All Exotic Armor Changes in Season 23 in Destiny 2

A new season means big changes to exotic armor, with a close eye to those who’ve fallen victim to power creep. Here are all the exotic armor changes in Season 23 of Destiny 2.

All Exotic Armor Changes in Season 23 in Destiny 2

Some big changes are coming to Season 23, and players can expect the game to get harder as Bungie takes a scalpel and axe to many of the foundational aspects of meta builds. But many under-used exotic armor pieces will be getting some buffs.

I’ve included what the exotic armor currently does if the developers didn’t, so you can compare and contrast.

Related: Best Destiny 2 Strand Hunter build: PvP and PvE by PCInvasion

All Hunter Exotic Armor Changes in Season 23 of Destiny 2

Shards of Galanor 

• Throwing Knife kills now grant Super energy ranging between +2.5% and +5% depending on the type of enemy killed. 

• Season 22 Ability:
  • Hits and final blows with Blade Barrage will return Super energy after the Super ends.

Ophidia Spathe 

• Knife kills now grant a stacking damage bonus (+30%/+60%/+100% for 5 seconds) to throwing knives. Dodging refreshes the duration. 

• Season 22 Ability:
  • Grants two knives per charge.

St0mp-EE5 

Feedback about the previous St0mp-EE5 change indicated that requiring full class ability made movement while wearing this Exotic feel too variable between its states and disproportionately hurt certain builds. In this update, we have removed the requirement of having full dodge energy to activate the benefits and have reduced the bonus to airborne lateral acceleration that the Exotic provides to be more in line with its other bonuses (sprint speed, grounded acceleration, airborne vertical acceleration, slide distance, and jump height) in terms of effectiveness. We also added damage resistance while airborne in PvE, to make St0mp-EE5 a more desirable option outside of the Crucible and jumping puzzles. 

• Removed requirement to have full class ability energy to benefit from the movement bonuses. 
• Reduced the airborne lateral acceleration bonus. 
• Now provides damage resistance against combatants while airborne. 

Mechaneer’s Tricksleeves 

• The Sidearm damage bonus now persists for 5 seconds after your shields begin to recharge. 
• Sidearm kills extend the damage bonus’ duration by 3 seconds and completely reload your Sidearm from reserves. 
• The damage bonus has been reduced in PvP to compensate for it lasting longer. It is now +10% Sidearm damage (down from +35%). 

• Season 22 Ability:
  • Passively grants 50 Airborne Effectiveness, 100 Handling and 100 Reload Speed to Sidearms. Upon readying a Sidearm while at Critical Health: Grants 100% [PVP: 35%] Increased Damage until no longer at Critical Health and refills the Magazine of the Sidearm.

The Bombardiers 

• Now applies 20 slow stacks to enemy players and 40 slow stacks to PvE combatants. 

• Season 22 Ability:
  • On Class Ability Usage:
    Drops a Parting Gift that explodes after 1.5 seconds, dealing 440 [PVP: 120] damage over a 7.5-meter radius. Detonates instantly on contact with a surface or an enemy.
  • Parting Gift has an additional effect based on Subclass:
    Arc: Applies Blind for seven seconds. Applies Blind for three seconds in PVP.
    Solar: Applies 40 Scorch.
    Stasis: Slows for two seconds and refreshes duration of existing Slow Stacks. Does not apply Slow Stacks by itself.
    Void: Applies Suppression for nine seconds. Applies Suppression for seven seconds in PVP.
  • Strand: Applies Sever.

Triton Vice 

• Increased Glaive melee damage bonus while surrounded to +100% for both PvE and PvP (up from +30% in PvE and +10% in PvP). 

• Season 22 Ability:
  • Glaive Melee Kills refill one Ammo into the Magazine from reserves, up to double the normal capacity.
  • If there are at least three enemies within 15 meters, Triton Vice will grant 50 reload speed to glaives and 30% (or 10% in PVP) increased glaive damage.

Celestial Nighthawk 

• Precision kills now grant Super energy ranging between +1.5% and +4.5%, depending on target type killed. 

• Season 22 Ability:
  • Modified Golden Gun deals 500% increased damage but can only fire once per activation. Hitting a Golden Gun Kill refunds 33% Super Energy and causes the enemy to explode, dealing up to 400 damage to enemies.

All Titan Exotic Armor Changes in Season 23 of Destiny 2

Severance Enclosure 

• Increased size and damage of the explosion. 
• Kills with the Exotic’s explosion will now trigger an additional explosion. 

• Season 22 Ability:
  • Powered Melee and Finisher Kills unleash an explosion centered on the enemy. Explosion Damage and Radius depends on Enemy Rank. Four second cooldown between Explosions.

Peregrine Greaves 

• You now have to be airborne for a brief time before the Exotic effects will apply. 
• Damaging Champions, Tormentors, or mini-bosses with a shoulder charge deals further increased damage and refunds your melee energy. 

• Season 22 Ability:
  • Passively grants +20 Airborne Effectiveness. After sprinting for two seconds, and if used while being airborne, your shoulder charge abilities deal 225% increased impact damage.

Wormgod Caress 

• The Burning Fist Exotic effect has been reworked. It is now a meter that increases with melee kills and finishers and decays over time.
• The meter is broken up into five sections which provide escalating melee and Glaive melee damage bonuses. The upper end of the meter also provides escalating weapon damage bonuses.

• As the meter decays, it passes back through the earlier tiers rather than deactivating immediately. The meter decays more quickly the fuller it is. 

• Season 22 Ability:
  • Grants Burning Fists on (Glaive) Melee Kill, granting Increased (Glaive) Melee Damage for 5 seconds.

Ashen Wake 

• Fusion Grenade impacts now stun Unstoppable Champions. 

• Season 23 Ability:
  • Fusion Grenades now explode on impact and gain increased throw speed. Final blows with Fusion Grenades grant grenade energy.
  • Fusion Grenade Kills grant Grenade Energy based on enemy rank, with 25% Grenade Energy granted for Minors, 50% for Elites, and 100% from enemy players, Minibosses, and Bosses.

Synthoceps 

While we wanted to bring the generic melee bonus down a bit to give space for other, more specialized melee Exotics to shine in their specific niches, we felt it was safe to bring Synthoceps’ Glaive melee bonus back up a substantial amount. We have also swapped the increased melee lunge range for increased weapon handling and reload speed.  

• Removed extended melee lunge distance. 
• Now improves weapon handling and reload speed while surrounded.  
• Reduced the PvE surrounded melee damage bonus to +165% (from +200%). 
• Increased Glaive melee bonus to +100% (from +50%). 

• Season 22 Ability:
  • Increases melee lunge range. When you’re surrounded, gain increased melee and Super damage.
  • Increases Melee Lunge distance to seven meters. Being within 15 meters of three or more enemies grants the Biotic Enhancements buff for eight seconds.
  • Biotic Enhancements benefits: 50% Increased Super and Glaive Melee Damage and 200% [PVP: 100%] Increased Melee Damage.

Precious Scars 

• Kills with weapons matching your subclass now apply Restoration Tier 1 for 1.5 seconds in PvP and three seconds in PvE. 

• Season 22 Ability:
  • Final blows from weapons with a damage type matching your subclass energy create a burst of healing around you. After reviving or being revived, you gain an aura that provides overshields to you and nearby allies.
  • Reviving allies or being revived grants you and allies within 15 meters a 100 HP Overshield for 10 seconds.
  • Kills with a weapon matching your Subclass Element restore 60 HP to you and allies within 15 meters.

All Warlock Exotic Armor Season 23 Changes in Destiny 2

Ballidorse Wrathweavers 

• Now when you cast a Frostpulse rift, nearby allies gain a Tier 2 Stasis Surge weapon bonus for 10 seconds in PvE and 5 seconds in PvP. They also gain a 50hp overshield. 
• The stasis damage bonus provided to allies by the Winter’s Wrath Shockwave is now the Tier 4 Stasis Surge weapon bonus. When your Winter’s Wrath ends, you gain the Tier 4 Stasis Surge weapon bonus as well. 

• Season 22 Ability:
  • Your Winter’s Wrath Shockwave deals increased shatter damage. Allies in range of your Shockwave gain an overshield and increased damage with Stasis weapons.
  • During Winter’s Wrath Super: Shockwave (Heavy Attack) deals 100% increased Shatter Damage.
  • After your Super ends, you temporarily gain increased melee and grenade regen for eight seconds. Allies within range of the Shockwave (up to 30 meters) are granted 50 HP Stasis Shard Overshield and 15% [PVP: 5%] increased Stasis weapon damage for 15 seconds.

Apotheosis Veil 

• Casting your Super now grants Cure Tier 3 for you and nearby allies. 

• Season 22 Ability:
  • Immediately regenerate health, melee, grenade, and Rift energy upon activating your Super. Nearby allies recharge class abilities faster.
  • Allies within 24 meters receive 25% additional Base Class Ability Regeneration rate.

Felwinter’s Helm 

• Moved the size of the weakening burst and duration of weaken up one tier against all targets, except for finishers against bosses, which retains the maximum size and duration. 

• Season 22 Ability:
  • Powered melee final blows create a burst of energy that weakens nearby targets. Finishers and final blows against more powerful targets increase the radius of the burst and the length of the weakening effect.
  • Duration and radius are dependent on the enemy rank. The radius for minor enemies is 10 meters with a duration of four seconds. The radius for elite enemies is 15 meters with a duration of 10 seconds. The radius for minibosses is 20 meters with a duration of 15 seconds. The radius for bosses is 25 meters with a duration of 20 seconds.

Karnstein Armlets 

• Melee kills now grant Cure T3 and Restoration T1 for 8 seconds. 
• Finishers now grant Cure T3 and Restoration T2 for 8 seconds. 

• Season 22 Ability:
  • Melee final blows instantly restore a large amount of health and continue to restore health afterwards for a short duration.
  • On melee kill, you’ll restore 50 HP and heal for 30 HP per second for eight seconds.

Aeon Cult 

Aeon Swift, Aeon Safe, and Aeon Soul Exotic armor all received the following changes to their “sect” mods. 

Sect of Force 

This has been reworked to be all about providing your allies significant bonus weapon damage against powerful combatants. The bonus grenade and melee energy has been moved to be the special benefit granted to Aeon cult allies using a different sect. 

• Rapid precision hits provide quicker reload and weapon swap speeds, and the bonus now lasts for 10 seconds (up from 6 seconds). 
• No longer grants bonus melee, grenade, or Super energy on stunning a Champion or defeating a boss or miniboss. Instead, stunning a Champion or rapid precision hits against Champions, elites, or minibosses will mark them for your allies. 

• Allies deal +20% more damage to marked targets. 
• When a target is first marked, nearby Aeon cult allies who do not have the Sect of Force role equipped gain grenade and melee energy. 

Sect of Insight 

Sect of Insight had a strong role in endgame PvE teams, and we don’t want to change that. The one modification we do want to make is changing the Aeon cult ally bonus to be Super energy instead of weapon damage, as we want Sect of Force to be the source of weapon bonuses. 

• Nearby Aeon cult allies who do not have the Sect of Insight role equipped no longer gain a bonus to weapon damage for a short time. Instead, they gain a burst of Super energy. 

Sect of Vigor 

Sect of Vigor already had a strong theme as the supporting role in the Aeon cult. We wanted to boost its effectiveness by having it provide damage resistance in PvE, in addition to its class ability benefits. Our goal is to make Sect of Vigor players shepherds for their team, keeping their allies near to protect them from harm.  

• Now provides damage resistance against combatants when an ally dies or is resurrected, in addition to the existing class ability energy. 
• When you cast your Super, nearby allies no longer gain an instant burst of healing or an overshield. Instead, nearby critically wounded allies gain damage resistance from combatants as long as they stay near you. Nearby Aeon cult allies who do not have the Sect of Vigor role equipped will also recover class ability energy more quickly. 

---