Bungie devs have resurrected an obscene amount of guns for Destiny 2’s final update: ‘My body physically hurts from the amount of items we were updating’

Its entry into retirement is approaching, but Destiny 2 is being sent out with a bang. After detailing the ways D2 activities are evolving in its end-of-new-content Monument of Triumph update, Bungie today has provided more specifics about the avalanche of new and returning weaponry it’s spilling into its various loot pools.

From resurrecting long-absent favorites to retrofitting neglected exotics with an extra jolt of catalyst firepower, Bungie has seemingly updated a staggering number of weapons for its last big outing—so much so that its developers are joking about the physical toll reworking all those dozens of weapons has taken.

Based on the sampling of gear updates Bungie has previewed in its Dev Insights blogs, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call Monument of Triumph the single most substantial armory revamp Destiny has received since launch. Here are some highlights:

• Patrol destinations are getting updated loot pools with tiered drops, including returning weapons to fit the region’s theme: Cosmodrome will offer returning Rasputin guns, returning Vex weapons will hit Nessus, etc.
• Gambit’s getting its own slate of tiered, reprised Drifter guns. If I don’t get a shiny, new Parcel of Stardust, I’ll be inconsolable
• Sparrow Racing League is back, offering its own set of new shooting and slashing implements
• Crucible, Trials, and Iron Banner will all enjoy expanded loot pools with reprised and tiered favorites, new armor sets, and a scattering of new guns, too. Hello once again, Better Devils
• Solo Ops will have its own weapon pool. Fireteam Ops will have its own weapon pool. Pinnacle Ops will have its own weapon pool. And Arena Ops, too, will have its own weapon pool featuring reprised Black Armory weapons. Kindled Orchid is returned to me at last
• Pre-Edge of Fate dungeons and raids will drop tiered versions of their weapons and armor
• New and existing tiered guns will offer an option to upgrade their gear tiers, and all legendary crafted weapons will be eligible for conversion into upgradable tiered guns, too
• All exotic weapons will have catalysts. All of them. Yes, even that one. And nine whose existing catalysts only gave stats have been given perks to go with them.

In its final iteration, Destiny 2’s sandbox will enjoy a massive amount of new and updated gear. According to a post from Bungie comms manager dmg04 on X, one of the Destiny 2 sandbox devs said “my body physically hurts from the amount of items we were updating and implementing”—and it wouldn’t surprise me if they were only partially kidding.

As with many of the welcome changes coming in Destiny 2’s send-off, the associated excitement is bittersweet. The unprecedented scale of Monument of Triumph’s armory additions comes with some tragic implications: Either these were changes originally intended to lead into further updates—lending credence to the Forbes reporting that most Destiny 2 devs hadn’t known about the approaching end of its ongoing development until it was publicly announced—or these were the kinds of patches its devs might have otherwise been able to make were it not for the studio’s years of pervasive mismanagement.

“‘We’re listening,'” said dmg04 in another post on X today, quoting a refrain Destiny players had often been treated to over the years. “Hope you feel it.”