Bungie tried to stop them, but Destiny 2 players have revived one of the best DPS glitches in MMO history: the double-slug boss melt

Destiny 2 Gambit's Drifter — (Image credit: Bungie)

In the long and colorful history of Destiny 2 exploits, the double-slug boss melt is one of my favorites not just because it's incredibly fun to do, but also because it's an amazing display of caveman logic actually paying off. One shotgun? Not enough. Two shotguns? Neurons activated. Bungie previously nerfed the strategy into the ground, but like a bad rash, it's come right back.

Destiny 2 raid master TheSnazzzyRock, who previously set an unbelievable record for the Vault of Glass raid after some 200 hours of attempts, posted a video sharing the good word of the double-slug this week, with a tip of the hat to Suutekk for uncovering it in the first place. It's just like you remember it: swapping between weapons resets what's supposed to be a shared fire rate, letting you unload way more shells than Bungie ever intended.

There's just one catch: you now have to use a Strand subclass with the grapple grenade equipped, and activate your grenade with every swap. Your grapple won't actually be consumed if you time it right, letting you keep the chain going forever on any class. This does effectively double the number of inputs needed for each swap, but that's a small price to pay for the power of the double-slug. Not only that, this Strand swap glitch seems to work with every weapon type in the game, though slug shotguns are still probably the best fit for it.

Slug shotguns are uniquely positioned for this glitch among special weapons. They have good ammo reserves and magazines (unlike grenade launchers), fire instantly (unlike fusion rifles), and are quick to aim (unlike sniper rifles). Thanks to their precision damage modifier, they're also better damage than normal shotguns against anything with a weak point, which is basically every raid boss. In fact, it's literally every raid boss with the addition of the crit shell from the Exotic fusion rifle Divinity, which is better than ever thanks to a new Warlock Exotic helmet, the Cenotaph Mask, which lets you fire Divinity uninterrupted.

The double-slug strat is still weaker than it used to be because the passive damage from the old go-to Exotic heavy pairing, Anarchy, is much lower after some nerfs, but Anarchy isn't weak by any means. You could also use a machine gun for your heavy slot and treat it like a primary weapon to clear enemies between DPS phases, then bet it all on the slugs for boss killing. You honestly can't go wrong, so savor the double-slug while it lasts.

Last month, Bungie fought an even bigger weapon clown fiesta as game-breaking "funny guns" destroyed the crafting system and also every boss in the game.

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Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.