Earlier this year, Bungie revealed the roadmap for Destiny 2 going into 2019, leaving most of the community excited for the changes. Next week, Arc Week is kicking off on schedule, overhauling each of the game’s Arc-powered subclasses. The Arcstrider for Hunters, the Striker for Titans, and the Stormcaller for Warlocks will all receive gameplay enhancements and improvements to update the game’s Arc abilities to play better with the new content and mechanics.
For an in-depth look at the coming changes, here’s a summary of what to expect when the patch hits next week, sans the developers’ notes for your reading pleasure. For the unabridged list of changes, visit the official Bungie community discussion page here.
Striker Code of the Juggernaut (Bottom Path)
Frontal Assault:
Now increases all weapon damage for the duration of the buff
25% against combatants
20% against players
Duration increased from 10 to 16 seconds
Buff timer is now displayed on the HUD
Knockout:
Melee damage bonus increased from 25% to 60%
Now also triggers once you have dealt 60% damage to a target
Any damage done after 60% will refresh the timer
Still also triggers off shield pop
No longer consumed after 1 melee attack
Duration increased from 3 to 5 seconds
Arcstrider Way of the Warrior (Top Path)
Combination Blow
Bonus melee damage can now be stacked 3 times (requires a melee ability kill for each stack)
Buff increases melee damage by 60% per stack in PvE
Buff increases melee damage by 22.7% per stack in PvP
For comparison, this ability used to be 1 stack and increased melee damage by 50%
Kills with this ability now heal 40 health in addition to starting health regen
Deadly Reach:
Increased buff duration from 6 to 8 seconds
Buff is no longer consumed by a melee hit
Arcstrider Way of the Wind (Bottom Path)
Disorienting Blow:
Increased the disorient distance by 50%
Increased duration of disorient on players from 1.5 to 2 seconds
Focused Breathing:
Increased dodge recharge bonus while sprinting by 100%
Combat Meditation:
Increased bonus grenade and melee regeneration while bloodied by 25%
Lightning Reflexes:
Increased damage resistance while dodging from 25% to 40% in PvP
Increased damage resistance while dodging from 63% to 70% In PvE
Stormcaller Stormtrance Super (Top and Bottom Path)
Damage scales up to 150% over 5 seconds of continuous use of the attack
Updated FX and audio to support this functionality
Stormcaller Attunement of Conduction (Top Path)
Chain Lightning Melee
Can now chain up to 5 times, up from 1, and each individual target can be hit twice
Chain damage decreased from 50 to 31 damage per chain hit
Arc Web
Can now chain to many (many) more targets, and back and forth between targets
The amount of chaining varies based on use, and I will leave it to you all to discover!
Increase chain range from 10 meters to 12 meters
Chaining Arc damage now reduces the cooldown of your grenade
Works with Arc Web chains and chains from Chain Lightning Melee
Earn 3% energy per instance of chain damage in PvE
Earn 10% energy per instance of chain damage in PvP
Stormcaller Attunement of the Elements (Bottom Path)
Electrostatic Surge:
Increased bonus regeneration rate of Rift by 600% per nearby friendly Guardian
This sounds insane, and it’s a big boost you will definitely feel, but it was previously very low.
Extends Rift duration from 15 to 20 seconds
Added a UI notification for when the buff is active
Arc Soul:
Extended duration by 50%.
That’s it for the changes for the game’s Arc abilities. We’re definitely glad to see the Arc subclasses get some much-needed love and attention, especially since a lot of the buffs directly address many of the community’s concerns regarding balance and viability. What do you think about the changes coming in Destiny 2’s Arc Week? What other improvements do you hope to see in the game’s Arc subclasses? What about with the Solar abilities, and the Void abilities? Let us know what you think in the comments section below!
