Destiny 2's New Exotic Is Broken And OP - Expect A Nerf

As is often the case with Destiny 2, it seems the addition of a new Exotic weapon to the game has brought some unforeseen consequences. With the newly launched Season of Arrivals comes a new grenade launcher called Witherhoard, which is already annihilating raid bosses and dominating in the Crucible--and it's only a matter of time until its powers are nerfed.

Witherhoard has some special perks that make it unlike other grenade launchers in Destiny 2. Instead of firing explosives, it launches grenades that cause an effect called "blight." Hit an enemy head-on, and they get infected with blight, which causes damage over time. When they die, a pool of blight spreads out on the ground where they fall that damages any enemies that step into it. If a grenade his the ground rather than an enemy, the blight pool appears, so Witherhoard is great for doing direct damage to bosses, or for holding territory as enemies walk into it and get killed.

It's only been available for a day, but already, players are finding out that Witherhoard's grenades are seriously powerful. The launcher's blight eats up Destiny 2's toughest bosses--fire a bunch of Witherhoards at a raid boss like the Garden of Salvation's Sanctified Mind or Last Wish's Riven and you can kill them in seconds.

Bungie is aware of Witherhoard's overpowered capabilities, though, with one community manager responding on Twitter that the gun would "absolutely, positively be fixed." What we don't know, however, is when that fix might go through.

The launcher is also getting a workout in the competitive arena known as the Crucible. Blight pools allow players to control the ground their opponents can walk on, and the blights kill pretty quickly. It's not uncommon right now to see several people on an enemy team using Witherhoard to protect control points or block off an enemy team's advance.

Witherhoard doesn't have the same overpower problem in Crucible as it does on the PvE side, seemingly. But one wonders if Bungie will make changes to how the grenade launcher works for both halves of its MMO shooter. We'll have to wait for a patch or hotfix to see. In the meantime, we can all enjoy ravaging some raid bosses with a ridiculous new gun while it lasts.