This Week in Destiny

This Week in Destiny, we are starting to board the Heresy hype train. While our first TWID back helped us ease into the new year, we’ve got a flurry of Heresy updates over the next few weeks, starting with a preview on some big updates coming to abilities. We’ve also got Dungeon Race details as well as the results of the hotly contested Festival of the Lost armor voting. Let’s jump into it!

Topics for the week

• Dungeon Race details
• Heresy Abilities Update
• Past is Prologue Event
• FOTL armor winners!
• Game2Give 2025
• #D2FashionFeedback update
• New Emblem for Scorgan MOTW entries

Sundered Doctrine Dungeon Race

Heresy is right around the corner and with it comes the launch of a new dungeon. On Friday, February 7, travel to Savathûn’s Throne World and infiltrate Rhulk’s Pyramid Ship in the new dungeon, Sundered Doctrine. To celebrate the launch, we’re issuing a challenge to the top fireteams in the world with the Sundered Doctrine Dungeon Race.

As we did with Vesper’s Host, Sundered Doctrine will have Contest Mode enabled for the first 48 hours, providing the most difficult version of the dungeon for the race and any brave Guardians who want the ultimate challenge.

This time around, rather than a podium race, we’ll be looking to crown the single team that rises to the top and finishes first. With that, we are leveling up the reward, creating something memorable and unique to honor the incredible accomplishment of the winning team. That’s why, for this race, each winning team member will receive the first-ever Dungeon Race trophy. We’ll get a glimpse at this new prize as we get closer to the dungeon launch, so stay tuned!

Now, let’s take a look at some of the finer details for the Sundered Doctrine Dungeon Race.

Details

• Contest Mode will be enabled for 48 hours.
• You will need to be at 1995 Power Level to be at the cap through all the encounters.

Entry Requirements

• Assemble a fireteam of three players and start the Sundered Doctrine dungeon in Contest Mode from the planet system map.
• All fireteam members must own The Final Shape Dungeon Key and acquire The Drowning Labyrinth quest to enter the dungeon.

Completion Criteria

• Once the final encounter is complete, the fireteam must loot the final chest or their finish may not be recorded. A team’s official finish will be recorded when they loot the final chest.
• At least one member of the fireteam must have completed and received loot for every encounter and it must be the first time completing the activity for all members of the fireteam.

For full details on eligibility and requirements for the race, please visit our official rules.

Contest Mode Details
For the first 48 hours, we’ll enable Contest Mode, ramping up the difficulty for brave teams looking to take on the challenge. In Contest Mode, enemies are more aggressive, encounters feature resurrection tokens and have an enrage mechanic that limits the number of phases or the time players have left to complete it. Also, character Power does not provide an advantage above the recommended level.

Contest Mode also comes with some extra perks to reward your hard work and excellence. Fireteams that manage to conquer Sundered Doctrine in Contest Mode will earn a special emblem and are guaranteed the dungeon Exotic weapon drop.

If Contest Mode isn’t your thing, you won’t have to wait too long to have more ways to play. Normal Mode will be enabled as soon as the first fireteam completes the dungeon.

Follow the Dungeon Race

Looking to follow the best of the best as they go head-to-head to claim champion in the Sundered Doctrine Dungeon Race? Check in on the official race coverage stream in partnership with community voices @cbgray & @evanf1997’s official event, DungeonZone! Don’t miss a moment of the action from loot, encounter progress, developer interviews, behind the scenes dungeon talk, and more!

• Twitch: https://twitch.tv/evanf1997
• YouTube: https://youtube.com/@cbgray
• TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@cbgrayYT

The Zone Team will be streaming from 7 AM PT with a pre-show countdown before following the action live from 9 AM PT until one team emerges victorious. Viewers can also obtain the Trigonic Amber emblem by tuning in to the stream. We’ll share more details in an upcoming update around how to claim it!

Trigonic Amber Emblem

Heresy Abilities Update

Howdy, y’all! Abilities team here. We have a mountain of new abilities content for Episode: Heresy. Today we’re going to look at all the changes and additions in three broad sections:

• New Arc verb: “Bolt Charge”
• Three new Aspects added
• Heresy ability balance pass

Let’s start with the new Arc keyword, Bolt Charge, which is featured in some of our new Arc aspects.

Bolt Charge

We’ve had time to sit with the Arc subclasses for some time now, and wanted to address a systemic need they had with the reduced number of buffs the damage type has versus others. We wanted to use that space to add something that brought Arc a powerful damage tool which we felt was missing. However, Bolt Charge is a little different mechanically than our previous ones.

Bolt Charge is a positive stacking buff that you build up on yourself over time. Once you reach max charge, your next ability attack will unleash a devastating bolt of Arc lightning. 

While you have one or more stacks, from any source — Aspects, Fragments, weapon perks, etc.  — dealing damage with any weapon increases your Bolt Charge stack count. Each time a stack is gained, you gain a chunk of melee energy. At 10 stacks, your Bolt Charge is ready and any ability damage — Arc or otherwise — summons a powerful Arc bolt, dealing roughly the same amount of damage as a Solar Ignition with a smaller area of effect. Different from Ignition though, Bolt Charge is tuned to have more consistent and predictable uptime. 

Similar to the addition of Frost Armor to Stasis with the release of The Final Shape, we have woven Bolt Charge into Arc and Prismatic suites to allow those subclasses to access this new keyword. The new Arc aspects for Striker Titan and Stormcaller Warlock also feature Bolt Charge. Please refer to the balance pass section below for full details. 

We’ve had fun designing and playing with Bolt Charge. The loop of gaining a Bolt Charge stack, building it up through combat, and then receiving a big payoff ties deeply into the fantasy of Arc’s momentum-based gameplay, as well as being deeply tied into the Arc ecosystem which has opened new buildcrafting options consistent with the other damage types.

We can’t wait to see the new builds and combos players cook up with Bolt Charge and, as always, we will be monitoring feedback and will adjust accordingly.

OK, let’s move on to the new subclass Aspects. 

On The Prowl

All right, Nightstalkers. You’re first. On The Prowl is a new Void Aspect for Hunters that embodies the fantasy of hunting down prey and being rewarded for the kill.

• On The Prowl
  • Entering invisibility marks a nearby enemy as a priority target for you and your team.
    • Note: this does not enable players to see marked targets through walls in the Crucible.
  • Defeating priority targets creates a weakening cloud of smoke that makes you and allies invisible when passing through it.
  • When priority targets are defeated, you and nearby allies gain increased weapon reload speed and stability for a short duration and are granted grenade, melee, and class-ability energy.

The Nightstalker has many ways to go Invisible to kick off On The Prowl, including Vanishing Step, Stylish Executioner, Spectral Blades, Rat King… pick your favorite. When that happens, a nearby non-boss target will be highlighted for you and your fireteam. Once the highlighted target has been defeated by you or anyone in your fireteam, the entire fireteam is granted a stack of Successful Hunt, a buff that grants weapon reload speed and stability bonuses along with a small chunk of melee, grenade, and class-ability energy. Successful Hunt can also stack up to three times.

Also, when a highlighted target is defeated, a weakening cloud of smoke is created that will make you and any ally that passes through it invisible, thus meeting the condition for activating On The Prowl again.

What we envisioned for this Aspect was to embody what it means to be a Void Hunter. To us, it was important to reflect the fantasy of bounty hunter. On The Prowl works well with the entire Nightstalker kit and allows your allies in on the fun; for a short time, even Warlocks and Titans can feel what it’s like to be a bounty hunter. Wait, didn’t we ship a bounty hunter gun too? Curious…

Storm’s Keep

Strikers, you’re up. Storm’s Keep is a new class-ability-focused Aspect for Arc Titans that utilizes Bolt Charge to its fullest potential.

• Storm’s Keep
  • Cast your class ability to grant a moderate number of Bolt Charge stacks to you and nearby allies. While behind your Barricade, you and allies gain stacks of Bolt Charge over time and any weapon damage will discharge max stacks of Bolt Charge.

We wanted to do a few things with this Aspect for Strikers. We wanted to create an opportunity for Barricade to be used offensively and we wanted to capitalize on what Bolt Charge can provide. We envision Strikers pushing forward on the battlefield and using their class abilities to cement themselves as the tip of the spear in any fireteam.https://www.youtube.com/embed/QZRK6RzVYFc

Casting Thruster or Barricade will give you and any nearby allies a good chunk of Bolt Charge stacks (and the melee energy that comes along with Bolt Charge.) If you opt for the Barricade version, standing behind the Barricade will grant additional Bolt Charge stacks over time. Once you’re at full stacks, any weapon damage you deal while standing behind your Barricade will also cash in Bolt Charge, calling down a lightning bolt at your target’s location. Standard Bolt Charge allows you to call down lightning by dealing ability damage, but with Storm’s Keep, you can call down lightning just by shooting enemies while behind your Barricade. This is especially potent with Rally Barricade as it allows multiple bolts from you and your allies and provides solid boss damage.

We’re excited to see how players buildcraft around Bolt Charge and Storm’s Keep to maximize damage and add to Striker’s legacy as the “hit fast, hit hard” subclass.

Ionic Sentry

We’re just going to come out and say it: everyone loves buddies. And Arc Soul was begging us for a sibling. Behold, we found one in Ionic Sentry, our new Arc Aspect for Stormcaller Warlocks.

• Ionic Sentry
  • Defeat targets with Arc abilities or weapons to charge up an Ionic Sentry.
    Activate Grenade: Deploy a powerful Arc turret which Blinds on impact and sends out bolts of lightning that chain to nearby enemies and grants stacks of Bolt Charge when it defeats enemies.

Stormcallers are masterful at channeling Arc energy, reshaping and redeploying it to cause mayhem on the battlefield. With Ionic Sentry, Stormcallers have harnessed Arc energy and coalesced it into a perfect orb of hurricane and harmony. Once it is charged up through Arc ability and weapon kills, you gain access to Ionic Sentry as a special grenade throw, similar to how Gunpowder Gamble works for Gunslingers.

When it first lands on the battlefield, Ionic Sentry will Blind any nearby enemies and begin to chain lightning between enemies, dealing damage. When Ionic Sentry defeats any target, you will gain a stack of Bolt Charge, making it a great way to build up Bolt Charge stacks quickly.

In our playtests, Ionic Sentry has been a favorite of Stormcallers, providing much-needed area control during combat and access to potent damage through Bolt Charge. The buildcrafting paths for Stormcaller are much wider with Ionic Sentry in the mix, and we’re excited to see where players take it.

As always, we’re so excited to get these Aspects into player hands and will be keeping an eye on feedback.

Heresy Balance Changes

With the big-ticket items out of the way, let’s take a look at upcoming changes to tried-and-true abilities in the sandbox. Our primary focus for this release is Arc abilities, but there are several non-Arc changes as well.

Hunter

Arc Strider

• Tempest Strike
  • New additional effect added.
    • Killing any jolted target grants a stack of Bolt Charge.
  • Increased damage against PvE enemies by 57%.
• Disorienting Blow
  • Now grants a moderate amount of Bolt Charge stacks when dealing damage with Disorienting Blow.
  • Disorienting Blow now deals significant damage in an area around the target hit, instead of just single target damage.
  • Increased the Blind AoE from 6m to 9.6m.
• Arc Staff
  • Reflecting an attack will grant a stack of Bolt Charge.
• Ascension
  • Increased Fragment slots to three on Arc.
    • Note: Ascension was already granting three Fragment slots on Prismatic.
  • Activating Ascension will now activate the effects from the following abilities: Gambler’s Dodge, Marksman’s Dodge, Empowering Dodge, and Threaded Specter.
    • Note: We don’t plan to make Ascension activate every Hunter class-ability perk, but we may add more interactions in the future.

Threadrunner

• Ensnaring Slam
  • Activating Ensnaring Slam will now activate the effects from the following abilities: Gambler’s Dodge, Marksman’s Dodge, and Threaded Specter.
    • Note: We don’t plan to make Ensnaring Slam activate every Hunter class-ability perk, but we may add more interactions in the future.
  • Threaded Specter
    • Increased the clone’s PvE damage resistance from 40% to 70%.

Titan

All Titan Subclasses

• Barricade
  • Increased damage resistance vs. combatant splash damage attacks when standing behind Barricade from 60% to 80%.
  • Taunt strength and range no longer fall off over time.

Striker

• Juggernaut
  • While Juggernaut shield is active, players now have splash damage resistance.
    • 60% splash damage resistance in PvE, 10% in PvP.
  • While the Juggernaut shield is active, players now have 10% damage resistance vs PvE combatants.
  • When the Juggernaut shield blocks damage, players are granted a stack of Bolt Charge.
• Ballistic Slam
  • Sprint time requirement before activation significantly reduced.
  • Damage now scales based on distance traveled.
  • Damage vs. PvE combatants increased by 30%.
  • Each enemy damaged by Ballistic Slam grants a stack of Bolt Charge.
    • Up to the max of 10 stacks if you manage to hit 10 targets with a single activation.

Sentinel

• Unbreakable
  • Increased the rate that the Unbreakable offensive throw charges up when blocking damage.
  • Increased max damage dealt from the offensive throw by 20%.
  • Increased the health pool of the shield to make it less likely to break when under heavy fire.
  • Increased the Void Overshield charge rate while holding the shield.
  • Throw now costs half of a grenade-energy charge instead of a full charge.
  • While Sentinel Shield is equipped, Orb of Power creation cooldown increased from 1s to 4.5s.
    • Note: Unbreakable has received a significant buff here. We want it to be strong, but we’ll be monitoring it closely to make sure we haven’t gone too far.
  • Ward of Dawn
    • Ward of Dawn now does a Weaken pulse when the Ward is created.

Sunbreaker

• Consecration
  • Reduced scorch-wave and slam-wave damage in PvE by 55%.
    • Note: When reviewing the damage-cost ratio for certain abilities, it became clear that Consecration was doing too much for too little. We didn’t want to take away from the dramatic pop moment of landing both waves on a target though, so we kept its increased Ignition damage bonus and instead reduced the wave damage. We suspect we may also need to adjust the Ignition damage in the future.

Warlock

Stormcaller

• Stormtrance
  • Increased non-champion PvE damage by 20%.
• Chaos Reach
  • Increased non-champion PvE damage by 15%.
• Lightning Surge
  • Removed Amplified on cast.
  • Now grants a stack of Bolt Charge for each enemy hit with Lightning Surge.
  • Increased damage vs. PvE combatants by 30%.

Voidwalker

• Handheld Supernova (Chaos Accelerant’s Magnetic Grenade Variant)
  • Increased total projectile count from five to nine.
  • Increased the width of the cone’s blast by roughly two meters.
  • Increased the height of the cone’s blast by one meter.
  • Reduced projectile damage in PvP from 20 to 15 per projectile to account for additional projectiles.
    • Note: Adding four projectiles is potentially a substantial damage increase, but due to the increased size of the cone blast, all projectiles won’t land on a single smaller target. This means PvP potency should remain similar but in PvE this becomes a much more reliable add clear tool or single target burst damage option against larger targets.

All Classes

Solar

• Radiant
  • Damage bonus reduced from 25% to 20% in PvE
    • Well of Radiance damage bonus remains unchanged.

Stasis

• Frost Armor
  • Increased DR per stack from 4.5% to 6.25%.
    • At max stacks, DR goes from 36% to 50%.
    • Note: This change is PvE only, PvP values remain unchanged.

Arc

• Amplified
  • While Amplified, PvE combatants are now less accurate against you.
    • This is similar to how The Manticore’s Exotic effect works while in air.
  • While Amplified, players now have 15% damage resistance against PvE combatants.
• Spark of Discharge
  • Added effect: Picking up an Ionic Trace grants a stack of Bolt Charge.
• Spark of Momentum
  • Added effect: Sliding over ammo bricks now also grants a stack of Bolt Charge.
  • Removed the bespoke melee energy bonus from sliding over ammo bricks since each stack of Bolt Charge comes with bonus melee energy.
  • Reduced the amount of time you need to be sliding to activate Spark of Momentum.
    • This should make it so if you start your slide on top of an ammo brick, Spark of Momentum will still activate instead of previously needing to slide into the brick after roughly 0.75s.
  • Spark of Frequency
    • Added effect: While Amplified, gain a bonus stack of Bolt Charge from all sources, in addition to previous effect.
  • Spark of Volts
    • Added effect: Finishers grant a stack of Bolt Charge in addition to granting Amplified.
  • Spark of Ions
    • Added effect: Targets defeated with Bolt Charge will also make an Ionic Trace, in addition to previous effect.

Prismatic

• Facet of Hope
  • Can now be activated by Bolt Charge.
• Facet of Purpose
  • Now grants a stack of Bolt Charge on orb pickup when an Arc Super is equipped instead of granting of Amplified.
• Facet of Sacrifice
  • Can now be activated by Bolt Charge.

Modifiers

• Brawn
  • Tuned healing sources to better balance the health economy when this modifier is active.

And that’s all we have for Heresy! We’re looking forward to jumping into the game with all of you and for you to get hands on with all of these changes and additions. Please keep the feedback coming and we will see you soon.

Past Is Prologue Starts Next Week

As we enjoy the final weeks of Revenant, we have one final celebration. It’s a prologue of sorts, leading into Heresy, where we get a chance to see what life in the universe is like when there aren’t any gods around for us to slay. This time, we spend a few quiet moments with Eris and the Drifter, remembering how far we’ve come, and answering the age-old question: can pineapples bloom on the battlefield?

If you played Riven’s Wishes last year, the flow of the event will feel familiar. Starting on January 21, you can visit the Drifter to pick up quests that will reward a special currency called Bento Tokens. These tokens can be exchanged for some (if we do say so ourselves) pretty snazzy rewards over at Eris.

Throughout the event, you’ll have a chance to earn a total of eight Bento Tokens, so spend wisely and make them count. Next, let’s check out what you’ll be spending them on.

Rewards

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