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‘Destiny’ 1.03 Update Full Of Hidden Changes And Unintentional Nerfs

By Scott Grill
Published on: 08:20 PST, Nov 17, 2014

Bungie released the massive 2.22 GB to Destiny on Monday that made significant changes to the PlayStation and Xbox game. I detailed the announced changes in this Inquisitr article. However, players have dug in even further since the 1.03 update was released to find even more changes, including new Crucible maps and Exotic gear. Unfortunately, some of those appear to be unintentional nerfs to some of the game’s Exotic weapons.

Many of the discovered Destiny changes discovered by the Destiny sub-Reddit are cosmetic in nature. The explosions caused by the Ice Breaker sniper rifle now visibly show, whereas it was hard to see before. Meanwhile, the Pocket Infinity received a new scope and the Stranger’s Rifle reload animation now works properly. Thumbnails for items in player’s inventories also have been updated with a fresh coat of paint.

Some of the non-cosmetic changes include a tweak to how the weekly Nightfall Strikes scale. It’s now easier to complete in a group of two, but trying to solo the mission is now harder. The Winter’s Run Strike has also been tweaked to block off an area under a platform during the final Aksor encounter, where players could attack without being attacked back. However, there’s still a cliff at the beginning of the final boss area, where players can still defeat the boss at a relatively low risk. It looks like some unintentional nerfs slipped out with the 1.03 update, however. Players are reporting that the Thorn Exotic Hand Cannon is doing less headshot damage (76 before, 58 now) and its Damage over Time (DOT) has also been reduced. Bungie has confirmed that these nerfs are unintentional. Community manager David “Deej” Dague mentioned in another Reddit thread that Exotic weapon balancing was being performed in another Reddit thread. Whether some untested tweaks were included in this patch or something else happened is not known.

Dague has asked for help in tracking down any other unintentional changes to Exotic weapons.

The folks over at DestinyDB have been doing some datamining of the new patch to find information on other items that were added in the 1.03 update. What they found was several new Crucible maps and new Exotic weapons and armor. These do not appear to be live yet in Destiny. They will likely become available when The Dark Below expansion is released on December 9. Note that some or all of the Exotic weapons and armor will likely not require the purchase of The Dark Below.

Here are the new Crucible maps that were discovered that will likely be added as part of The Dark Below expansion.

  • Thieves’ Den
  • The Den
  • The Refinery
  • The Timekeeper – Mars (renamed from City of the Dead)
  • Widow’s Court – Earth (renamed from Freeholder’s Stand)

These are Exotic weapons and armor that were previously discovered, but have now been populated with information.

Weapons

Auto Rifle

  • Necrochasm – “Cursebringer” Precision kills with this weapon frequently trigger a Cursed Thrall explosion.

Sniper Rifle

  • No Land Beyond – “The Master” Increased precision damage. Kills briefly increase damage against next target.

Rocket Launcher

  • Dragon’s Breath – “Pyromancer” Rounds fired from this weapon leave a Solar Flare upon detonation.

Armor

Helmets

  • ATS/8 ARACHNID – “Arachnid Sensorium” Your Golden Gun zooms in for accuracy when aimed.
  • The Glasshouse – “Bathed In Light” Blessing of Light and Weapons of Light last longer.
  • The Ram (formerly The Stag) – “The Ram Arises” Activating Radiance from death disorients nearby enemies.

Chest

Gauntlets

  • Claws of Ahamkara – “The Whispers” Gain an additional charge for Scorch and Energy Drain.
  • Ruin Wings – “Seeds of Ruin” Heavy ammo drops more often, and contains more ammo in each drop.
  • Don’t Touch Me – “Defensive Reflex” Taking damage from a melee attack makes you briefly invisible.
  • No Backup Plans – “Improved Disintegrate” Increases the duration of Force Barrier.

Boots

And these are the brand new Exotic weapons and armor that were discovered by DestinyDB.

Weapons

Scout Rifle

  • 347 Vesta Dynasty – “Goliath” and “David” talents; stat boosts (Armor/Agility) from Precision/Non-Precision kills

Shotgun

  • Sweet Business – “Thunderer” (and several on-kill effects) – A single trigger pull fires all four barrels.
  • Lord of Wolves – “Devil’s Touch” Stacking rapid hits has the chance to set your target on fire.

Armor

Helmet

  • Obsidian Mind – “Insatiable” Nova Bomb kills reduce the cooldown of your next Nova Bomb.
  • Eternal Warrior – “Resolute” Provides Unstoppable for Fist of Havoc.
  • ExoTac Angel Hunter – “Angel Hunter” Significantly increases your weapons accuracy for a short time after jumping.

Chest

  • Purifier Robes – “Burn Brighter” Enemies killed by Ignite effects explode.

Gauntlets

  • Nothing Manacles – “The Cold Equation” Kills with Void Light abilities grant a shield.
  • ACD/0 Feedback Fence – “Wrath Conductors” Taking damage from a melee attack deals damage in an area around you.

Boots

  • Unremarkable Bones – “Not Bound By Law” Upgrades Double Jump with an additional jump.
  • Peregrine Greaves – “Peregrine Strike” Shoulder Charge deals bonus damage when activated in the air.

What do you think of all these announced and unannounced changes to Destiny? Sound off in the comments below.

Update: The team at Destiny Tracker found additional information and shared it on the Destinysub-Reddit. It includes all new multiplayer gametypes including Doubles Skirmish and gametypes for Iron Banner 2.0.

Multiplayer

  • The Timekeeper
  • Thieves’ Den
  • Skyshock
  • Dead Sectors
  • Executor’s Challenge
  • Exodus Blue
  • Hardcore Skirmish
  • Hardcore Rumble
  • First Light
  • Hardcore Salvage
  • Widow’s Court
  • The Grand Arena
  • Black Shield
  • Doubles Skirmish
  • Eternal War
  • Iron Banner
  • Inferno Control
  • Eternal War
  • Bastion
  • Ancient Relics
  • Blind Watch
  • Inferno Clash

[Image via Bungie]

[Correction: Mistakenly listed Thorn as a Pulse Rifle instead of a Hand Cannon. Fixed.]

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