Right before the release of the Root of Nightmare raid for Destiny 2’s Lightfall expansion, Bungie removed the Necrotic Grip Warlock exotic. This came minutes before the event went live, and as a result, this item will no longer be available to Destiny 2 players for those who attempt to complete the Root of Nightmare raid during Contest Mode, which will happen from March 10 at 9 AM to March 12 at 9 AM.
The reason for this exotic being disabled is because of the focused Melee and Glaive meta happening in Destiny 2. Multiple players are able to use this exotic alongside their preferred Glaive meta. The Necrotic Grip has the Grasp of Devourer perk that, when damaging combatants, a player poisons them with their melee hits, dealing increased damage over time. Defeating this poisoned combatant spreads the condition.
The reason Bungie has likely removed this exotic might have been how critical this item was going to be for multiple players going into the raid. During Contest Mode for the first 48 hours, the encounter is meant to be some of the harder content for players to work through, making the World First contest a much more heated battle.
There have not been too many exotic armor removals from the Root of Nightmare raid. Necrotic Grip and Citan’s Ramparts are the only two that were removed leading up to the Root of Nightmare release, but there’s also a handful of nerfed weapons, such as the Winterbite, Jotunn, Hierarch of Needs, Fighting Lion, and Grand Overture. These exotics can still be used by players, but they don’t have the same benefits, and they have significantly less power, at least until Contest Mode is over Sunday morning.
This is one of the noticeable changes Bungie has made, and it may have some last-minute adjustments for all players participating in the World First race.
