Destiny 2 has a fresh weapon system. What are the features of the new weapon slots and what do the energy elements bring?
One of the biggest innovations in Destiny 2 is the revamped weapon system. Instead of the weapon slots from Destiny 1 “Primary, Secondary, and Heavy Weapon,” Destiny 2 has a new classification of weapons: Kinetic Weapon, Energy Weapon, and Power Weapon.
Your character can equip one Kinetic Weapon, one Energy Weapon, and one Power Weapon at a time. During combat, you can quickly switch between these slots with the press of a button. If you want to equip other weapons in the slots, you have to do so through the character menu. This is not recommended in the heat of battle.
Each of the three weapon slots requires its own ammunition – Kinetic ammunition is white, Energy ammunition is green, and Power ammunition is purple.
Kinetic Weapons in Destiny 2 – This is what sets them apart
The Kinetic Weapons are your “primary weapons,” with which you will shoot the most in Destiny 2 – primarily because you will find the most ammunition for them. The types of Kinetic Weapons include Hand Cannon, Scout Rifle, Pulse Rifle, Auto Rifle, Sidearm, and Submachine Gun.
All Kinetic Weapons deal Kinetic Damage. This is the “standard damage” without additional effects. You shoot at an enemy. They take damage. Done.
Energy Weapons in Destiny 2 – Which elements against certain shields?
The Energy Weapons consist of the same weapon types as the Kinetic Weapons, namely Hand Cannon, Scout Rifle, Pulse Rifle, Auto Rifle, Sidearm, and Submachine Gun.
The big difference is: They have different elements. In the Destiny universe, there are the elements Arc (blue), Solar (red), and Void (purple), which you will encounter not only with Energy Weapons but also with enemy shields and Guardian subclasses.
How do I see the element of my weapon? In the character menu, you can hover your cursor over the respective weapon. Then the corresponding symbol for Arc (blue), Solar (red), and Void (purple) will be displayed. Alternatively, you can press L2 in the character menu (PS4), and then you will see the elements of all weapons. In combat, the element will be displayed to the left of the ammunition:
How do I recognize enemy shields? Only some enemies have shields. Only once the shield is down can you deal damage directly to the enemy. You recognize enemy shields by a colored aura around them.
Energy Weapons generally deal slightly less damage to enemies than Kinetic Weapons of the same weapon archetype, but they provide three advantages in combat.
Energy Weapons deal increased damage to enemy shields – PvE
Each Energy Weapon is good at quickly eliminating enemy shields. They deal increased damage to shields. The rule is: Each element deals equal damage to every enemy shield. For example, if a Cabal Centurion approaches you with a Solar shield, it doesn’t matter whether you shoot him with a Solar, Arc, or Void weapon – all Energy Weapons deal increased damage, regardless of the element.
What happens with matching elements? – PvE
With matching elements – for example, if you shoot a Solar weapon at a Solar enemy shield – there is the bonus effect that the shield explodes upon destruction and deals additional damage to the shield holder as well as to nearby enemies. The shield holder is staggered for a short time by the explosion.
Energy Weapons in PvP
Energy Weapons deal additional damage in PvP when the opposing Guardian has an active Super. For example, you can stop a charging Striker Titan. The respective elemental damages do not need to match. Each elemental damage deals the same increased damage against every Super.
Power Weapons in Destiny 2 – The most powerful weapons
The Power Weapons have always been described by Bungie as weapons that can defeat other Guardians in PvP with just one shot. Power Weapons include Grenade Launchers, Rocket Launchers, Shotguns, Sniper Rifles, Fusion Rifles, and Swords.
They are the most powerful weapons in the game, but they can only be used rarely:
In PvP you have to pick up Power ammunition from ammo boxes, which only spawn occasionally. It will show which Guardian picked up this ammunition for which weapon.
In PvE enemies drop Power ammunition rarely. Only Majors, the named enemies or those with yellow health bars, are guaranteed to drop Power ammunition.
Power Weapons have different elements like Energy Weapons.
Hand Cannon: One shot is fired per button press. Generally recommended for short to medium range.
Pulse Rifle: A salvo of shots is fired per button press.
Auto Rifle: The weapon fires as long as you hold down the fire button or until the magazine is empty.
Scout Rifle: One shot is fired per button press. Generally recommended for medium to long range.
Sidearm: One shot is fired per button press. Only usable at close range.
Submachine Gun: The weapon fires as long as you hold down the fire button or until the magazine is empty. Only usable at close range.
The Power Weapons:
Shotgun: One round is fired per button press. Deadly at close range.
Sniper Rifle: One shot is fired per button press. Deadly at medium and long range.
Fusion Rifle: After a charge time, energy projectiles are shot at the enemy. Short to medium range.
Grenade Launcher: One shot is fired per button press, dealing area damage.
Rocket Launcher: One shot is fired per button press, dealing heavy area damage.
Sword: Only effective in melee.
Mods, Shader, Infusion – more information on the weapons
Weapons come in various quality levels, indicated by the colors white, green, blue, purple, and yellow. In the endgame, the purple legendary weapons and the yellow exotic weapons are crucial.
Weapons can be customized with mods and shaders through the detail view. This allows for personalization. Shaders change the appearance, mods change the stats such as stability or reload speed. There are also mods that allow you to change the element of Energy Weapons. Exotic Weapons cannot change their element.
The perks of the weapons are fixed; they are not randomly generated.
Legendary and Exotic quality weapons are infusion capable. You need weapons of the same category that have a higher power level.
Can the same weapon drop as a Kinetic or Energy version? No, the weapons are predetermined for the slots. Weapon A will always drop for the Kinetic slot and Weapon B will always drop for the Energy slot.
Destiny 2 is a multiplayer online loot shooter with MMO elements developed by Bungie. It was released on September 6, 2017, for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and ...
