The Ultimate Gamechanger: This Destiny 2 Weapon Class Will Revolutionize the PvE Meta in Season 22

Highlights

Destiny 2's Season 22 will bring big fixes to the PvE and PvP sandboxes, introducing new features and giving hand cannons a dedicated niche.

Hand cannons in PvE have been lackluster, inflicting insufficient damage on red-bar enemies and minimal damage on orange-bar enemies and bosses.

However, in Season 22, hand cannons will be enhanced with a remarkable damage boost. They will now deal 20% more damage to red-bar enemies and an astounding 75% more damage to orange-bar units, potentially establishing them as essential gear in the meta.

Destiny 2's Season 22 is just days away, coinciding with the highly anticipated Destiny Showcase unveiling details about The Final Shape expansion. Fans are eager for more information, but some remain cautious following the Lightfall disappointment. Thankfully, Season of the Deep's lore drops eased concerns about The Veil and the origins of The Witness, while Bungie made significant sandbox changes. However, Season 22 of Destiny 2 promises to make an even greater impact with numerous improvements to the PvE and PvP sandboxes, along with the introduction of new features. Additionally, one weapon class, hand cannons, will finally find its rightful place in its own unique niche after being overshadowed for too long.

Destiny 2's Season 22 Buff to Hand Cannons Explained

In a recent blog post discussing weapon changes in Season 22 of Destiny 2, Bungie addressed the issue of hand cannons feeling weak in PvE. This sentiment is shared by players, as hand cannons often struggle to deal sufficient damage to lower-tier enemies compared to other types of weapons like SMGs. Additionally, the effectiveness of hand cannons against tougher enemies and bosses is significantly diminished.

The main reason for this is that hand cannons are categorized as Primary weapons and naturally have lower damage output compared to Special or Heavy weapons. Adding to the problem, their slow rate of fire, lengthy reload times, and mediocre damage further contribute to their lackluster performance. However, in a positive development for Season 22, hand cannons in Destiny 2 will receive a much-needed improvement. All variants and archetypes within this weapon class will see an increase in reload speed, as well as a damage buff that will make them formidable and impactful firearms.

Hand cannons will receive a significant damage increase against both red-bar and orange-bar enemies in the game. This boost to orange-bar units can potentially make hand cannons extremely powerful and influential in the current meta. Typically, Special weapons are used to defeat orange-bar enemies, but this buff allows hand cannons to excel in this area as well. This change has the potential to shake up the preferred loadouts for endgame activities in Destiny 2. Additionally, the other sandbox changes, combined with this hand cannon buff, could create the perfect conditions for hand cannons to outshine all other options in many situations.

In recent news, Bungie has announced that Season 22 will bring changes to Destiny 2's double-Special ammo economy. This adjustment is mentioned in the weapon sandbox preview post. It has been discovered that double-Special loadouts have been unintentionally providing players with extra Heavy ammo upon kills. Bungie clarifies that this was not their intention and they are rectifying this issue. Going forward, running two Special weapons will no longer be as effective for DPS and dealing with major threats. However, the new hand cannon buff can potentially address both of these concerns simultaneously.

Destiny 2 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.