A Destiny 2 bow does more damage at higher frame rates, according to the YouTube account Cheese Forever and confirmed by Destiny Bulletin, which claims to have tested the bow and found it does an extra tick of damage at higher hertz per second in the FPS game. Leviathan’s Breath, a heavy Exotic Void bow available at the Monument to Lost Lights and originally introduced as part of the game’s Shadowkeep expansion, is quickly becoming a meta weapon due to changes in the game’s overall sandbox.
The weapon has intrinsic anti-Champion capabilities, and its Exotic perk, Big Game Hunter, means it fires a massive jolt. Paired with its secondary Exotic perk, Leviathan’s Sigh, a fully drawn shot will induce a charged knockback effect over a limited time. However, players playing at a higher frame rate will find an extra tick of damage.
While Destiny 2 has several known frame rate issues, typically, the problems involve taking more damage at higher frame rates. However, in this case, the issue is that Leviathan’s Breath inexplicably grants an extra tick of damage on increased FPS.
This isn’t the only issue players have encountered involving Destiny 2’s frame rates. Players using higher frame rates had less time to dodge lasers in Season of the Seraph, while others have suggested that players take less damage in other aspects of the game when playing on lower frame rates as well. Although Bungie has not offered a clear reason for the differences, some suspect it has to do with the game engine, originally designed to build games for console devices with internal frame rate caps. However, this is unconfirmed.
While Cheese Forever suggests the Leviathan’s Breath issue only occurs at frame rates of 160, Destiny Bulletin’s analysis showed notable differences due to ‘ghost’ damage at frame rates of 60-70.
Another weapon that appears to be dealing extra damage is the Destiny 2 Winterbite Exotic glaive, one of the new Destiny 2 Lightfall Exotics.
Destiny 2 season 20 is reaching its halfway point, and the multiplayer game‘s newest expansion is currently on sale on Steam. If you’re a New Light or just jumping back into the game, check out our Destiny 2 Lightfall guide to see everything new with the game’s most recent expansion.