Bungie dropped a pretty hefty and juicy blog post detailing additional weapon balancing changes coming to Destiny 2 Season 19. One of the highlights includes a nerf to a beloved grenade launcher, and of course, the community is not happy about it.
RIP Witherhoard
So, what is this weapon that everyone got riled up? It’s none other than the Witherhoard. For those who are new to Destiny 2, Witherhoard is an exotic grenade launcher that fires damaging projectiles at the enemy. Simple, right? Nope, it doesn’t stop there! What makes this weapon special is that its projectiles leave a pool of blight on the ground which deals damage over time to enemies standing on it.
This grenade launcher is pretty good, especially for those who do not have impeccable aim. Players can just fire the projectile to the ground and let the blight do its thing.
That said, the recent TWAB reveals that the said exotic weapon will have its blight pool (aka Taken Portal) duration reduced from 7.5 seconds to just 4.5 seconds. On the surface, this adjustment does not look bad. However, for those who consistently use the Witherhoard, this is a substantial nerf because players now have to be more active when using the weapon if they want to keep the pressure on their enemies.
According to Chris Proctor, Senior Design Lead for Destiny 2, this change was necessary because the Witherhoard is currently too strong in PvE, not to mention that it’s incredibly cumbersome to deal with in PvP.
It is understandable that this nerf has angered the community, especially those who enjoy using the exotic grenade launcher.
A Redditor said that although they recognized that the grenade launcher was too annoying to deal with in PvP, the developers' justification for the nerf in PvE is a lame attempt in persuading people to use the other exotics in the game.
Another user stated that this was the wrong approach in balancing the Witherhoard. Bungie should have just kept the duration as it is, but with the damage reduced slightly. They added that the change in duration is tough because it will certainly break some builds.
While players are upset by this, there are still some who are ok with the adjustment. One Redditor said that they’re happy that Bungie did not nerf this exotic weapon’s damage.
But what do you think? Does Witherhoard deserve a nerf to its blight duration? If not, what should Bungie do with this weapon, particularly in PvP?
Destiny 2 is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
