Destiny 2 August 6 patch notes: Solstice 2024, Sniper buffs, Conditional Finality nerf, more

Destiny 2 Update 8.0.5 is live, introducing the Solstice 2024 event as well as a wide range of balance changes intended to switch up both the PvP and PvE meta.

Bungie has revealed the patch note for August 6, detailing a range of changes that could have a big impact on the sandbox. Most notably, this update adds the Solstice event, introducing a range of meta activities and weapons for players to farm.

In addition to this event, Update 8.0.5 also introduces big balance changes for PvE. Amongst these are a 50% reduction to sniper flinch and a 30% damage buff to Aggressive Scout Rifles, including Dead Man’s Tale.

As for PvP, Conditional Finality received a big nerf, as it can no longer freeze players standing in a Well of Radiance. Furthermore, its Handling stat was reduced by 15, making the meta Exotic less responsive. Whether these changes will be impactful enough to reduce its dominance in the Crucible is to be seen.

Destiny 2 Update 8.0.5 full patch notes

Here are the full patch notes for the August 6 update, as initially revealed on this week’s TWID:

Activities

Crucible

• General
  • Increased the weighting of popular maps and decreased the weighting of less popular maps.
    • Increased the weight for Javelin-4, Burnout, Endless Vale, Cirrus Plaza, Dissonance, and Eventide Ruins.
    • Reduced the weight for Disjunction, Cathedral of Dusk, Convergence, Twilight Gap, Exodus Blue, Dead Cliffs.
    • All other maps have standard weighting.
  • Updated snake draft to better account for fireteams.
  • Updated the quitter penalties to be more lenient for players who rarely quit or get disconnected, but much more restrictive for players who quit regularly.
• Competitive
  • Competitive Artifice armor challenge is available after placement series if player is gold or higher.
  • Reduced the score to win in Clash mode from 40 to 35.
  • Improved the spawn logic in Collision mode to prioritize spawning you closer to teammates.
  • Fixed an issue where the rank-based matchmaking tooltip referenced glory instead of competitive rank.
• Trials
  • While in a three-person fireteam, losses will not remove a win from Passage of Persistence.
  • Enabled the blended ammo system in Trials.
    • The prototype Special ammo meter has now been fully deprecated from our core Crucible experience, though it will still be available in private matches and when Checkmate is in a rotator.
    • The meter system is currently being rebuilt to address technical and balance concerns, and we will have more info on its return at a later date.
  • Fixed an issue where the newer versions of Summoner and Eye of Sol did not unlock the collectible in the Trials Collection badge.
  • Fixed an issue where disconnecting while on the Passage of Ferocity would sometimes prevent players from launching the activity.
• Iron Banner
  • Temporarily removed Tribute for additional improvements.
  • Fixed an issue where Crimil’s Dagger and Claws of the Wolf did not count towards the Orimund’s Taste Triumph.
• Private Matches
  • Increased the player cap for Rumble in private match lobbies to 12 players.

Raid & Dungeons

• Salvation’s Edge
  • Fixed an issue where extra Resonance pickups would not be removed after the completion of some activities.
  • Fixed an issue where players who died in traversal areas could respawn in locations that made it difficult to return to the intended path.
  • Fixed an issue where the Lore Book Triumph was missing individual steps, descriptions, and icons.
  • Fixed an issue in the Verity encounter where extra Ghost pickups could unintentionally be created, causing difficulties in determining the correct Ghost pickup.
  • Fixed an issue where an enrage warning was missing from the Herald of Finality boss encounter.
  • Fixed an issue where the raid armor mods had duplicate text in the description.
  • Fixed an issue where objective progress text was missing for multiple Triumphs.

Seasonal Activities

• Breach Executable
  • Adjusted tuning for the laser walls during the minotaur boss (Tym) encounter.
    • Increased delay time on the laser wall cadence.
    • Reduced damage of laser wall by 50%.
  • Fixed an issue where players could get out of bounds during the minotaur boss (Tym) encounter.

Onslaught

• A new Onslaught Attunement option is available from Zavala in the Tower.
  • Players can select a single BRAVE Arsenal weapon to attune to, increasing the drop chance by 60% in Onslaught.

Excision

• Fixed an issue where selecting the narrative version of Excision did not play the End/Epilogue cinematics after completion.

Dual Destiny

• Added a weekly challenge to Dual Destiny that rewards an Exotic class item (Powerful Tier 1) upon completion.

Liminality

• Fixed an issue where waterfalls could lose their sound if players returned to them after already passing through.

Vanguard Ops

• Fixed an issue where Champions appeared in Battlegrounds launched from the Vanguard Ops playlist.

UI/UX

 Fireteam Finder

• Added “All” as a search option to activity selection.  
• Added a toast for all members after leader’s summon via Fireteam Finder.
• Added an alert when a player is kicked from the fireteam.
• Added a notification to text chat when friends come online.
• Added a setting to toggle on/off the notification for friends coming online.
• Added more accurate location information when viewing players in the roster.
• Fixed an issue that could allow an unavailable activity to be selected using Fireteam Finder.
• Fixed an issue where inviting players to a Fireteam Finder lobby did not take into account the Fireteam invite privacy settings.
• Fixed an issue where Empire Hunt activities were missing from Create/Search.
• Fixed an issue where system messages could fill up text chat and make messages vertical.
• Fixed an issue where player names were not showing in roster tooltip.
• Fixed an issue where the invite modal did not close after rejecting a Fireteam Finder invite.
• Fixed an issue where the Bungie Friends list did not refresh immediately upon login.

Quests

• Fixed an issue where New Light quests had a blank image when on Featured Quest view.

Gameplay and Investment 

Abilities

• General
  • Reduced the amount of Super energy gained by Rocket Sidearms per damage event by ~20%.
  • Fixed an issue where Strand fragments incorrectly referenced “Locked Until Raid World First Achieved” purchase requirement.
  • Reduced the distance that Swarm grenade submunition projectiles can travel once they begin tracking a target.
• Titan
  • Increased Hammer of Sol damage against boss and mini-boss combatants by 25%.
  • Increased Twilight Arsenal damage against boss and mini-boss combatants by 20%.
  • Fixed an issue where Twilight Arsenal axes would unintentionally track to combatants below the player during cast.
  • Fixed an issue where the detonation produced by the Unbreakable Aspect was being scaled without absorbing damage while thermite grenade was equipped.  
• Hunter
  • Reduced aim-assist strength on Threaded Specter by ~50% vs. players and added a short delay before the aim-assist takes effect.
  • Reduced Threaded Specter detonation damage against players from 100 at maximum to 60 at maximum.
  • Reduced Threaded Specter detonation damage against players from 60 at minimum to 30 at minimum.
  • Fixed an issue where kills with Gun Powder Gamble would not activate Facet of Mending.
  • Fixed an issue where “Gunpowder Gamble Ready” buff notification would remain visible after swapping of the Gunpowder Gamble Aspect.
• Warlock
  • Fixed an issue where Threadlings did not roost onto Prismatic Warlocks with just Weaver’s Call and Phoenix Dive equipped.
  • Fixed an issue where Penumbral Blast would not auto-shatter enemies it froze while Winter’s Guile was equipped on Prismatic Warlock.

Exotic Armor

• Hunter
  • Radiant Dance Machines
    • Fixed an issue where players could repeatedly activate the Ascension Aspect when they had Radiant Dance Machines equipped.
  • Arthys’s Embrace
    • Fixed an issue where the Arthys’s Embrace Exotic could have its damage bonus extended by shooting allied targets.
• Titan
  • Arbor Warden
    • Fixed an issue that caused Arbor Warden to block players from gaining Transcendence energy from Prismatic rifts.
  • Lion’s Rampart
    • Fixed an issue where you could aim down sights (ADS) while Lion Rampant’s-enhanced lift was active without disrupting the lift.
  • Hazardous Propulsion
    • Fixed an issue where Hazardous Propulsion was not boosting the splash damage of Quicksilver Storm’s micro-rockets.
• Warlock
  • Getaway Artist
    • No longer grants grenade energy on Arc Soul hit while the player has Devour active.
  • Solipsism
    • Fixed an issue where Vortex grenades were granting more energy back than intended with the Spirit of Osmiomancy perk.
    • Fixed an issue where the Super damage bonus from Spirit of the Star Eater was being applied to ignitions caused by Song of Flame.

Armor Mods

• Updated the Exotic Artifice upgrade icon to be more distinct from an empty Artifice mod socket.
• Fixed an issue that allowed swapping between regular armor mods and Reserves mods to enable a higher ammo count than the current maximum.
  • This was never intended functionality. To help offset this fix, we’re buffing the following ammo-related aspects:
    • Reserve ammunition for all weapon types has been increased by up to 15%, with weapons with low reserves for their weapon type getting a larger buff.
    • Reduced the cost of Reserves mods by 1.
• Fixed an issue where Special and Heavy ammo finder mods would not provide additional benefits when equipping a third copy.

Weapon Archetypes

• Scout Rifles
  • Aggressive Scout Rifles
    • Increased PvE damage by 30%.
    • Dead Man’s Tale is affected by this change.
• Pulse Rifles
  • Heavy Burst
    • Fixed an issue where these weapons were displaying their RPM as 395 instead of 300. This does not affect the weapons actual RPM; it is just a visual fix.
• Snipers
  • Reduced flinch taken from combatants by 50%.
• Glaives
  • Increased melee damage in PvE by 20%.
• Shotguns
  • Lightweights
    • Fixed an issue where Lightweight Shotguns were not receiving the Lightweight intrinsic buff to movement speed and mobility.
• Special Ammo Sidearms
  • Rocket-Assisted Frame
    • Corrected an issue that was allowing them to progress Ammo Finder mods as if they were Primary weapons.

PvP Weapon Tuning

• Bows
  • Precisions: Base Damage – 84.6 to 90, Critical Hit Damage – 126.9 to 130.5.

Exotic Weapons

• Duality
  • Corrected an issue where Duality was not using the Slug Shotgun ADS damage falloff scalar value of 1.2x.
• Conditional Finality
  • Reduced base handling by 15.
  • Can no longer freeze players who are in a Well of Radiance.
• Bastion
  • Corrected an issue where Bastion was not spawning with ammo in the Crucible.
• Eriana’s Vow
  • Increased damage versus Anti-Barrier Champion shields by 67%.
• Monte Carlo
  • Fixed an issue that allowed Monte Carlo’s bayonet damage to persist when picking up a carry object.
• Ergo Sum
  • Fixed an issue where Ergo Sum’s Sacred Flame Trait’s effects counted as Primary weapon damage.
• Wishkeeper
  • Fixed an issue where some versions of the Wishkeeper Exotic Bow had unintentional access to the Combat Grip. These have been updated to have Heavy Grip.

Perks

• Recombination
  • Corrected an issue where the perk would sometimes deactivate before dealing the bonus damage.
• Threat Remover
  • Increased buff duration from 5 to 7 seconds.
  • Reduced Pellets to proc from 12 to 11.
  • Added a handling scalar.
• Golden Tricorn
  • Fixed an issue where Golden Tricorn was activating on ability kills that did not match the weapon’s damage type.
• Onslaught
  • Fixed an issue where enhanced Onslaught could activate on grenade kills.

Weapon Mods

• Removed the range penalty from the Adept Counterbalance mod.
• Removed the handling penalty from the Adept Mag mod.
• Removed the stability penalty from the Adept Targeting mod and reduced the aim assist stat bonus from 10 to 7.

General

• Weapons granted during The Pantheon raid event that equipped non-functional masterworks will be corrected to a working masterwork for that weapon archetype, or enhanced intrinsic if the weapon has been enhanced since.
• Fixed an issue where the Circular Logic Machine Guns would only drop with Feeding Frenzy in the left trait column.
• Fixed an issue where Gunpowder Gambit kills would not activate Adrenaline Junkie.
• Fixed an issue that was causing Special ammo weapons to deal more damage to frozen targets than intended and Rocket Sidearms to deal less.
• Fixed an issue where older curated rolls of Riposte received the weapon trait Golden Tricorn. These instances have been updated to have Desperate Measures.
  • If the weapon was enhanced to Tier 3 Weapon Enhancement, it will be updated to Enhanced Desperate Measures.
• Fixed an issue where older curated rolls of Rose received both Outlaw and Pulse Monitor. These perks were not intended to be available on this weapon and have been replaced with Rapid Hit and Eye of the Storm respectively.
  • If the weapon was enhanced, the perks will be updated to Enhanced Rapid hit and Enhanced Eye of the Storm.
• Fixed an issue where a curated version of the Acosmic Grenade Launcher received Snapshot and Opening shot at the release of The Final Shape. This curated roll has been updated to Field Prep and Wellspring.
• Fixed an issue where old versions of the Blasphemer Shotgun had unintentional access to High Caliber Rounds. These instances have been updated to now have Accurized Rounds.
• Fixed an issue where the Season of the Forge-issued Nightshade had unintentional access to Armor Piercing Rounds. These instances have been updated to now have Tactical Magazine.
• Fixed a rare issue where some Root of Nightmares Adept weapons updated by players during the Craftening had Enhanced Traits ahead of schedule in the weapon enhancement progression. In these rare cases, the Enhanced Trait has been swapped with the base trait to facilitate enhancing the weapon properly.
• Fixed several reprise weapons that had incorrect lore tabs: Eye of Sol, Astral Horizon, The Summoner, Loaded Question, Sleepless, Twilight Oath, The Messenger.
• Added a speed limit to the acceleration applied to the player when rocket jumping with The Mountaintop.

Pathfinder

• Reduced kill requirements in PvP for grenade and melee kill objectives.
• Removed single life requirement from melee and grenade kill objectives.
• Removed subclass verb requirements from elemental ability kill objectives and now reward bonus progress on subclass verb interactions (ex. jolt).

Accessories

• Fixed an issue where the Bungie Foundation Disciple’s Shell listed an incorrect source in Collections.

General

• Fixed an issue where Tessellation was incorrectly being granted to players without The Final Shape Annual Pass Edition.
  • The weapon will not be removed from anyone who already has it.
• Fixed an issue where certain legacy Iron Banner ornament items were missing a description.
• Adjusted chances for acquiring Exotic class items from chests to be more generous.
  • Increased progression on escalation chest chances.
  • Removed progression on world chest chances.
    • World chests can still drop the item but won’t increase drop chances from future chests.
• Fixed an issue where Xûr’s Strange Favor buff was not available to be redeemed for all characters on the account once it was unlocked for the week.