Destiny 2 is walking back loathed difficulty system—but you’ll still deal less damage in raids

Destiny 2’s The Final Shape expansion added a negative power cap to raids and dungeons. But starting next Tuesday, June 25, the developer is changing the controversial system with hugely positive effects in dungeons but less favorable results for raids.

Instead of removing the system altogether, Bungie will count as if all players matched the corresponding surge in Standard and Advanced difficulties, as outlined in today’s This Week in Destiny blog post. This will bring user damage in raids down to 15 percent less than the pre-Final Shape values, but players at a high enough level can offset the draconic boost in incoming damage across both types. Guardians can also deal more damage overall in dungeons, and the damage buff applies to Kinetic weapons like Microcosm or Khvostov 7G-0X.

Destiny 2‘s raids and dungeons had different systems pre-The Final Shape, so Bungie unified the two under a single umbrella. In practice (and with the power level delta capped at negative five), players are dealing two-thirds of their damage in raids compared to values before the expansion. This value drops to a still-astonishing 15 percent less if surges match. The 15 percent reduction will be the new default for raids after the changes, which apply to Standard and Advanced difficulties.

Dungeon players, on the other hand, may see less of a challenge. The new system gave them two percent more damage, but the new normal will increase outgoing damage in dungeons by 28 percent more than before The Final Shape. Maybe now Simmumah and Ecthar will be less of a hassle.

Offense wasn’t the only pain point with the changes to raids and dungeons, though. Guardians were also taking far more damage in The Final Shape: Incoming damage was 32 percent bigger in raids and 17 percent in dungeons under a negative five power delta, based on official numbers from the developer.

After next week’s overhaul, players can continue to level their defensive resistance past the raid and dungeon power cap, though their damage will stay around the same values. Defense numbers scale up to 15 levels above the limit and 20 above enemy combatants, which was par for the course in the old environment. When applicable, players will only take three percent more damage in raids and eight percent less in dungeons.

The raid and dungeon difficulty system was one of the most controversial elements in the highly praised The Final Shape expansion. Guardians heavily criticized it due to its very palpable negative impacts on the player experience and buildcrafting. Some raids and dungeons could also be stepping stones for players who were new to raiding or the game in general, though the negative five power delta heavily constricted their experience. With most of those activities set at 1945 and with the fireteam power system, it’s considerably easier to overlevel them, defense-wise.

The overhaul to raids and dungeons is scheduled to land on the servers next Tuesday, June 25, alongside the Master version of Salvation’s Edge and Grandmaster Nightfalls.