Guardians, get ready to download the latest update for Destiny 2. Bungie has released Hotfix 8.2.5.2, addressing several critical issues across both PvE and PvP activities. The update fixes a potential soft-lock in Court of Blades, makes significant changes to the Lockdown game mode, improves the Competitive point system, and resolves issues with various Exotic weapons and armor pieces.
PvE Fixes: Court of Blades, Kell's Vengeance, and Dungeon Rotation
The latest update tackles some frustrating PvE issues that have been plaguing Guardians. Most notably, Bungie has fixed a potential soft-lock in Court of Blades that could occur when defeating a challenger with exactly 0:00 left on the countdown timer. Anyone who has experienced suddenly being stuck in limbo after a last-second victory will appreciate this fix.
For those venturing into Kell's Vengeance, Bungie has resolved an issue where the Devouring Essence debuff could duplicate during the Skolas encounter. This bug had been making an already challenging fight unnecessarily difficult, so the fix should help fireteams have a more balanced experience.
Additionally, Vesper's Host will now properly appear in the weekly dungeon rotations. This is great news for Guardians who've been waiting to farm specific weapons or armor from this activity.
Crucible Overhaul: Lockdown Mode Gets Major Updates
PvP enthusiasts will notice significant changes to the Lockdown game mode. The update enables revives, allowing teammates to get back into the action rather than sitting out the remainder of a round. Heavy ammo timing has been adjusted to spawn at 120 seconds instead of 60 seconds, giving teams more time to battle with primary and special weapons before power ammo enters the equation.
Bungie has also updated initial spawn points and changed zone mechanics so that neutralizing a zone will be required to prevent a triple cap, rather than simply standing on the zone. Finally, they've corrected an issue where the wrong voice-over was playing when rounds were won.
What's Changing in Competitive Mode?
The Competitive playlist is receiving some welcome adjustments to its point system. The update increases the points gained from the Skill Delta modifier when defeating higher-skilled teams. Additionally, Bungie has removed the ability for this modifier to reduce points given or increase points lost, which should make the climb through competitive ranks feel more rewarding.
Solo players will be happy to know that Bungie has improved the Solo vs. Fireteam Loss Forgiveness system in both Competitive and Trials. The update fixes an issue where solo players matched against duo fireteams, or solos matched with a duo against a trio, weren't always receiving loss protection. While there's still a known issue where a team of all solos matched against trios may not receive loss protection, Bungie notes these matches are extremely rare (less than one percent of games) and they've adjusted matchmaking parameters to further reduce their occurrence.
Armor and Weapon Fixes: Hunter Helmet Reversion and Exotic Repairs
In a notable reversal, Bungie has reverted the recent change to the Hunter Astral Stasis Drake Helmet. This follows feedback from the community after changes were detailed in the March 20, 2025 This Week in Destiny 2 (TWID) update.
The Mark of the Fallen Star ornament has been fixed to properly display effects on certain Exotic armors, addressing a visual bug that had been hampering fashion-forward Titans.
Several weapons received attention in this update:
- Lotus-Eater now displays correct numbers in its kill tracker
- The Discord perk properly grants ammo to Glaives on projectile kills
- Deterministic Chaos has had its anti-Champion capabilities fixed when using anti-Champion mods and Radiant
- Thorn's Refined Soul buff will no longer be removed when stowing the weapon
Quality of Life Improvements
Rounding out the update are a couple of quality-of-life fixes. The Guardian Rank 11 objective text has been corrected to properly state that Sundered Doctrine (not Vesper's Host) is required for this rank. Additionally, the elusive Frostflower Sparrow will now properly appear in Collections, allowing completionists to track their progress more accurately.
When Does This Update Take Effect?
The update is available now and will be automatically applied the next time you launch Destiny 2. As with all updates, you may need to restart the game if you were already logged in when the patch was deployed.
For those interested in the full details, you can check out the original March 20, 2025 TWID that referenced some of these upcoming changes.