Destiny 2 – Ten exotic weapons to check out in Beyond Light due to the sandbox changes

Bungie unveiled some sandbox changes last week in their This Week At Bungie update, meaning some sandbox balancing is going to come into effect on November 10th. There’s good news and bad news in there, but it does mean some exotic weapons are worth keeping an eye on going into Beyond Light. The following is a guide for ten exotic weapons to check out in Beyond Light due to the sandbox changes.

Exotic weapons are currently immune from being sunset with the arrival of Beyond Light, unlike some of our favourite weapons like Beloved, Spare Rations and many more. Bungie revealed some balancing details a few days ago – with the headlines being taken up mainly by hand cannon changes. However, there are some interesting buffs & nerfs in there for other weapons too.

Thorn (Hand Cannon)

Thorn is my go-to in the crucible. It’s currently a 150 hand cannon and they are all getting changed to 140s (except one, but more on that later). Here’s a quick recap of what Bungie said in the TWAB

“At this time, Lightweight (150 ROF) Hand Cannons represent the majority of Hand Cannon usage in the Crucible. While we experimented with many different ways to even out Lightweights (150 ROF) and Adaptives (140 ROF), Lightweight Hand Cannons consistently retained a faster time to kill (TTK). As such, we opted to equalize their ROF.

We selected 140 ROF as it is fairly balanced in the Crucible sandbox. It gives other weapon archetypes more time to breath between shots, avoids an overabundance of Hand Cannons with faster TTK than other weapons, and pairs nicely with upcoming changes to 600 ROF Auto Rifles (more on that below).”

The changes mean it’s going to be slightly slower, but apparently, the changes also mean it’s going to be able to two-tap with its buff active. On paper it could seem like this is a nerf, but actually, this could turn out really well and could see Thorn getting even stronger than it is now (if that’s even possible).

Sturm (Hand Cannon)

Sturm is currently a 110 hand cannon, which is going to be improved to a 120. This is an interesting experiment and an attempt to make the current 110 hand cannons relevant. It’s partner weapon, the sidearm Drang is also not going away and will in fact be sold by the Gunsmith next season… so the Sturm and Drang combo will live on, and perhaps be more deadly than ever. Drang – Moved the “Together Forever” trait to the intrinsic, similar to how the (Baroque) version works. Added the following perks: Accurized Rounds, Moving Target. It’s definitely worth giving this pairing another go.

Mida Multi-tool (Scout Rifle)

Scouts are being tuned a little bit with Bungie stating Increased how much each point of the AA stat widens the AA cone. At maximum, the AA cone is now 15 per cent wider. This essentially means they are going to be easier to use. The mini-tool also isn’t being sunset, another one which is going to be sold by the gunsmith. The mini-tool is also seeing some buffs with Bungie saying Moved the “Mida Synergy” trait to the intrinsic, similar to how the (Baroque) version works Added the following perks: Hip-Fire Grip and Kill Clip. I’m not convinced we’re going to see Scouts rise to the top as we saw them in the first few months of Destiny 2, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Arbalast (Linear Fusion Rifle)

The last time Arbalast got it’s time in the sun was when everyone had to get Linear Fusion rifle kills in the crucible for the ritual weapon a few seasons ago. I’m not 100% about this change, with Bungie saying “No longer strikes shields multiple times, but its efficacy against shielded targets has been increased”. For anything with a shield, this is going to be great, so it’s one to check out again for sure.

Sunshot (Hand Cannon)

Sunshot is going to be the only 150 hand cannon in the game meaning it’s going to have an advantage over everything else. It’s already a beautiful weapon, but now you’re going to have a slight advantage over opponents when using this one, so I would expect Sunshot to have it’s time in the sun in Beyond Light (did you see what I did there?).

Merciless (Fusion Rifle)

Merciless’ best days were when it first came to the game in the first few months of Destiny 2. Bungie has given it a small buff by saying “Increased inventory stat from 36 to 55 (this increases reserve ammo).” More ammo means using it more often, so it could be worth trying out again when Beyond Light rolls around.

Truth (Rocket Launcher)

Bungie has slightly buffed rockets, but it’s still nowhere near to what we saw in Destiny 1. Back then, Rockets were powerful… and Truth was dominant in PVP. Here’s the buff from Bungie. These Heavy weapons currently have very low reserves, so we’re adjusting that. We expect to take another look at Rocket Launchers in a future Season. Increased reserves by 1 or 2 rockets depending on Inventory stat. Rocket still feel a little clunky, so I’m looking forward to Season of the Rockets sometime in Beyond Light.

Jade Rabbit (Scout Rifle)

This is another scout rifle that’s getting a buff as well as an upgrade of sorts. Bungie says this of Jade Rabbit – Armor Piercing Rounds swapped to High Caliber Rounds. This fixes an issue that could prevent the exotic perk from triggering.

Ace of Spades (Hand Cannon)

Given this was a 140 it was always overlooked for Spare Rations or Thorn and other 150 Hand Cannons. Now the playing field has been levelled in it’s a favour we could see much more of Ace in and around PVP. With Memento Mori – Reloading after a kill loads magazine with a few extra-damage bullets. Grants radar while aiming down sights. Also taking into account Firefly – Precision kills with this weapon increase reload speed and cause the target to explode, dealing Solar damage to nearby enemies. The changes to the other hand cannons around Ace could see Ace of Spades stand out from the other 140s due to its exotic perks and it’s the good impact (84) and range (78).

Crimson (Hand Cannon)

Crimson already strong, now with the range buff coming in Beyond Light, this could see a metoric rise to the top considering it’s damage buff in Shadowkeep. Unfrotunately back in Shadowkeep there was a range nerf, but this is essentially being reversed in Beyond Light. This is somewhere between a pulse rifle and a hand cannon but roughly equates to a 140rpm hand cannon. Crimson is a beast with 92 impact, 82 stability and 100, yes, 100 inventory size. Bungie state in their sandbox update “Damage falloff for 100 range now starts at 25m, was 20m.” I think Crimson is definitely one to check out when Beyond Light drops on November 10th.

Let me know doesn in the comments what you’re going to be using going into Beyond Light and have any of your favourite weapons been affected?

That’s it for this look at ten exotic weapons to check out in Beyond Light due to the sandbox changes.