Destiny 2studio Bungie is giving the Recluse SMG a second round of balance tweaks in an upcoming patch to the game, the developer announced in a blog post Thursday.
A reward for completing a Crucible PVP quest fromDestiny 2’s sixth season, the Recluse is a legendary SMG with a perk that improves the weapon’s damage with kills from any weapon in a Guardian’s loadout. Taking the Recluse into PVE content allowed players to hit enemy targets with precision-level damage anywhere, ignoring critical spots entirely and placing the gun’s damage well above comparable legendaries and even exotics.
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With the new patch, scheduled to drop at the end ofDestiny 2’s eighth seasonon December 10, Bungie will modify the buff granted to the Recluse by the Master of Arms perk, preventing it from activating precision damage on activation and instead providing a simple bonus to the gun’s regular damage levels.
Bungie previously made attempts to tweak the Recluse’s performance with the initial release of Shadowkeep in early October, but the buffs made to SMG damage across the board for the expansion resulted in a nerf with minimal effect. While granted as a reward forcompetitive play inDestiny 2, the effectiveness of the Recluse made it into a prime weapon for encounters like the game’s strikes and endgame content without taking up a coveted exotic slot for players.
The announcement of the Recluse’s tweaks came alongside news that the infamous One-Eyed Mask exotic Titan helmet, another piece of exceptionally effective gear for Crucible-minded Guardians, would also be receiving further modifications for Season 9 ofDestiny 2.
Bungie also detailed some upcoming edits to the stats for the Xenophage, an exotic heavy machine gun thatrecently arrived inDestiny 2: Shadowkeepwith an elaborate quest,but was falling short of expectations set by the game’s live development team. The Xenophage will be 50% more effective against enemies in PVE content after the release of the patch.
Fans of the Recluse’s unrestrained damage and the One-Eyed Mask’s overshield effect will inevitably be disappointed in the nerfs made to the fan favorites, butthe evolving nature ofDestiny 2’s metagamewill ensure that even if the gear falls out of the game’s top tiers, worthy successors will always be present on the horizon.
Destiny 2is available now for PC, Xbox One and PS4. The Stadia version will launch alongside the service on November 19th.
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