Destiny 2's most used weapon has caused Bungie a huge problem

After a lukewarm response to Edge of Fate and a general dislike of Ashe and Iron, Fate 2 needed Renegades to become a hit. Those moments where enough was enough Fate 2 it felt like it was in a bit of a funk, and if the upcoming expansion didn't land it would be terrible, but this time it was a little different. Player sentiment was down for a while, key changes made during Edge of Fate were disliked and many were completely rolled back, and the community was concerned about the lack of communication.

With all of this in mind, it makes sense that Bungie put a lot of extra love and attention into it Fate 2: Renegades. The Star Wars-inspired expansion pushed all the boundaries in terms of production value and activities, but most of all, Bungie brought a lot of fun new toys to the table in the form of thermal weapons. Even then, nothing could hold a candle to the Practice Blade, Fate 2lightsaber version.

The Praxic Blade might be Destiny 2's most powerful weapon ever

When I first previewed Fate 2Renegades expansion at Bungie HQ, I knew Praxic Blade was going to be special. But it wasn't until the expansion was officially released and players started building that the lightsaber's power really showed. This is easily one of the Fate 2most powerful weapons and is downright fun to use.

It has to be assumed that Bungie put a lot of thought into the Praxic Blade, making sure it was not only viable, but also powerful. For example, this season's artifact has several modifications that make Praxic Blade even more powerful, from Argent Blade to Sword Storm Combo. Not to mention, the new Equilibrium Dungeon has two boss encounters that are perfectly set up to take a beating from some laser swords.

Bungie knew what it was doing with Praxic Blade. They needed the weapon to be strong to ensure that Renegades was not a disappointment. You can't have a Star Wars expansion that gives players a lightsaber and not throttle your primary weapon slot.

Praxic Blade is successful. It is the most used weapon Fate 2 with plenty to spare, and you can't go into any activity, from the new Lawless Frontier to the Arena Ops playlist, without seeing at least one fireteam member in action. As a main Titan, I have to force myself not to use Praxic Blade because it's so powerful and most higher level content requires a high powered build.

Destiny 2's lightsaber creates a problem that Bungie might need to fix

But this is where things get complicated. As I mentioned, Praxic Blade is so good that you don't want to use anything else. Bungie has done its job, but now it faces its biggest conundrum. How does he do it Fate 2 move forward knowing that the Praxic Blade exists?

The obvious answer is that Bungie nerf The Praxic Blade is entering Shadow and Order, the next big update for Fate 2. But where a weapon nerf might have been expected (or even welcomed) in the past, this is a little different for a few reasons.

Many players have returned Fate 2 with the Renegades, and they would be disappointed to see their favorite weapon—the most awesome weapon—become irrelevant.
The community is on shakier ground than in years past, so it's not that easy for Bungie to do a nerf and not lose its audience.
You can't make one of the most powerful weapons in science fiction suddenly immobile.

One of the challenges with a live service game is that you have to find a way to challenge the players with the tools at their disposal. If the lightsaber remains as effective as it is now, future content will be built on the expectation that the Praxic Blade can trivialize it. Bosses will get even more stomp mechanics, or be ranged, or have higher health pools. Other weapons will need to reach or exceed the power of the Praxic Blade and then power creep becomes a problem as older weapons fall by the wayside.

Bungie has solutions to these problems, but they can cause new problems. As it stands now, primary weapons are practically useless in high level content and Bungie needs to fix that as well. They have a soft line to the heel and not as much room to move as they used to.

I think changing the Praxic Blade's ammo consumption is a good solution and will probably be Bungie's way of “nerfing” the weapon. Without artifact mods it will still be pretty strong, but not as strong, and the lower ammo will mean you can't just leave the lightsaber out of the action. Still, a nerf is a nerf, and for some reason it's a “bad” word.

In the past I would have counted down the days until the nerf, but now I'm not so sure. Despite the success of Renegades, Fate 2 is in a weird place right now and Bungie is under the microscope. Maybe the lightsaber will last longer than we expect. For now, I'll enjoy Praxic Blade and let Bungie figure out how to handle it.