Destiny 2’s March Update: Major Changes and New Events Unveiled!

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Summary

  • Update 8.2.5 for Destiny 2 adjusts exotic gear, weapons, and activities like the Crucible.
  • March 11 reset introduces Act 2 of Episode Heresy, Guardian Games event, and sandbox changes.
  • Changes include nerfs to Redrix’s Estoc, bug fixes, and nerfs to the Hunter Nightstalker subclass.

In an announcement, Bungie unveiled Update 8.2.5 for the game Destiny 2, focusing on several modifications and enhancements to the ongoing gameplay experience. These changes encompass exotic equipment, weapon categories, and modes like the Crucible. Over the past few weeks, Bungie has been transparent about these planned alterations in Destiny 2, particularly concerning certain weapons that might have been overpowered before this update.

On March 11, the reset for Destiny 2 brought about a substantial update as Act 2 of Episode Heresy made its debut. This means players can now delve into the next chapter of the ongoing narrative, and explore fresh gear and activities in the process. Simultaneously, Bungie is launching the 2025 Guardian Games event for Destiny 2. As usual, this event sees the three classes competing against each other to accumulate and bank the most medallions daily. To top it all off, a significant overhaul has been introduced for Destiny 2, altering the game’s current play dynamics slightly.

In this update, most of the significant alterations were previously discussed, so players who are now able to test it out may find the changes themselves less shocking. A notable modification for many is the introduction of a well-liked pulse rifle in Destiny 2 known as Redrix’s Estoc. This weapon, along with all Lightweight pulse rifles, employs the Legacy PR-55 Frame archetype, which is also associated with Destiny 2’s Halo-inspired BxR-55 Battler rifle. As a result, body shot and critical hit damage for these weapons, including Redrix’s Estoc, have been slightly reduced.

This update addresses a multitude of issues related to both gameplay activities and equipment. Specifically, we’re making adjustments to the Titan’s No Backup Plans, Khepri’s Horn, and Hazardus Propulsion, as well as the Hunter’s Shards of Galanor, Radiant Dance Machines, and Sealed Ahamkara Grasps. However, it’s with regret that we inform you about a small adjustment to the new Nightstalker aspect, On The Prowl. Additionally, the debuffs from the Smoke Bomb in the Crucible will see a reduction in their impact.

For now, discussions about creating and the seasonal weapons in Destiny 2 are still heated. With Episode Revenant taking away the option for players to craft seasonal weapons themselves as a way to rekindle the excitement of acquiring new weapons, many fans remain unsatisfied with the current setup. Although a significant change like this probably won’t happen during Episode Heresy, it will be intriguing to observe how Bungie handles this issue as they move forward with Codename: Frontiers’ development.

Destiny 2 Update 8.2.5 Patch Notes

Seasonal Activities

The Nether

  • Reduced damage taken from Sharpshooter’s Burden.
  • Reduced damage taken to health from Fragile Strength.
  • Fixed an issue where Paracasual Payload was not providing Kinetic weapons with extra damage.
  • Fixed an issue where Paracausal Siphon was not proving buffs to elemental damage.

Other

  • Fixed an issue where lore books were not being correctly rewarded.

Crucible

General

  • Fixed an issue where Lockdown did not award or display medals.

Matchmaking

  • Trials of Osiris and Competitive playlists
    • Enabled solo vs. fireteam loss forgiveness
    • Duos and trios can now be matched together

Competitive

  • Enabled the new Ascendant 0 rank for players above 10000.
    • Wins while in the Ascendant 0 rank have a chance to drop the new “Darkest Night” emblem.
    • Rebalanced the rank-based matchmaking brackets to account for this new rank.
  • Fixed an issue that was preventing players from being awarded the fixed roll of Redrix’s Estoc upon completing their placement matches.
    • Players who never earned this roll can claim it from Lord Shaxx.
  • Fixed an issue that was blocking players from being able to focus previous Competitive rewards.

Iron Banner

  • Fixed an issue where the weekly challenge referenced Stasis instead of Strand.

Dungeons and Raids

Vesper’s Host

  • Fixed an issue in the first encounter where a nuclear core wouldn’t spawn even after activating all the correct panels.

Gameplay and Investment

Armor

Hunter

Sealed Ahamkara Grasps

  • Fixed an issue where Nightmare Fuel’s damage bonus would be reduced by 5% while Radiant.
  • Fixed an issue where your held weapon would not receive the Nightmare Fuel damage buff after getting a melee or finisher final blow without Nightmare Fuel active.
    • This does not apply if Nightmare Fuel was already active when getting a melee or finisher kill. If the Nightmare Fuel meter is not empty, the damage boost is active.

Radiant Dance Machines

  • Fixed an issue that could cause extra dodge charges to be lost when transitioning between bubbles in various activities.

Shards of Galanor

  • Fixed an issue where this Exotic could refund energy for any Super, instead of just Blade Barrage and Silk Strike.

Relativism – Spirit of Galanor

  • Fixed an issue where Spirit of Galanor was refunding less energy than intended for non-roaming Supers.

Titan

No Backup Plans

  • Fixed an issue where the intended Shotgun damage bonus would be reduced by 5% while Radiant.

Khepri’s Horn

  • Fixed an issue where the Solar waves from Khepri’s Horn would not break Stasis crystals.

Hazardous Propulsion

  • Fixed an issue where the benefit from the “Enhanced Rockets” buff would be reduced by 5% while Radiant.

Armor customization

  • Fixed an issue where Warlock and Titan leg armor from Sundered Doctrine was not available for transmog.
  • Fixed an issue where the Stasis armor sets did not show their correct name.

Weapons

General

  • Fixed an issue where the Vault of Glass (Timelost) weapons did not have the proper flavor text.
  • Fixed an issue where enhanced/crafted weapons with some new weapon perks couldn’t obtain a masterwork border.
  • Fixed an issue where the Adept Shader for Trials weapons was not correctly changing colors based on the state of the glow.

Weapon archetypes

Wave-Frame Swords

  • Fixed an issue where the wave attack did not do damage in PvP.

Lightweight Pulse Rifles

  • Body shot damage against players reduced from 20.4 to 19.7.
  • Critical hit damage against players reduced from 31.8 to 31.5.
    • Note: This is still a damage increase over their values pre-8.1.5.3, but it does shift some of the forgiveness and optimal kill thresholds downward.
  • Redrix’s Estoc
    • Reduced handling from 79 to 74.

Weapon perks

Sword Logic

  • PvP only
    • Reduced base damage bonus for kills against players from 20% to 15%.
    • Increased damage bonus for kills against players in Super from 35% to 50%.

Enhanced Collective Action

  • Fixed an issue where the perk was not activating when collecting Stasis Shards created by Prismatic fragments.

Enhanced Slideways

  • Fixed an issue where the perk had a shorter than intended duration.

Discord and Harmony

  • Fixed an issue where both perks had their countdown start before switching to the weapon with the perk.

Abilities

All Classes

Prismatic

  • Facet of Blessing
    • Fixed an issue where final blows from certain melee abilities, such as Consecration and Thunderclap, were not triggering health regeneration.

Hunter

Nightstalker

  • Smoke debuff
    • No longer slows player movement speed, jump height, or weapon handling in PvP.
    • No longer suppresses player movement abilities in PvP.
  • On the Prowl
    • Removed first-person glow from hunted player’s perspective.
    • Reduced strength of glow on hunted players in third person.

Artifact

  • Fixed an issue where the Piercing Sidearms perk granted wasn’t piercing some types of shields.

Power and Progression

  • Fixed an issue where the new Iron Banner weapons did not progress the Orimund’s Taste Triumph.

Collections

  • Fixed an issue where the Artificial Sun Ornament for Lodestar appeared under the Pulse Rifle section in Collections.
  • Fixed an issue where the Chatterwhite shader did not appear in Collections.

General

  • Updated the international Silver purchase confirmation to use the current Episode’s art.

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2025-03-11 22:12