Destiny 2’s new loadouts will be highly customizable and random (update)

There have been a lot of questions about Destiny 2’s new loadout system coming alongside Forsaken, the game’s next expansion. While we know that shotguns, sniper rifles, and fusion rifles are coming off of the heavy slot, we weren’t exactly sure how the new weapons would slot into primary or secondary categories. Thanks to an interview that Bungie did with Twinfinite, we have a better idea of how things will work.

It appears that weapons will now drop for a specific slot — either slot one or slot two. In the interview with Bungie, project lead Scott Taylor seemed to suggest that the slot assignment will be at least partially random.

“So the power slot is going to house the rocket, the sword, and the linear fusion rifles, and the grenade launchers,” Taylor told Twinfinite. “All the other weapons can be assigned to either the primary or secondary slot. Which means a shotgun could drop and it could show up in your first slot, second slot, or your third slot, but they will be assigned to a slot. You have to figure out based on what’s available to you, where you want to place things.”

When Twinfinite asked if players could wield two Better Devils — a very popular hand cannon in Destiny 2 — Taylor clarified a bit more: “If a Better Devils dropped that was set in that slot, you can’t just place anything wherever.”

But the Year One weapons from Destiny 2 will also be moving around pretty drastically. Destiny 2’s sandbox design lead, Josh Hamrick, answered a fan’s question regarding new slotting on Twitter. All weapons will be moving slots the day Forsaken releases.

So while you’ll gain access to some new loadouts when Year Two rolls around, it’s also possible that you may lose some of the loadouts you’ve been rolling with since Destiny 2 first launched.

We’ll have to wait to hear more, but for now, the weapons system is looking to get pretty complicated. Destiny 2: Forsaken is launching for PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One on Sept. 4.

Update (July 12): In Game Informer’s August cover story, Bungie clarified a few important notes about Forsaken’s new weapon system.

Slots

In an almost direct contradiction of the interview with Twinfinite above, Game Informer reports that weapons will drop in a specific slot. The example given in the cover story is Hawthorne’s Field-Forged Shotgun, a very powerful shotgun from vanilla Destiny 2. This weapon will now always be found in the first slot.

While we don’t have confirmation on whether other weapons will work similarly, it seems fairly likely that old weapons will always appear in the same slot location. This of course means that Better Devils — the example Twinfinite gave above — will only be able to drop in one specific slot, not either slot as Scott Taylor suggested. This of course takes away from the randomness that we thought would be provided by the new weapon system.

Ammo

Ammo for weapons is now tied to specific types of guns, not the slot they fall in. So weapons in slot 1 and 2 can use white or green ammo depending on their type. Weapons in slot 3 will always use purple ammo. The ammo type is denoted on the gun’s tooltip, so there should never be any confusion.

If you’re using two types of guns that require the same type of ammunition, you’ll be pulling from the same ammo pool. This means that the three-shotgun setup that Bungie developers had mentioned before is technically possible, although not particularly practical. Both your slot 1 and 2 shotguns will be using the same ammo.

The weapon ammo breakdown looks like this:

• White (or Kinetic) ammo weapons: auto rifles, bows, hand cannons, pulse rifles, scout rifles, sidearms, submachine guns
• Green (or Energy) ammo weapons: breech-loaded grenade launchers (like Fighting Lion), fusion rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, trace rifles (like Coldheart)
• Purple (or Power) ammo weapons: drum-loaded grenade launchers (like The Colony), linear fusion rifles (like Sleeper Simulant), rocket launchers, swords

However, there are some exceptions to the ammo rule. The exotic bow Trinity Ghoul will use green ammo, instead of white ammo like most bows. Legend of Acrius will also be in slot 3 and use purple ammo, unlike many other shotguns. These are two examples we know about, but there are presumably more guns that break the rules.

Mods

Weapon and armor mods will be seeing a fairly drastic overhaul in Year 2. Instead of adding power to your weapons and armor, they’ll now influence the way you play. These new mods will offer perks like increased hip-fire accuracy, accuracy while in the air or damage to vehicles.

We only have a few examples of these new mods, but they already sound far more interesting than the previous system. You’ll be able to customize your guns and armor with unique mods for unique situations — and they can also be pulled out and replaced without being destroyed.

There is also a new masterwork system being added to weapons that we still know nothing about.