Destiny 2 Linear Fusion Rifles will soon no longer dominate the FPS game‘s PvP weapon meta as Bungie will implement several changes to them as part of next week’s reset.
“We are making some adjustments to Lineal [sic] Fusion Rifles. These were initially planned for Season 19 but have been brought forward to Hotfix 6.2.5.3, launching 11/8,” the official Bungie Help Twitter account tweets.
The company then lists the changes, which are as follows:
- Increased flinch and settle time after receiving damage in PvP.
- Reduced flinch settle time in PvE.
- Reduced the aim assist cone size (special ammo only).
Linear Fusion Rifles currently dominate the game’s weapon meta, particularly in PvP. The Linear Fusion Rifle weapon meta is a point of contention among players, with players specifically referencing Exotic Linear Fusion Rifles Lorentz Driver and Arbalest as problematic in activities such as Trials of Osiris. Lorentz Driver and Arbalest both use Special Ammo, meaning Bugie is almost certainly implementing these changes to address issues with those specific guns.
While Bungie previously acknowledged issues with these weapons, the company suggested it wouldn’t disable them in PvP because the issues weren’t “gamebreaking.”
Although flinch can significantly impact gameplay, the most pertinent change is the reduction of aim assist cone size. The change will now require players to be more concise with their shots when using Special Ammo Linear Fusion Rifles.
Bungie’s announcement regarding the forthcoming patch comes on the tail of news that last weekend’s Trials of Osiris player count dropped below 200,000 for the first time in 43 weeks. Decreasing Trials of Osiris player retention rates may have also influenced Bungie’s decision to act quickly to balance the game’s weapon meta.
In the tweet comments, most players lauded the changes, a reflection of how an unbalanced weapon meta can destroy the health of a competitive PvP activity.
Unfortunately, Trials players will still have to wait until next weekend’s event as Bungie won’t implement the patch until its weekly reset on Tuesday, which is also when Bungie cycles its weekly raid, story missions, Nightfall, and Nightfall weapon. Next week’s reset will also mark the end of the annual Festival of the Lost event, so players seeking to earn the Ghost Writer title have only until then to complete the objectives required to earn the distinction.