Stasis is way too good in Destiny 2 PvP, Bungie admits

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Sandbox discipline lead Kevin Yanes shares a much-needed update

Destiny 2 Beyond Light
(Image credit: Bungie)

Contrary to the message sent by the frankly devastating Stasis abilities introduced in Destiny 2's Season of the Splicer, Bungie is planning to nerf the power level of Stasis in PvP in future updates. 

Sandbox discipline lead Kevin Yanes recently responded to some PvP feedback from Gigz, a longtime Destiny PvP streamer, on Twitter. Gigz's tweet came smack in the middle of a wave of renewed calls for Stasis nerfs, with many content creators and PvP fans criticizing the power and popularity of Stasis, which has weathered several minor nerfs functionally unscathed. 

"Can't say much yet but we're actively trying adjustments to Stasis," Yanes said in response. "We know it's too hot and needs to be knocked down a few (many) pegs. Our focus for the next few balance updates is to shift more and more focus of PvP gameplay towards guns. Again more on that in the future."

The Season of the Splicer gave all three classes a new Stasis Artifact which augments their abilities. The most controversial has been the new Hunter Aspect, which makes all of the Stasis grenades – which were already exceedingly powerful – significantly more lethal inside PvP. This Aspect sparked a new batch of Stasis backlash, and changes to abilities like Warlock's Icarus Dash – a popular soft counter to being slowed by Stasis – only added fuel to the fire.  

Destiny 2 PvP enthusiasts have long criticized the way Stasis interrupts gameplay, and as I said in my Destiny 2: Beyond Light review, getting instantly frozen in a game built on fast movement and snappy gunplay feels horrible. Bungie has incrementally nerfed Stasis by reducing the duration of freeze, targeting class-specific abilities, and making the slow effect less oppressive, but Stasis is still the uncontested king of the Crucible. But based on Yane's latest comment, it sounds like Bungie will finally take the gloves off and hit Stasis much harder in the future. 

Unfortunately, it's unclear when more Stasis nerfs will arrive. Bungie typically only issues a few balance updates every season, with the biggest changes packaged with seasonal launch updates. We're only a few days into the Season of the Splicer and many PvP fans already have their head in their hands, so here's hoping the next batch of Stasis nerfs is substantial, and that it arrives well before the start of the next season.

See what else is on the way with our big guide to new games 2021 and beyond.

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.