It’s no secret that hand cannons are a popular weapon in Destiny 2. Besides being perfect for the “space cowboy” aesthetic, hand cannons--specifically Lightweight Frame hand cannons--had some of the best time-to-kill in Destiny 2’s PvP game mode.
But not all hand cannons were created equal. Lightweight cannons were immensely popular, but Aggressive, Adaptive, and Precision hand cannons were virtually unused outside of PvE.
That’s all set to change in Beyond Light. In yesterday’s TWAB, Bungie has revealed big changes coming to Destiny 2’s sandbox, and those big changes start with hand cannons.
The biggest change is to Lightweight frame, 150 rpm hand cannons. Lightweight hand cannons are all going to become Adaptive hand cannons starting in Beyond Light. This is being done to eliminate the utter dominance this particular brand of hand cannon has in the Crucible by eliminating the movement speed bonus that Lightweight frames provide and also removing the slight edge their higher fire rates give in a one-on-one shootout.
Meanwhile, lesser hand cannons are getting buffed. Adaptive and Precision Frame hand cannons will see their base range increase from 20 to 25m, while Aggressive Frame hand cannon will start at 32m. Precision Frames will get 3-4 more bullets per magazine, and Aggressive Frames will have a boosted fire rate from 110 to 120rpm.
This largely undoes the range nerf that hand cannons received as part of Shadowkeep over a year ago and will undoubtedly lead to wider usage amongst Guardians in both PvE and PvP.
Of course, hand cannons are only part of the story. Nearly every weapon type in Destiny 2 will be adjusted in some way or another, with sniper rifles also receiving special focus. Aim assistance will be tied to scope zoom starting in Beyond Light, with high-zoom scopes getting a small buff to aim assist while low-zoom scopes getting a larger nerf. This should reduce snapshot headshots at medium range and make sniper rifles more of a long-range weapon.
The massive buff given to 600 rpm auto rifles will be scaled back as they lose roughly 10% of their damage cap. Rockets will get additional reserves (1-2 more rockets, depending on their initial inventory) while scout rifles will be more forgiving with a massive aim assist buff.
Undoubtedly the biggest loser in Beyond Light will be the darling of the current season, Falling Guillotine. This sword has come to absolutely dominate every boss fight thanks to its absurd heavy attack damage, but that's being reduced by a whopping 24% come Beyond Light.
This is but a snapshot of the new meta set to arrive in November. We’re sure to get more details in the lead up to Beyond Light’s arrival in less than three weeks.
Source: Bungie