Destiny 2 Reveals Ability Changes for The Final Shape

Highlights

• The Final Shape expansion is set to be the most critical Destiny update ever, wrapping up the “Saga of Light and Darkness.”
• Stasis subclasses are getting major reworks in The Final Shape, including the introduction of Frost Armor and other adjustments.
• Changes to Well of Radiance and Ward of Dawn aim to balance effectiveness and improve gameplay dynamics in Destiny 2.

Developer Bungie has revealed more about its plans for Destiny 2 abilities in the upcoming The Final Shape expansion. The expansion launches on June 4, 2024, and will bring with it a host of new changes and content to Destiny 2.

Bungie is preparing for what might be the most consequential Destiny update in the game’s history. The Final Shape will bring an end to the story that has been running ever since the original Destiny launched in 2014, an arc that Bungie calls “The Saga of Light and Darkness.” In it, the Guardians of the Last City will dive directly into the Pale Heart of the Traveler, the source of the Guardians’ power, in an attempt to stop the Witness, the architect of the first Collapse and the source of all the Destiny universe’s troubles to date. As for what will follow The Final Shape, Bungie is staying quiet, but the wake of its story promises to be something entirely new to Destiny 2 and its players.

In the runup to The Final Shape‘s release, Bungie has steadily released previews of what players can expect from the expansion, including the Prismatic subclass and changes to many Destiny 2 Exotic weapons. The latest Destiny 2 blog from Bungie explores what changes will be made to Guardians’ abilities in The Final Shape. These include major alterations to the Stasis subclasses, significant adjustments to the Well of Radiance and Ward of Dawn Supers, and assorted adjustments to abilities in every subclass.

Destiny 2 The Final Shape Ability Nerfs and Buffs

The biggest set of changes target Stasis, the Destiny 2 element introduced in Beyond Light. According to Bungie, Stasis had got gotten a full evaluation and “feature-level” updates since the launch of the Bungie 30th Anniversary Pack in late 2021. Now the element will receive reworks to multiple abilities and build Fragments, as well as an entirely new feature called “Frost Armor,” which is a stacking buff that reduces damage when players pick up a Stasis Shard. Frost Armor will replace the overshield effect that Stasis Shards used to grant when paired with the Whisper of Rime Fragment. Bungie will also grant players more ways to generate Stasis Shards or obtain the Frost Armor buff through items like Exotic Armor. Stasis will also receive some class-specific adjustments targeted at improving the experience and compatibility with the new Prismatic subclass.

Stasis Subclass Adjustment Summaries

• Frost Armor – Replaces the Stasis Shard Overshield effect. Reduces incoming damage, with the reduction improving as it stacks up to 5 times.
• Whisper of Rime – Reworked to increase the maximum duration and stacks of Frost Armor.
• Harvest Aspects (Grim/Tectonic/Glacial) – When a Harvest Aspect is equipped, gain stacks of Frost Armor and small amounts of health from Stasis Shards. Tectonic Harvest creates Stasis Shards when shattering frozen enemies.
• Whisper of Chill – New fragment, creates Stasis Shards on Stasis weapon final blows.
• Whisper of Chains – Reworked to replace passive damage resistance buff with a chance to create Stasis shard when defeating enemies while buffed by Frost Armor.
• Whisper of Fractures – Reworked to grant stacks of Frost Armor when shattering frozen targets with melee.
• Whisper of Torment – Reworked grenade energy gains to be static rather than health-dependent, increasing when buffed by Frost Armor.
• Whisper of Reversal – New fragment, dealing or receiving physical melee attacks slows the victim or attacker.
• Base PVE Shatter Damage – Increased by 100%.
• Warlock Shadebinder – Iceflare Bolt seekers increased from 5 to 7.
• Hunter Revenant – Winter Shroud grants damage reduction in PVE and boosts class ability regen when slowing targets, while Touch of Winter’s grenade interactions and Silence & Squall were improved.
• Titan Behemoth – Bungie will improve the reliability of the Shiver Strike and Glacial Quake abilities, while reworking Cryoclasm and Diamond lance to be more effective and easier to use.

Two potentially controversial changes Bungie has planned target the Solar Warlock’s Well of Radiance and the Void Titan’s Ward of Dawn. Bungie aims to reduce the “effective invulnerability” that Well of Radiance grants when used, while pushing it more into an offensive booster, following on from Destiny 2‘s previous Well of Radiance nerfs. Meanwhile, Ward of Dawn will be changed to provide more defensive capability around the dome rather than just inside it, while reworking the ward’s Armor of Light buff.

Changes to Well of Radiance and Ward of Dawn and Other Supers Generally

• Well of Radiance – Grants radiant for 8 seconds when players exit the well.
  • Reduced healing rate by 50% (50 hp per second from 100).
  • Increased heal on casting from 40 hp to 300.
  • Reduced damage resistance vs. non-boss combatants from 40% to 20%.
  • Reduced damage resistance vs. boss combatants from 40% to 10%.
  • Increased Orb of Power generation from defeating targets while in the Well from 4 to 5.
• Ward of Dawn – Allies near the Ward slowly gain Void Overshield, similar to the Bastion barricade.
  • Removed overshield effect from Armor of Light, now grants damage resistance.
  • No longer provides Weapons of Light buff by default, with the Helm of Saint-14 exotic now needed to get this benefit.
  • Ward of Dawn caster can generate Orbs of Power by defeating enemies with melee in or around the dome.
• Changes to Super Recharge – Bungie said that it intends to reduce the dominance of Ward of Dawn, Well of Radiance, and burst damage Supers in PVP by adjusting the recharge mechanic for all Supers. In The Final Shape, dealing certain amounts of damage will recharge the same amount of Super energy no matter what Super is equipped. The effect will increase the uptime of roaming Supers and reduce the uptime of burst Supers.

Bungie also detailed a series of changes for each class and subclass, partly aimed at addressing longstanding issues and improving the subclasses’ compatibility with the mix-and-match nature of the incoming Prismatic subclass.

Hunter Subclass Changes

• Arc Hunter – Bungie improved the survivability and utility of Arcstriders, with improvements to Disorienting Blow cooldown, Tempest Strike damage resistance in PVE, and adding blinding effects to the Arc Staff.
• Solar Hunter – Increased charges, animation speed, re-throw speed of the Lightweight Knife, while improving the knife refunding ability of Knock ‘Em Down. The potency of the Orbs of Power created by the Golden Gun – Marksman Super was reduced to cut down on Super chaining enabled by some raid team strategies.
• Void Hunter – Improved duration of Snare Bomb and added damage-over-time effect to enemies in the smoke, improved Trapper’s Ambush with similar effects, and updated Stylish Executioner to apply to Glaives.
• Strand Hunter – Ensnaring Slam and Threaded Spike potency against players in PVP nerfed by reducing Slam’s radius and Threaded Spike’s damage.

Warlock Subclass Changes

• Arc Warlock – Improved the Stormcaller’s resilience when teleporting into groups of enemies, fixed Ball Lightning to be more reliable, and almost doubled the damage of the chaining effect from the Chain Lighting melee.
• Void Warlock – Improved the Charged Magnetic Grenade from Chaos Accelerant, improved the damage of Pocket Singularity in PVE, and improved the damage of both Nova Bomb Super variants by increasing Cataclysm seekers and tracking and lengthening Vortex uptime.
• Strand Warlock – Weaver’s Call now has a chance to generate a perched Threadling by defeating targets with Strand damage.

Titan Subclass Changes

• Arc Titan – Improved damage resistance when using Thunderclap, Knockout Aspect reworked to provide chunks of healing when defeating enemies with melee rather than simply restarting health regen.
• Solar Titan – Consecration Aspect PVE Ignition damage improved, Hammer of Sol Super improved when not paired with the Sol Invictus aspect.
• Void Titan – Bungie increased the ability for the Shield Throw to deal with groups of weaker enemies, retooled the Offensive Bulwark ability to regenerate Void Overshield on melee kills.
• Strand Titan – Reduced the melee energy regenration of Into the Fray in PVE, improved targeting behavior for Frenzied Blade, and reduced the maximum timer of Banner of War (24 seconds from 30) and reduced its damage bonuses from Exotic armor like Synthoceps and Wormgod Caress.