Destiny 2’s most problematic weapon is getting a double whammy nerf in Heresy Act 2

Destiny 2’s undisputed king of the Crucible is getting a major nerf in Heresy Act 2 to curb its overperformance in all areas of the PvP sandbox.

Introduced in Heresy Act 1 as the season’s dedicated Competitive reward, Redrix’s Estoc immediately rocketed to the top of meta rankings due to its incredible archetype and juiced stats.

Like the BXR-55 Batter – a homage to Halo’s Battle Rifle – introduced in 2021’s 30th Anniversary update, Estoc is a Legacy PR-55 Frame, a subfamily of the Lightweight archetype that Bungie’s Act 2 balance pass is hitting hard, alongside one particularly potent perk.

Heresy Act 2 Pulse Rifle balance changes

First on the docket is Sword Logic. Introduced in Season 22, the perk grants a stacking damage bonus with any final blows. In Crucible, each kill grants two stacks; when procced after a single kill, Estoc’s TTK becomes lightning-fast and nigh-on impossible to play around.

That being the case, the following changes to Sword Logic come into effect with Act 2. Per Bungie’s March 6 TWID blog post:

• Tuning Sword Logic Damage against players in PvP. This will not affect PvE efficacy.
  • Reduced base damage bonus for kills against players from 20% to 15%.
  • Increased damage bonus for kills against players in super from 35% to 50%.

In addition to the above, Estoc, as well as other popular Lightweight Pulse Rifles such as Chattering Bone, Outbreak Perfect, and Stay Frosty, will have their damage curbed with the following adjustments:

• Walking back some of the buff that Lightweight Pulse Rifles received in Destiny 2 Update 8.1.5.3.
  • Body shot damage against players reduced from 20.4 to 19.7.
  • Critical hit damage against players reduced from 31.8 to 31.5.
  • Note: This is still a damage increase over their values pre-8.1.5.3, but it does shift some of the forgiveness and optimal kill thresholds downward.

How all of the above will affect Destiny 2’s PvP meta remains to be seen, but don’t be surprised to see Pulse Rifles taking a back seat to Hand Cannons and Auto Rifles once the changes go live on March 11.

For more Heresy Act 2 content, check out all the new weapons you’ll be able to earn through Court of Blades and the return of Guardian Games.