In Destiny 2, weapon skins are supposed to be purely cosmetic, but some change more than just the appearance of the gun. MeinMMO takes a look at ornaments that impact gameplay.
What is this about? In Destiny 2, players can upgrade their guns and armor with skins, giving their equipment a drastically different appearance – Such cosmetic customization options are standard in shooters.
However, some skins not only change the appearance but also the properties of weapons, directly affecting gameplay. Here, we look at which weapons play differently with a skin and why that is problematic.
This is how players get weapon skins: In Destiny, skins are called ornaments and come primarily from 3 sources:
- Season Pass: Owners of the pass can unlock skins for new weapons of the season
- Shiny Engrams: Surprise packages contain all sorts of cosmetic items, including skins for weapons – Seasonal shiny engrams can be earned in various ways
- Eververse: In Destiny 2’s in-game shop, players can purchase skins directly – Some are available only through premium currency (silver), while others can also be obtained through earnable currency (glimmer)
In a direct purchase, the most expensive weapon skins cost about 7 euros – Just a fraction of what players can invest in Valorant:
Cosmetic items influence gameplay
YouTuber Fallout Plays confirmed that a exotic shotgun achieved better kills through an ornament. The skin gave the weapon a longer barrel, directly affecting its maximum range.
Now, a year later, Fallout is again investigating the influence of skins on weapons. Again, certain ornaments not only change the appearance.
These weapon skins influence gameplay:
- Cold Refusal gets a different sight with the “Dark Waters” ornament
- Wings of Vigilance gets a different sight with the “Watch for the 14th Holy” ornament
- Polaris Lance gets increased effective range with the “The Bray Legacy” ornament
The modified sights allow for better visibility of the loot. The additional range of Polaris Lance, however, may be negligible in most cases.
As the community adds (via reddit), even more weapon ornaments have impacts on your playstyle:
- MIDA Multi-Tool gets a red dot instead of the target triangle with the “Desert Camouflage” and “Digital Deployment” ornaments
- Tarrabah gets a different sight with the “Unyielding” ornament
- The Wardcliff Coil gets a sight with the “Vostok” ornament
- Dorn gets a different shape with the “Heretic Robe” ornament – The weapon becomes bulkier, but loses its prominent “spikes” on top – In this short YouTube video you can see the difference with Dorn
- Whisper of the Worm loses the “Possessed” effect when aiming with the “Bound Hammer” ornament
This is why it is problematic: Generally, it is concerning when cosmetic items influence gameplay. Even if the differences are often nearly negligible, it leaves an unpleasant aftertaste.
It becomes even more problematic when such skins are not easily obtainable by all players.
In the case of Cold Refusal, the skin with the open sight is only available to Season Pass holders. Guardians who want to adorn their Wings of Vigilance with the superior skin currently have no chance to obtain the ornament. Because in Season 11, the skin is not in the loot pool of shiny engrams or the Eververse.
What do you think – Is it generally cool that skins influence gameplay, as it opens up more freedom? Or do you think that skins should only be cosmetic and especially not be available only to certain players? Let us know in the comments.
If you want to raid your silver or glimmer supplies now to acquire some skins in the Eververse, you should be careful: What you should pay attention to when buying weapon ornaments in Destiny 2
