Destiny 2’s weakest subclass is getting a major overhaul in Episode Heresy

Bungie has confirmed that Arc will be getting a huge overhaul in Destiny 2’s next episode, with a new keyword being added and most of its abilities being rebalanced.

Additionally, two new Arc Aspects are being introduced to keep things feeling fresh. These changes are going to have a huge impact on the PvE meta, potentially seeing the looter shooter’s weakest element perform a reversal and take over the sandbox.

The main goal of this update is to give Arc more damage buffs to bring it in line with other subclasses. Equally, many of these buffs look to make the shocking subclass better suited to endgame activities, with it currently lacking in the sustain department.

We’ve detailed all of this below, including the new keyword you can look forward to using in Heresy Act 1, the two new Arc Aspects, and a full list of all the confirmed balance changes.

Bolt Charge explained – New Arc keyword

Bungie / Dexerto

The introduction of Bolt Charge is the most important change coming in Episode Heresy. This new subclass buff is a stacking effect that you build up over time. Once you reach max stacks, it can be unleashed to strike a foe with a deadly bolt of lightning.

You’ll be able to gain stacks of Bolt Charge by using a variety of Arc Aspects, Fragments, and weapon perks. As an added bonus, these stacks also grant Melee energy, reducing the cooldown of abilities like Thunderclap, Disorienting Blow, and Ball Lightning.

In the revealing TWID, Bungie compared Bolt Charge’s damage to Ignition, albeit with a smaller area of effect. However, it should be more useful than Ignition in many situations, as it is more consistent and has better uptime.

New Arc Aspects – Storm’s Keep & Ionic Sentry

There are two new Arc Aspects being added in Episode Heresy: Storm’s Keep for Titans and Ionic Sentry for Warlocks.

Storm’s Keep allows you to create Bolt Charge stacks whenever you use your Class Ability. Anyone standing behind your Barricade also gains stacks over time, with these being automatically discharged at max stacks to deal additional damage.

Ionic Sentry is exactly what it sounds like – better turrets for Arc Warlock. When equipped, this Aspect enhances Arc Soul, allowing placed turrets to inflict Blind on impact and create bolts of lightning that chain to nearby combatants. Any final blows from these enhanced turrets also create Bolt Charge stacks, increasing your overall damage.

Arc balance changes in Episode Heresy

Here are all of the confirmed balance changes being added in Episode Heresy for the Arc subclass, including universal changes and those specific to each class:

Universal changes

• 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.
• 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.

Arc Hunter

• 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.

Arc Titan

• 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.

Arc Warlock

• 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%.

To learn more about what’s coming in Episode Heresy, check out this story on Iron Banner and Bungie’s decision to finally revert one of the PvP mode’s most controversial features.