Bungie has released Update 8.5.2.1 for Destiny 2, focusing primarily on fixing several critical issues across PvP activities, raids, and weapon functionality. The patch addresses an exploit that was doubling Adept weapon drops in Trials of Osiris, makes significant adjustments to Competitive Crucible scoring, and fixes numerous bugs in the Sundered Doctrine raid and Court of Blades seasonal activity.
Competitive Crucible Gets Major Scoring Adjustments
The most substantial changes in this update target the Competitive Crucible playlist, where Bungie has significantly adjusted how performance bonuses are calculated and applied. Players will now see more granular performance bonuses, allowing for more frequent positive point adjustments based on individual performance.
The maximum performance bonus has been doubled from +10 to +20 points, while the contribution scalar (which rewards players for their overall impact in matches) has been increased from a maximum of +50 to +60. These changes should make the competitive grind feel more rewarding for skilled players who perform well in matches, even when facing defeat.
Additionally, Bungie fixed a matchmaking issue where "smurf protection" was incorrectly being applied to veteran players who had ranked highly in previous seasons but placed lower than expected in the current season. This was artificially inflating their effective rank for matchmaking purposes, often resulting in unbalanced matches.
Trials of Osiris Double Loot Exploit Fixed
Trials of Osiris players who noticed an unusually generous drop rate for Adept weapons can now understand why—the patch notes confirm that a bug was causing the double loot modifier to be applied twice for post-game Adept weapon drops. This unintended generosity has been corrected in the update.
While this fix might disappoint some Guardians who were enjoying the extra loot, it restores the intended economy balance for Destiny 2's premier PvP endgame activity.
What's being fixed in the Sundered Doctrine raid?
The Sundered Doctrine raid received some important fixes addressing two significant issues:
- An exploit involving pressure doors that allowed players to defeat the final boss through unintended methods has been patched
- A frustrating bug preventing alternate characters from collecting the raid class item has been resolved—alternate characters with no focus set can now collect the class item from the focus chest, while those with a focus set will need to specifically target the class item
Weapon and Ability Fixes
Several weapons and perks received attention in this update:
- Temptations Hook has been updated to match the damage profiles of other modern Caster Frame Swords
- Slayer's Fang now properly prevents Overload Champions from regenerating health when stunned
- Barrow Dyad can now be crafted even if players have unlocked the fourth intrinsic
- The Subjugation origin trait now properly exhausts boss, miniboss, and Champion combatants
- Explosive Payload's damage now scales correctly with perks like Magnificent Howl and Master of Arms
A potentially game-breaking exploit allowing players to spawn infinite orbs with no cooldown after using a Relic has also been addressed. This fix should help maintain ability balance across various activities.
Artifact and Court of Blades Improvements
The Piercing Sidearms perk granted by the Tablet of Ruin artifact was not functioning properly against certain shield types—this has been fixed, making sidearms more effective against shielded enemies.
In the Court of Blades seasonal activity, Bungie fixed an issue where the Ritual of Greed armament pickups could be acquired by another player who had also purchased the armament, preventing frustrating situations where players could lose their purchased advantage.
Cosmetic Item Corrections
Several cosmetic items received fixes in Update 8.5.2.1:
- The "Winged Victory" Holochip has been renamed to "Taking Flight" to avoid confusion with a new ship sharing the same name
- The Triumphant ornament incorrectly required Season Pass ownership to purchase—this restriction has been removed
- The "Taking Flight" Holochip's tooltip now properly indicates when it has been previously purchased
When will these changes take effect?
All these changes are live now as part of Update 8.5.2.1, which was released in May 2024. Players should find the game updated automatically the next time they log in.
While this update doesn't introduce new content, the extensive bug fixes and balance adjustments should improve the overall experience for Destiny 2 players across various activities. The Competitive Crucible changes, in particular, should make the ranked PvP experience more rewarding for skilled players.