never really felt exotic. It plays almost like any other scout. To counter this, Bungie has now equipped the weapon’s projectiles with explosive rounds when fired from the hip. When using the sights, the weapon will behave as before: fully automatic, slow fire rate, high penetration.
When firing from the hip with the Dawnblazer, the exotic scout now fires slower projectiles with a faster fire rate that track targets and then explode.
The tracking pulls the projectiles more towards the opponent’s body instead of precision areas like the head, which is why Bungie has slightly reduced the precision damage scaling and increased body damage. Precision hits still grant bonus damage and damage over time is increased.
The end result is a weapon with dual functionality: when fired with the sights, it fires penetrating projectiles with high damage. From the hip, it fires fast, arcing, tracking projectiles that explode upon impact. According to Weisnewski, it feels almost like a rapid-fire grenade launcher that can become a precision killer with the push of a button.
Swarm Pack Eats Through Cabal Ranks – The New Rat King
After previewing the Dawnblazer, Bungie subsequently presented the upcoming changes to the exotic pistol Rat King in the current TWaB blog. The video already featured the Masterwork version of this exotic Hand Cannon.
The Rat King is an exotic pistol that becomes stronger the more members of a fireteam have it equipped. This effect was previously stackable up to six times. Additionally, when wielding the weapon, you become invisible for a short time after reloading immediately following a kill. The developers at Bungie also saw improvement potential with this exotic weapon.
As the number of Rat King users in the fireteam increases, the weapon’s rate of fire benefits the most. Unfortunately, the weapon does not unleash its potential in this regard as originally intended by the developers.
Some players misunderstand the benefits of the increased rate of fire or do not use it correctly, as they simply cannot pull the trigger fast enough. Many apparently do not even know about it.
To make this potential easily recognized and felt, the developers have turned the Rat King into a fully automatic weapon so that the increase in fire rate always brings an advantage and is always noticeable when you are out in a pack.
A further criticism was that the intrinsic perk Swarm had previously only activated when other allies were actually wielding the Rat King. The studio found this too situational and restrictive. Therefore, the Swarm perk now activates as soon as other fireteam members have the Rat King equipped in the kinetic slot, holstered, or in hand.
Furthermore, the benefits of Swarm now increase more drastically when the weapon is already carried by one or two additional fireteam members. Additionally, Bungie has increased the invisibility timer of the perk Swarm to seven seconds.
What do you think of the latest examples of upcoming changes to Exotics? Is Bungie on the right track?
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