Amidst the usual banter about what’s been going on in Destiny for the past week, roughly halfway through the update, came news that myself, and many other Destiny players have been waiting for.  Exotic updates are rolling out soon, with Deej stating that they will be out before the Dark Below! 

We’re about to give you more reasons to covet almost all of the Exotics in the Grimoire deck. With the last update behind us, we can start to telegraph the next. Exotics are about to come off the workbench. We’ll be shuffling the cards before The Dark Below launches. Just in time for fresh targets. We know you’ve been waiting and asking while we’ve been working.

The image in the title (the one that came with the news of the exotic buffs) seems to suggest that the weapons which will be receiving updates are as follows, in their current, lacking forms:

• The Super Good Advice:  A solar damage machine gun that, while powerful, is hard to hit even the side of barn with a single round out of the magazine.

• Red Death:  One of the more decent, lacking exotics, this weapon restores health to the user with each kill…but feels like it only fires once every 30 seconds.

• Pocket Infinity: One of the most satisfying exotics in the game before the first patch hit, the PI would fire eight, powerful, consecutive solar fusion rifle rounds.  Then, after the patch, it was reduced to a shameful three rounds per clip, which didn’t even deserve to have the term “full auto”.

• Thorn: One of the most popular and sought after exotic bounty revolvers in the game, feels like it is wielded while in a vat of molasses.  Firing is slow, reloading is slow, and while the weapon looks beautiful, it does not handle well.

• Suros Regime:  One of the most enjoyed and usable exotics in the game, especially in PvP.  However, the auto rifle sounds like and fires like a BB gun, which is nothing impressive in a game filled with other impressive guns.

• The Vex Mythoclast:  The coveted exotic weapon which can be obtained by beating the Vault of Glass raid on hard mode, used to feel like a powerful exotic weapon.  Sadly it was too much for PvP players to handle and the weapon was almost over nerfed.  Currently, while it’s decently fun to use, the weapon only feels as powerful as a regular auto rifle in the game.

• The Bad Juju:  With the Thorn, the Juju was the other weapon that was said to have a buff coming since almost the third week in the game.  While very cool and exotic looking, the Juju is plagued by the issues that weigh on all of the pulse rifles in the game.  It doesn’t feel like it does enough damage by comparison to other weapon classes, and it fires and reloads very slowly.  Granted this is fixed by one of Juju’s two exotic abilities…leaving it with only two flaws weighing it down.

Other news for the Destiny Weekly Update included details about the Tumbler Sparrow, and its conception, the accidental nerf of the Thorn, strikes becoming more difficult for one man parties and easier for three man teams.

Hopefully these weapons, and more, will feel like truly exotic, unique weapons, and not just trophies that many simply leave in their vault.  There are only fifteen days left before the Dark Below strikes.  As we’ve detailed, the content will be available for purchase the day of release, December 9th, for $19.99 / £19.99 or early, through the season pass for $34.99 / £34.99.

My Opinion:

Yes. Yes!  YEEEESSSS!!  One of the most lacking areas for Destiny has been fulfilling top tier weapons, that feel unique and satisfying to use by comparison to their purple and blue brothers and sisters.  Here’s hoping the weapons will have great buffs, and most hopefully there will be no over buffs.  

I very much look forward to this patch.  I have placed nearly 500 hours into the game, but feel like the prospect of a patch to exotics could make for a whole new, more enjoyable experience.  Good on Bungie as they continue to improve this game, and listen to their community.

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Scott Deisner is an Associate Writer for MONG.  He enjoys story and character driven content above all else, things made from potatoes, and long walks on sandy beaches ;P  You can follow him on Twitter.