Destiny 2’s exotic armor is going through some changes

When Destiny 2’s third season kicked off with the launch of Warmind, Bungie rolled out a host of changes to exotic weapons in an effort to make them feel more exotic. Now, Bungie is turning its attention to Destiny 2’s exotic armor, which will get a similar but smaller overhaul starting May 29.

Six exotic armor items, two for each class, are getting some attention in Destiny 2’s 1.2.1 update: Synthoceps, Lion Rampant, The Dragon’s Shadow, Mechaneer’s Tricksleeves, Lunafaction Bracers and Sunbracers. Those changes, Bungie designer Victor Anderson said, will hopefully “result in more interesting choices, whether you’re doing a strike or going for wins in the Crucible.”

“When deciding to update the Exotic perks, our goal was to keep the identity of the Exotics the same, even if the way they influence your playstyle is slightly different,” Anderson said.

In many cases, the forthcoming changes to exotic armor amplify or tweak the perks of those items. Titan boots Lion Rampant, for example, will no longer just enhance your Gaurdian’s aerial maneuverability, now “You can hipfire while Lift is active without interrupting it, and your aerial hipfire doesn’t have an aerial accuracy penalty.” Bungie says that change will “emphasiz[e] fast moving aerial assault.”

In another example, Hunter gauntlets Mechaneer’s Tricksleeves previously offered a weak perk: the ability to ready and reload a sidearm more quickly. Next week, that will change: Swapping to a sidearm while critically wounded will greatly increase its damage.

“We went for the fantasy of a holdout weapon,” Bungie explained. “the pistol tucked into your sleeve that you pull out in an emergency to save you. These changes should let you turn around a fight more easily.”

More details on how those six exotic armor items are changing are available at Bungie’s website. Another batch of exotic armor tweaks is expected to hit Destiny 2 in July.