While Gambit did get a dedicated season of content which added a new variant mode called Gambit Prime, the experience has largely been left as is, without much in the way of new content and maps. This stagnation has left many fans underwhelmed and asking for a Gambit shakeup to reinvigorate the gameplay. With Season of the Risen, Bungie has started to refine the mode, adding a number of changes which so far have left most players with mixed reactions.
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However, some fans, such as Twitter user ritzzcar, has used the freshly updated Gambit to test a few things with some of the changes. Through experimentation, they’ve discovered that the exotic hand cannon known as Hawkmoon has gotten what may be an unintentional buff. Seeing as Gambit has disabled player light levels, weapon damage buffs now default to PvE values instead of PvP ones as they did prior to the Destiny 2 update. This has left a major impact on Hawkmoon and its unique paracausal trait.
In a short clip, ritzzcar takes Hawkmoon into a Gambit match and discovers that with only 1 paracausal shot buff, they’re able to hit for 274 headshot damage. Essentially, this will one shot any red bar enemy as well as invading guardians with the resistance stat maxed out at 10. Additional testing found that pulse rifles with the Desperado perk hit for less damage, Momento Mori on the Ace of Spades hits for 107 damage, and Dead Man’s Tale can hit for 105 without any buffs.
For now, it’s unknown if this is something Bungie will address, though with the absurd levels of damage certain weapons can cause, it’s very likely that fans should expect tweaks. It’s also worth noting that Hawkmoon, along with the exotic scout rifle Dead Man’s Tale are now extremely easy to obtain. After Season 16 vaulted both the Harbinger and Presage exotic missions, players can now turn to the weekend merchant Xur, who will have a randomized roll of each weapon. Already, Dead Man’s Tale had a god roll during the first weekend, so it’s likely that Hawkmoon may be getting something valuable soon.
Destiny 2 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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