Destiny 2 details huge sandbox changes for Update 7.3.5

Plenty has been said about Destiny 2‘s many, many ups and downs in the year of Lightfall. Even though Bungie hasn’t prepared the strongest of send-offs with the Season of the Wish, better updates are on the way, and Update 7.3.5, in particular, could be an interesting showpiece.

More specifically, Bungie’s latest This Week in Destiny blog specifically outlines Update 7.3.5, which is due to launch on March 5, with sandbox changes taking the most of the limelight. Exotics such as the Manticore SMG and the Vex Mythoclast fusion rifle are being (slightly) buffed, for example, and almost every weapon class is getting a tweak of this or that kind. Further, there are big PvP changes in tow, with the nerf to the infamously powerful Threaded Specter Warlock subclass being particularly notable.

Destiny 2’s Update 7.3.5 sets the stage for Into The Light

The full list of changes coming to Destiny 2 with Update 7.3.5 are far too numerous to breakdown every single one, but some of the highlights include:

• Substantial uptime reduction for the Threaded Specter, with appropriate Strand Threadling tweaks in PvP.
• Restoration timer extension fix, with Solar Fragment tweaks where applicable.
• Various ability tweaks (e.g. effectively halving the Gunpowder Gamble’s maximum self-damage).
• Fixed Heavy Burst Hand Cannon aim assist stat.
• Reduced the bows’ long-range aim assist in PvP.
• Lightweight Scout Rifles get a 5% base damage buff
• Rocket Launcher tweaks, including increased ammo reserves for Precision and High-Impact weapons.
• Grenade Launcher tweaks, including a reduction to the Spike Grenades’ impact damage buff (50% to 12.5%).
• Manticore buffs, such as aerial survivability improvements.
• Ex Diris buffs, improving its impact damage in PvE by a whopping 50%.
• Various utility buffs for Heal Clip, Trench Barrel, Barrel Constrictor, Loose Change, Dual Loader, and other underpowered weapon Perks.

All of the above hardly scratches the surface for the broader changes coming with Update 7.3.5, and Bungie claims this is all going to serve the upcoming Destiny 2: Into The Light content drop. In fact, some of this patch’s changes have been drawn from Into the Light, specifically: “We’ve pulled a lot of balance changes from The Final Shape and Destiny 2: Into the Light into Update 7.3.5, but we’ll still have a number of small but exciting changes shipping in Into the Light, touching content many players haven’t thought about in several years.”

What’s really interesting here is that The Final Shape will, apparently, include a huge weapon rebalance: “Since we’re looking at PvE weapon tuning anyway, over the course of the year of The Final Shape we’ll be looking at weapon mods that feel mandatory, and we intend to make some changes that will increase player choice, particularly in PvE,” Bungie says.

Finally, there’s a “weapon enhancement” system of some sort coming to Destiny 2 in the future, though not much has been said about this yet: “You can also look forward to being able to enhance many more weapons. We’ll be back with more information on weapon enhancement soon,” says the TWID.

Taking all of the above in mind, it may be worth highlighting the time-limited Humble Bundle Destiny 2 offer, which will be live until February 28. For a fraction of the usual asking price, you could snag the entire roster of available content, though this – of course – does not include previously sunset releases, such as the fan-favorite Black Armory DLC, which will remain permanently unavailable until Bungie decides otherwise.