Champion enemies areDestiny 2’s way of adding another difficulty layer to late-game activities similar to enemies with elemental shields. Teams of any size collaborate to bring specific weaponry into activities to deal with these enemies, although Champions are still somewhat possible to defeat without the proper equipment and enough brute force instead. The weapon types effective at stunning Champions and leaving them vulnerable are dictated by the latest mods fromDestiny 2’s seasonal artifact. Some Exotic weapons also have anti-Champion mods as permanent perks.
Season of the Seraph features auto rifles, bows, hand cannons, grenade launchers, pulse rifles, scout rifles, and submachine guns as weapons capable of stunning the three different Champion types. Regardless of the popularity some of these weapon types have earned, their anti-Champion mods have some very underwhelming performances. The currentSeason of the Seraphintroduces a new Exotic weapon, which has an intrinsic perk for stunning Champions. The new Exotic taking up a kinetic weapon slot heavily restricts the remainder of players' available anti-Champion weaponry, making the case that Exotic weapons should be able to stack anti-Champion mods with existing perks.
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Why Anti-Champion Weapons in Destiny 2 Should Stack With Exotic Perks
The weapon and ability mods that apply anti-Champion damage change with every Season, mixing up which weapon types will be most useful in the new and existing activities across the different Seasons inDestiny 2. A small portion of weapons in the game remain permanently useful though, asExotic weapons with anti-Champion perks. These Exotic weapons include the Arbalest, Bastion, Devil’s Ruin, Divinity, Eriana’s Vow, Le Monarque, Leviathan’s Breath, Malfeasance, The Lament, Thunderlord, and Wish-Ender. The anti-Champion perks on these Exotic weapons behave differently than the mods available for the rest of the legendary and Exotic weapons.
The performances of theanti-Champion mods in Season of the Seraphon legendary weapons have plenty of room for improvement. The anti-Barrier mod for bows takes two fully drawn arrows to break a Barrier Champion’s shield since the shields prevent critical hits. The long draw time on some bows can leave enough time for the Champion to regenerate over a third of their health from within their shield. The Unstoppable mod for hand cannons this Season requires players to aim down sights for an awkwardly long period without firing for the mod to activate. Such a long pause in the middle of a firefight can often be the difference between life and death.
The newRevision Zero Exotic pulse riflecould have set a new standard forDestiny 2Exotics weapons with existing anti-Champion perks to stack with seasonal anti-Champion mods, though since it didn’t happen, the change doesn’t seem likely. The Revision Zero is able to fire anti-Champion rounds unconditionally, meaning that any conditions required to activate additional anti-Champion mods wouldn’t interfere with how the gun currently works. Not all the anti-Champion Exotic weapons work unconditionally, but the Revision Zero alone highlights how disappointing the current mods can perform on otherwise favorable legendary weapons.
Allowing anti-Champion damage types to stack on Exotic weapons could help players by increasing the amount of weaponry that is useful in any given Season. Unlike how a wide variety of weapons can be used to deal with enemy elemental shields, anti-Champion mods having such a limited amount of options each Season can be very restricting. Allowing anti-Champion mods to stack would especially improve thesolo experience ofDestiny 2.
Even if allowing anti-Champion mods to stack with perks on Exotic weapons isn’t likely to be in a future update, the mods themselves could still benefit from performance upgrades. As Champion enemies continue to appear in activities throughoutDestiny 2, the existence of anti-Champion Exotics has been a great addition to the game. The ease of the conditions for activating anti-Champion perks on Exotic weapons is a strong factor influencing their usage compared to using the seasonal mods on other weapons, and they could use a fresh coat of paint.
Destiny 2is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X.
MORE:How Destiny 2’s Champion Mods Could Be Made Independent From Seasonal Artifacts
