Destiny 2's first expansion DLC, Curse of Osiris, is out now, and whether you're waist-deep in Mercury adventures or still playing through the Red War, you'll feel many of the changes that arrived along with it. Destiny 2 Update 1.1.0 is out now and Bungie has listed all of its many tweaks, fixes, and balance changes on its official site. Here are the five biggest changes, as far as I'm concerned.
Grenades are more powerful, mostly
Ever feel like your grenades don't pack enough punch? Bungie agrees. Almost every grenade type in the game will now do increased damage, with one big exception: Pulse Grenades. C'mon, you knew this was coming - they were way too much of a "no brainer" choice for subclasses that had access to them. Pulse Grenades now do slightly less damage, and will also make your screen and controller shake less when they activate.
Old Exotics feel like new
Time to take a second look at some of those exotics you sent straight to the Vault before. The big weapon refresh is Fighting Lion, which has had both its damage increased and its Thin The Herd perk changed to grant you bonus ammo instead of pulling from your reserve (more Power Ammo is always good). As for armor, Lucky Pants get a sorely needed extra perk - they now load one bullet into your stowed hand cannon for every precision kill you land, making it into a sort of any-cannon-goes Sturm and Drang combo - and Karnstein Armlets gets a deeper overhaul: hit an enemy and you get a temporary boost to both Mobility and Recovery, and low-health targets will be highlighted; kill an enemy and you get a big chunk of health back. I vant to drain your Liiiight.
Public Events give better loot but less Glimmer and XP
Public Events are the Grinder's Choice for earning rewards and progressing quickly in Destiny 2. It doesn't sound like Update 1.1.0 will totally upend that convention, but it will tweak the awards a bit. First, the bad news: multiple Public Events have had their XP and Glimmer rewards reduced to 'bring them in line' with other activities and events. They'll also award fewer Rare (blue) items. But that last one isn't so bad because - this is the good news - Public Events will have more Legendary (purple) rewards! Now that's change I can believe in.
PvP is more rewarding
Still grinding for Better Devils? You'll be extra happy to hear this one: The Crucible will now pay out more Legendary awards for completing matches in both the Quickplay and Competitive playlists. The same goes for increased Rare loot and XP too. I'm glad to hear PvP will be a little more rewarding, whether you just do it for the Milestones or if you've always preferred the satisfying "pop" of Guardian heads.
Louis the hawk won't jitter anymore
Suraya's switched Louis onto decaf and he seems to be doing much better now, cranky mornings notwithstanding.
Let's not forget about all the new stuff coming in the expansion, too: like a new Raid Lair and Heroic Strikes arriving as part of Curse of Osiris, as well as a big new Public Event. After a rough few weeks, it looks like we're finally getting back into the Good Destiny Times.
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