Let’s say that you were a newer player and wanted to create a simple build that could tackle Master Nightfalls. Back during Forsaken, you’d equip your favorite Exotics and be just fine. Now, you need good Exotics and:
The recommended power level for Grandmaster Nightfalls is 1370, but you can start attempting them at 1345. Getting from 1330 to 1345 requires Artifact Power, which in the most simplest terms just means earning experience and gaining levels. You get one level of Artifact Power for every ten levels you complete of the battle pass. Once you’ve reached Level 100 – the maximum level on the battle pass – you’ll be at 1340 power level (1330 gear level + 10 Artifact power).
Bungie has the perfect opportunity to fix these issues with the Void 3.0 rework that’s coming with The Witch Queen . Nightstalker is one of the Hunter’s best PvE subclasses, so this rework will either make or break Hunters for the foreseeable future. There’s a chance to revitalize the Hunter with some unique mechanics that set it apart from the other Void subclasses. But this is also a chance for Bungie to homogenize all of the classes even further with class-agnostic Fragments and buffs. For the sake of all Hunter mains, I hope Bungie opts for the former.
This has been the experience of many Hunter mains for months now, but it has truly reached a fever pitch with the release of the Bungie 30th Anniversary Pack. Nerfs to dodge cooldowns, Duskfield Grenades, ability cooldowns in general , and the presence of debuff mods every season have made Hunters undesirable for most PvE content. It’s gotten so bad that some Hunter mains have been kicked from groups solely for their class of choice.
Hunters could always fall back on Golden Gun—just as Warlocks have Well of Radiance and Titans have Ward of Dawn—but it’s become less sought after ever since Titans received the Cuirass of the Falling Star Exotic. Now, Titans can dish out slightly more damage than Golden Gun in a single slam that also kills nearby targets. Most LFG teams now look for Titans to fulfill the DPS role Golden Gun used to fill, even if Golden Gun is much safer to use.
This is going to be a divisive opinion amongst the Destiny community. Grandmaster Nightfalls are the very end of the endgame. They are the pinnacle PVE challenge for the most dedicated Destiny players. They’re unbelievably challenging and completely inaccessible until you’ve reached a power level that far exceeds the requirements for any other activity, including raids. Grandmaster Nightfalls are designed to be a top-tier challenge for hardcore players, and that’s exactly what they are. My concern isn’t with the challenge or the dedication required to access them, but rather the empty, soulless grind to get there. If you want to be leveled appropriately for a Grandmaster, you have to grind Destiny full time, day-in and day-out, for months. I just don’t think you should have to dedicate your life to Destiny – or any game – to complete the hardest content.
The only remaining use for Hunters has been to inflict slow through their Revenant Super, activating an Artifact mod called Focusing Lens that stacks with other buffs. Sadly, Bungie removed this interaction with the 30th Anniversary Pack. That patch also nerfed both Hunter dodges in hopes of making the class ability less potent in the Crucible. While that was certainly achieved, it also nerfed Hunters in PvE. Specs like Bottom Tree Nightstalker were tuned around frequently dodging and using your melee, something you can’t do as frequently now unless you run The Sixth Coyote or Omnioculus. And if you’re a player that loved using Dragon’s Shadow or Wormhusk Crown, you can forget about using Gambler’s Dodge.
A Lightning Round is a random event that can spawn at the very end of a Dares of Eternity run. While active, Guardians must capture zones around the boss arena while waves of enemies spawn at your location. A special miniboss called Xur’s Chosen will also spawn during the round. You must defeat Xur’s Chosen during three different Lightning Rounds to finish this Triu
I wouldn’t want to take anything away from the most hardcore Destiny 2 Weapons 2 players that actually do spend all day every day in the game. They still deserve to be rewarded for their dedication, but those rewards already exist outside of Grandmaster Nightfalls. They have Triumphs to pursue, Master Raids, Trials of Osiris, and titles to earn. Grandmaster Nightfalls should be the hardest content to do, but they shouldn’t be gatekept behind a monotonous grind.
To be clear, I do not want any class nerfed. I just want Hunters to feel useful again. Let Shadowshot stack with Artifact debuffs. Make Bottom Tree Golden Gun deal slightly more damage than Thundercrash if you land all three headshots. Give Arcstrider something . Revert the Duskfield changes. Those would be some great first steps to giving back some of the identity that Hunters lost months ago.