Bungie confirms Destiny 2’s Slayer’s Fang defect is intentional after all

Destiny 2 Revenant Act 3 saw the addition of Slayer’s Fang, a new Exotic Shotgun that fires piercing rounds capable of wiping out several enemies in just one shot.

Unfortunately, this powerful add clear weapon came with quite the defect – it can self-inflict the Weakness debuff, causing the user to take 15% more damage from all sources.

Initially thought to be an oversight, Bungie confirmed on X/Twitter that this was actually an intentional design decision: “Slayer’s Fang is aware of its use as a tool for destruction and doesn’t lend its power to its wielders easily. You may find that if you mishandle Slayer’s Fang, the gun with a mouth for a barrel may just bite back a little.”

We've seen conversations around Slayer’s Fang’s ability to do self-damage and apply Weaken to yourself if you're hit by the ricocheting projectiles. Note, the Weaken is only applied while Nightsworn Sight is active, while the self-damage always happens. This is intentional for…

— Destiny 2 Team (@Destiny2Team) January 14, 2025

“So, appropriate for its design and narrative goals, Slayer’s Fang does a little damage plus a short Weaken,” they continued, making it clear that the Exotic Shotgun is functioning as intended.

Bungie also addressed how Slayer’s Fang self-damages the user, defending this decision by insisting, “the self-damage provides a balance to ensure high-risk, high-reward usage,” encouraging players to use cover instead of rushing in.

Bungie’s response is bad news for Slayer’s Fang

Truth be told, Slayer’s Fang isn’t exactly a meta-defining weapon. It certainly fills a niche and has synergy with Void builds, especially in Revenant, as Shotguns are featured in the seasonal artifact, but its overall impact doesn’t match up to rivals like Choir of One.

By design, an add-clear Shotgun is an unusual premise that is difficult to use in endgame content. After all, you generally want to avoid getting too close to combatants in GMs, as they can take you down in an instant.

This was already a concern, but the self-inflicted Weaken makes Slayer’s Fang brutal to use in more challenging content. It’s hard to justify using a close-range weapon that makes you take more damage when other alternatives exist without this drawback.

The good news is that Bungie is listening and has already conceded, “We are happy to see the feedback and will continue to adjust sandbox atoms accordingly,” so this may change in the future. In the meantime, you’ll want to avoid using Slayer’s Fang in most endgame activities.