Destiny 2 players convinced Bungie secretly buffed the most annoying Taken enemy

Destiny 2 players believe the Heresy update stealthily buffed Taken Phalanx enemies since they’re now “more oppressive than they were last episode.”

Bungie released Destiny 2’s Heresy episode in early February, complete with a new activity, Trials of Osiris overhaul, and extensive buffs and nerfs.

The listed balance adjustments detailed changes impacting a litany of Exotic weapons, Exotic armor, and more. However, some members of the community now think the developers may have withheld details about a buff specific to the Taken Phalanx foes.

One player took it upon themselves to investigate the matter further, their findings suggesting the Taken enemies are indeed stronger than they were pre-Heresy.

Destiny 2 fans call out unstoppable Taken Phalanx shield mechanics

A Redditor named FrostWendigo said their team noticed how much “more oppressive” the Taken enemies feel in Heresy compared to the previous episode, Revenant.

The crew realized that the shields these particular foes carry seem to cover more of their body, thereby making them tougher to take down. To prove the theory, OP dug into their clip archives and then captured new footage of the Taken Phalanx in action.

The user explained, “…I’ve found proof that yes, Taken Phalanxes have changed. Instead of holding their shield out to the side, only raising it to release their knockback blast, they now hold it in front of their bodies. Just like the new Dire Taken Phalanx.”

The Dire Taken Phalanx can get away with the shield positioning because theirs are smaller than that of their counterparts.

However, regular Taken Phalanx wield normal-sized shields, meaning the new animation obscures too much of their bodies for Destiny 2 players to get clean shots.

As one Redditor said they’ve encountered the same problem. “Noticed something was off in the GM this week when it was so much more difficult to stun them with most weapons. You basically have to shoot the edge of their right foot, most other shots just get absorbed.”

Another person pointed out that the Taken Phalanx may have somehow adopted the defensive behaviors of Cabal Phalanx.

Regardless, the hope is that this counts as little more than a bug that Bungie can fix in a future update.