Destiny 2's next update will nerf Telesto in PvP and finally buff scout rifles

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Along with a major super rebalance

Destiny 2 update 2.1.4 is scheduled to release on Tuesday, January 29, and it's shaping up to be a good start to the year. Bungie outlined the many changes coming in the update in its latest This Week At Bungie blog posts, the most recent of which touched on several highly requested weapon tweaks.

Weapon changes 

The headliner is Telesto, an Exotic fusion rifle which, as Bungie acknowledged, "has become fairly notorious in the Crucible." To reduce Telesto's dominance, its PvP damage is being adjusted "to match its charge rate." This will make its explosions less lethal, meaning you'll need to stick more of its mini-grenades to killl. To compensate for this, its sights are being improved to make it easier to aim at long range. 

Telesto's nerf illustrates one of Bungie's goals for the update: avoiding PvP nerfs that make PvE less fun. Destiny has always struggled to separate its PvP and PvE metas, so it's encouraging to see Bungie pursue independent balance more aggressively. The update's not all nerfs, either. Trace rifles like Coldheart are getting a PvP buff to their ammo, and the Exotic shotgun Legend of Acrius is getting a universal damage and range buff. Auto rifles and scout rifles are also being brought up to better compete with pulse rifles and handcannons, which have dominated both PvP and PvE for over a year. 

Super changes 

As Bungie said last week, these weapon changes will arrive alongside a suite of super tweaks. Nearly every super is getting some kind of change, and most of them are being buffed in some way, though dominant supers like Blade Barrage, Nova Warp, and Spectral Blades are being toned down. The buff highlights include six-shooter Golden Gun kills refunding super bullets, Sunbreaker sunspots dealing double their previous damage, Nova Bomb dealing actual damage, and a nutty Fists of Havoc buff that lets you "extend your super for minutes (in PvE)" when applied correctly. You can read the full list of changes here. 

Quality of life changes 

Balance changes aside, update 2.1.4 will deliver several quality of life changes which should smooth over some of Black Armory's bigger annoyances. For starters, the cap for Ballistics Logs is being increased to five and they will no longer be removed from your inventory at the end of each week. Additionally, gold and silver weapon frames will be refunded for ballistics logs and modulus reports, respectively, upon reset. The drop rate for Black Armory lore - which can only be found inside the Lost Forges - is also being doubled to help completionists fill out their books. 

Everything here sounds pretty good, and it all comes just days after Bungie asked for Gambit feedback ahead of the Joker's Wild DLC. After a few months of relative stagnation, significant changes are finally on the horizon for Destiny 2. 

In the latest This Week At Bungie post, Destiny 2 director Luke Smith affirmed Bungie's long-term commitment to Destiny as the studio leaves Activision.  

Austin Wood
Austin Wood
Senior writer

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.