Summary
With the latest update toDestiny 2from Bungie, players have discovered that a well-loved skill in the game, removed earlier this year, has been reintroduced. With the arrival of October comes the yearly spooky seasonal activity,the Festival of the Lost, where this year, players have brand-new weapons like the Acosmic grenade launcher, modes like Legendary Haunted Sectors, and even a new shader to chase.
As with any live service game, regular content updates, bug fixes, and changes to weapons and armor are the norm. But the very nature of an ever-changing game means that these patches sometimes have unintended side effects. This was the case with the recent update released earlier this week, which accidentallyintroduced changes to exotic gear that Bungie intendedto go live in Season 23. While most players were busy learning how to utilize the updated armor in end-game activities, others discovered the update brought back a removed skill.
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On Twitter,Destiny 2content creator Saltagreppo posted a video showing that hot swapping was back in the game. However, there is a catch, as now it is only possible using the Strand subclass that was introduced and only available with the Lightfall expansion. The video shows the multiple World First Raid winner seamlessly swapping between his legendary shotguns and the heavy exotic Tractor Cannon. According to Saltagreppo’s directions, to pull this off, besides needing access to Strand, players simply need to “shoot, grapple, and swap.”
This new method is a little trickier to pull off, and players risk losing their grapple charge if they fail, which is highly possible with the hecticness ofDestiny 2’s combat. With hot swapping only being available with the Strand subclass, it is safe to assume that this is a bug.Bungie disabled hot swappingearlier this year to tackle the issue of it being used to change between the exotic weapon, 4th Horseman, and other slug shotguns to output massive damage. A hotfix was rolled out, so there was a two-second cool-down window when swapping a weapon before they could be fired again.
Reactions to the discovery are mixed, with some saying that it should be patched as hot swapping is a broken and unintended mechanic. However, Saltagreppo and others are advocating for Bungie to leave it in the game as it is no longer overpowered and enhances the game by making it more fun. Previously, hot swapping was a popular method used by players to tackle end-game activities such as raids.
This latest update has also partially reversed a previously controversial change on snipers and shotguns - airborne effectiveness. While, as of writing, there is no word from Bungie about hot swapping, players can test their skills in this week’s featured exotic mission, Operation: Seraph Shield, toearn the Revision Zero exotic pulse rifle.
Destiny 2is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
