Destiny 2 New Update Patch Notes: Bungie Changes Supers And Wrecks Nova Warp

Along with Destiny 2's new Last Word Exotic weapon quest, The Draw, comes a big new update to the game that is already creating sweeping changes in the Crucible, Destiny's competitive mode. The update rebalances basically all of the ultra-powerful Super abilities players use in the game, making some a little stronger and a few significantly less powerful.

Chief among the nerfs in Update 2.1.4 is the one to Nova Warp, one of the Supers added to the Warlock class with Destiny 2's big Forsaken expansion. The attack allowed players to fire off an explosion all around their bodies that vaporized anyone unlucky enough to fall within its radius. It was tough to deal with when you were facing Nova Warp in the Crucible, seemingly lasting forever and absolutely destroying players at great distances.

Bungie has reeled in Nova Warp quite a bit in the patch, slowing down your movement speed while you're charging the explosion and increasing the energy cost of each charge, resulting in fewer explosions in total. Bungie also decreased the damage the attack can do to other players by 27% and dropped its duration by almost seven seconds.

Another big change is that to Blade Barrage, a Hunter Super that was also added with Forsaken. Blade Barrage does massive damage to both bosses and other players, sending out a blast of exploding knives in one direction that's difficult to avoid. After Update 2.1.4, damage from the initial impact of those knives has been greatly reduced, from 150 to 35--but the damage from the resulting explosion has been increased from 150 to 250. In practice, that means enemies who get hit by the explosion still die, but on a delay, and if you place the knives well enough you might be able to take out opponents with the explosion even when they're hiding around corners or behind cover. Meanwhile, the handy Exotic armor Shards of Galanor, which gives you Super energy based on how much damage you do with Blade Barrage, has been nerfed a bit so that you can only retrieve 75% of total Super energy at a time. That's down from the previous 90%.

There are a few changes to Supers that drastically increase their effectiveness, though. Hunter Golden Gun Supers are now a lot more powerful, with one version giving you back a shot for every kill you manage with it, extending its duration. The Titan Super Burning Maul is also a lot stronger, dealing more damage and covering a wider radius.

The update also sees a bunch of changes to weapons, notably with scout rifles and sniper rifles getting damage increases that should help get them in players' rotations a bit more. There are a lot of other quality-of-life changes mixed into the update as well; read the full patch notes below.

Destiny 2 Update 2.1.4 Patch Notes

Super Tuning

Hunter: Gunslinger

• Golden Gun Super
  
  • Increased damage to bosses by 40%
    • Includes Six-Shooter and Celestial Nighthawk

• Golden Gun Six-Shooter
  
  • Base damage increased from 275 to 300 per shot
  • Kills now return a bullet to the Golden Gun’s magazine

• "Line 'Em Up" Perk
  
  • Doubled precision damage bonus per stack of the buff

• "Practice Makes Perfect" Perk
  
  • Stack limit increased from 3 to 5
  • Super regen modifier increased by 20%

• Blade Barrage Super
  
  • Impact damage decreased from 150 to 35
  • Explosion damage increased from 150 to 250
  • Now deals self-damage
    • Our goal for AoE supers of this type is that they incur self-damage when activated too close to a target. We consider Blade Barrage not causing self-damage a bug, which we are now addressing.
    • In other words, Hunters will know how Warlocks feel when they throw a Nova Bomb into a wall.
  • Fixed an issue in which Blade Barrage projectiles could track allies

Hunter: Nightstalker

• Moebius Quiver
  
  • Tethered targets now have the full damage increase, rather than needing to be tethered by multiple Shadowshots
    • Additionally, the Shadowshot damage bonus to tethered targets was increased
  • Increased Moebius Quiver tether radius by 20%
  • Increased Moebius Quiver tether lifetime
  • Made it easier to fire successive Shadowshots

Developer Commentary: This is step one for Shadowshot, and we intend to keep improving the way it works. For this pass, we focused on Moebius Quiver quality of life. We plan to continue to make it more effective and globally relevant in the future.

• Spectral Blades Super
  
  • Bonus damage resistance while in stealth decreased from 15% to 5%
    • While in Spectral Blades AND in stealth total damage resistance is 62%
  • Total Super duration while invisible decreased by 3.67 sec

Hunter: Arcstrider

• Arc Staff Super
  
  • Heavy ranged and slam attack damage increased from 220 to 300
  • Heavy palm blast attack damage increased from 400 to 700

• "Lethal Current" Perk
  
  • Bonus hit damage has been increased from 100 to 130

• Raiden Flux (Exotic Armor)
  
  • Damage bonus decreased from 20% to 13.5%
    • This change keeps the bonus damage granted by this Exotic about the same. Because this is calculated on a scaler instead of a flat number, any big changes in base damage have a large effect on the Exotic.

Titan: Sunbreaker

• Sunspots
  
  • Damage increased from 25 to 50 per tick

• "Sun Warrior" Perk
  
  • Buff now increases ALL damage output from the Sunbreaker by 20% in PvP; 25% in PvE
  • Buff duration has been increased from 3 to 5 seconds

• Burning Maul Super
  
  • Spin melee attack damage increased from 65 to 80 per hit
  • Slam detonation radius increased from 5 to 6 meters
  • Improved Slam attack projectile tracking

Titan: Sentinel

• Sentinel Shield Super
  
  • Final melee combo hit damage increased from 300 to 390
  • Damage to PvE combatants increased by 17%

Titan: Striker

• Fist of Havoc Super
  
  • Heavy slam attack (R2/RT) base damage decreased from 325 to 275
  • Damage to base, elite, and miniboss combatants increased by 7%
  • Damage to bosses increased by 23%
  • Damage to vehicles increased by 60%

• "Terminal Velocity" Perk
  
  • Changed the way that bonus damage from this perk is granted
    • Added a third threshold tier based on how long you are in the air before impact
    • Arc damage hits per tier increased from 3 to 4
      • Tier 1 = 4 hits
      • Tier 2 = 8 hits
      • Tier 3 = 12 hits
    • Increased damage per Arc hit from 100 to 112

• Code of the Juggernaut
  
  • Fist of Havoc shoulder charge energy cost reduced by 83%

• "Trample" Perk
  
  • Can now trigger the energy return every 0.5 sec, up from 1 sec

Warlock: Voidwalker

• Cataclysm Nova Bomb
  
  • Initial detonation damage increased from 900 to 1500
  • Detonation radius increased from 8 to 10 meters
  • Seeker projectile detonation damage increased from 205 to 300
  • Improved seeker projectile turning radius and homing to make it more consistent to use against bosses/single targets
  • Fixed an issue where seeker projectiles could be prematurely detonated

• Vortex Nova Bomb
  
  • Initial detonation damage increased from 900 to 1200
  • Linger volume damage increased from 10 to 23 per tick

• Nova Warp Super
  
  • Slightly slowed movement while charging
  • Charging costs more energy
    • Initial charge cost (each time you trigger your super) increased by 60%
    • Sustained drain cost (holding) increased by 60%
  • Duration decreased by 6.8 seconds
  • Decreased Super damage resistance from 56% to 54%
  • Damage against Guardians decreased by 27%

Warlock: Dawnblade

• Daybreak Super
  
  • Increased damage against minor, major, and miniboss combatants by 43%
  • Increased duration by 3 seconds

Warlock: Stormcaller

• Stormtrance Super
  
  • Increased chain lightning maximum target count by 1

Weapons Tuning

• Auto Rifles
  
  • Increased base damage on rapid fire by 9%
  • Increased base damage on high-impact Auto Rifles by 5%
  • Increased base damage on adaptive Auto Rifles by 6%

• Scout Rifles
  
  • Increased base damage on lightweight Scout Rifles by 5%
  • Increased base damage on rapid-fire Scout Rifles by 6%
  • Increased all Scout Rifle PvE damage by 10%

• Sniper Rifles
  
  • Increased base damage of rapid-fire Sniper Rifles by 8%
    • You can two-shot to the body to defeat other Guardians in PvP

• Grenade Launchers
  
  • Tweaked Grenade Launcher projectiles to feel more consistent on direct hits
  • Proximity Grenades can no longer impact directly (prevents Special ammo Grenade Launchers from one-shotting with the perk active)
  • Increased ammo reserve size of Special ammo Grenade Launchers
  • Increased initial spawn ammo in PvE for Special ammo Grenade Launchers

• Bows
  
  • Made the effect of draw time from bow string perks more noticeable (High Tension String, Flexible String, Elastic String, and Polymer String)
    • The accuracy stat from High Tension String was increased from 10 to 15 to better compensate for the slower draw time
    • KNOWN ISSUE: The tooltip for High Tension String was not updated to show the larger accuracy increase; this will be addressed in a future update

• Legend of Acrius
  
  • Range increased by 0.5 m
  • PvE damage increased by 50%

• Telesto
  
  • Reduced base damage of each bolt from by 19%
  • Increased optics stat from 15 to 20 to be comparable with other Fusion Rifles with scope perks
  • PvE damage increased by 30%

• Trace Rifles
  
  • Trace Rifles now gain additional ammo when picking up Special ammo
  • Reduced damage output of Wavesplitter against Guardians
    • Reduced by 19% on medium-damage mode
    • Reduced by 27% on high-damage mode
    • Adjustments were made to keep the damage output the same in PvE activities

Exotic Armor

• Tuned energy values on Shards of Galanor to accompany changes to the Blade Barrage Super
  
  • Reduced maximum energy return from 90% to 75% of the total Super
  • Now only returns energy on the knife impacts
• Reduced energy return on Gwisin Vest from 10% to 7% of the total Super

Miscellaneous

• Abilities
  
  • Fixed an issue where players could retain Super energy for Chaos Reach even when being suppressed mid-Super
  • Fixed an issue where players could equip Celestial Nighthawk mid-Super to partially benefit from "Hawkeye Hack" perk when using the Six-Shooter subclass

• Weapons
  
  • Fixed an issue where the arrows the Spiteful Fang left lodged in targets did not match the arrows it fired
  • Fixed an issue where Anarchy's trap detonation was not dealing damage if the owner had died
  • Fixed an issue where the Auto-Loading Holster perk was not reloading the magazine in some circumstances
  • Fixed an issue where the muzzle blast and spent shell effects had become misaligned on the Suros Regime and its ornaments
  • Fixed an issue where the No Feelings Scout Rifle had incorrect stats when Masterworked
  • Fixed an issue where the Tempered Dynamo Fusion Rifle wasn't playing all of its charge-up audio on consoles

Crucible

Breakthrough

• Fixed an issue where deploying the Breaker or hacking the Vault exactly as time expired could end the round in an incorrect state

Heavy Ammo Tuning

• Competitive
  
  • Control
    • Initial timers stay the same
    • Increased respawn timer for Heavy ammo (was 45 seconds, now 120 seconds)
  • Clash
    • Initial timers stay the same
    • Increased respawn timer for Heavy ammo (was 45 seconds, now 120 seconds)
  • Survival
    • Initial timers stay the same
    • Increased respawn timer for Heavy ammo (was 45 seconds, now 60 seconds)

• Rotators:
  
  • Showdown
    • Initial timers stay the same
    • Increased respawn timer for Heavy ammo (was 30 seconds, now 60 seconds)

• Rumble:
  
  • Initial timers stay the same
  • Increased respawn timer for Heavy ammo (was 60 seconds, now 120 seconds)

• Ammo Counts (All Modes)
  
  • Reduce Heavy crate ammo for Machine Guns

Redrix's Broadsword Quest:

• Valor Rank Resets:
  
  • The Valor rank resets step will now look at previous seasons accomplishments as well.
  • Five Valor resets are still required during a single season, but this is no longer restricted to the current season. Ex: If a player had five Valor resets in Season 4, this will now grant progress towards the quest.

• Completion Inconsistencies
  
  • Fixed various issues where the quest was not progressing to the pickup step until a player re-entered orbit.

Crucible Ranks

• Enhancement Cores
  
  • Fixed an issue that prevented Enhancement Cores from being awarded when reaching Legend in Valor and Glory ranks

Activities

Raids

• Scourge of the Past
  
  • Fixed an issue where players could initiate damage phases for the boss encounter too early
  • Fixed an issue where the “Like a Diamond” Flawless Triumph was not being rewarded properly

Black Armory and Forges

• Fixed an issue where players were not being properly credited when consuming keys for the Mysterious Box quest.
  
  • Players already affected by this issue will be awarded credit for the keys they've used the next time they log in.
  • It is still possible, on rare occasions, for players to use a key and not complete the objective. When this happens, returning to orbit should resolve this issue.
• Forge emblems are now awarded from forge completions, rather than forge-specific bounty completions
• Modulus Reports and Ballistics Logs will now go to the postmaster if lost; cap on Modulus Reports remains at 15 per account
• When hunting for high-value targets on Nessus for the "Siviks's Delivery Note" quest step, all players who damage the enemy will be given credit toward the kill
• Players can no longer purchase weapon frames if the Pursuits bucket is full
• Black Armory lore drops have been increased to 20% (up from 10%), and successful forge completions are now required to earn the reward

Weapon Frame Updates:

• Ballistics Logs no longer removed at reset
• Ballistics Logs increased cap to five per character
• Ritual Frame quests carried across reset now “refund” into purchased currency
  
  • “Gold” frames refunded into one Ballistics Log
  • “Silver” frames refunded into three Modulus Reports
  • Any instance of a “Radiant Matrix” removed on weekly reset
  • Players should stop experiencing frames “missing” from Ada’s inventory on a week-to-week basis
  • Players may still only purchase up to two “Gold” frames per week
• All Nessus Fallen Captain high-value targets around the Exodus Black will now spawn correctly

Public Events

• Whispers on Io now occur more frequently

General

• Fixed an issue where the Fastidious Miser Triumph was not properly unlocking for players
• Fixed an issue there the Veterans of the Hunt emblem was using the wrong art
• Fixed an issue where the Knife Flip emote did not properly loop

Eververse

• Fixed an issue where the Summer's Altar and Jupiter Midnight Sparrows shared the same appearance
• Fixed an issue where the "Visions of Iron Bundle" and the "Form Given Function Bundle" did not show the correct message if players did not own proper DLC entitlements for purchase
• Satou and Rassmussen Ghost Projections now have the correct imagery