All heavy weapon balance changes coming in Destiny 2 Season 17

The changes Bungie is planning for Destiny 2 in Season 17 are broad and multifaceted, aiming to reduce one-hit-kill situations in Crucible, mitigate player pain points, and usher in a healthier balance in the game in general. These changes will affect all weapon types differently, and heavy weapons are by no means excluded. As we know from Bungie’s most recent developer blog, heavy weapons will undergo a myriad of balance changes in Season 17 of Destiny 2. Keep in mind that the list of changes outlined below will undergo a series of tests before the launch of Season 17 in late May, and may not ship exactly as described.

Machine Guns

More power is being given to Machine Gun users, although this buff will only impact PvE scenarios. In Season 17, Machine Guns will have 20% increased damage against bosses, and 40% increased damage against all other AI enemies; Xenophage and Grand Overture will only get the latter, and will not be buffed against bosses. Bungie may consider giving machine guns even more power in the future, but for now, this is considered a good balance change.

Swords

Season 17 will not really affect Swords in Destiny 2 much, with only one planned balance change: Sola’s Scar will have its charge rate increased to 50, up from 20. This is strictly intended to bring it in line with Temptation’s Hook. Bungie notes that players may notice slight stat adjustments across other Swords, but those are only on the frontend and are not really changes but rather fixes to outdated tooltips and stat displays.

Rocket Launchers

The baseline Rocket Launcher family will remain the same, but the sub-categories of Rocket Launchers will see some slight changes to make each feel more distinct. Specifically, Precision Rocket Launchers will have 10% lower damage in Season 17, while Adaptive and Aggressive types will get 10% higher damage.

On a final note, heavy weapons will be affected by Bungie’s changes to the Stability stat, which now grants flinch resistance in addition to its normal functionality. If you are unfamiliar, flinch is a mechanic found in Destiny 2 and many other shooter games, which dictates that taking damage makes players’ shots slightly less accurate. In Season 17, most heavy weapons will grant slightly less flinch resistance than other weapon types in Destiny 2, with a maximum of 10% resistance at 100 Stability; by comparison, Autorifles could bestow up to 25% flinch resistance.