Destiny 2’s latest expansion, Lightfall, is bringing with it a new weapon for players to try out, the Exotic Stasis glaive Winterbite. This new weapon marks the first time glaives have been given a Stasis element, breaking away from their traditional Void, Solar, and Arc variants forDestiny 2. On top of that, being an Exotic gives Winterbite an interesting Exotic perk that creates a Frost Orb around the player, which can freeze enemies, similar to the Warlock’s Arc Soul, but it’s a ball of ice instead.
However, like most new weapons inDestiny 2, the future usage of Winterbite remains uncertain. Glaives, in general, are not exactly the most popular weapon in the game, and it remains to be seen if Winterbite will find its place in players' loadouts in the upcoming expansion and beyond. It could be said that the biggest challenge facing Winterbite is its classification as a Heavy weapon. This means that players will have to make a trade-off between their damage output and the utility provided by the Frost Orb. Compared toDestiny 2’s many powerful Exotic weaponsand the meta usually focusing on damage for end-game PvE activities, Winterbite may need a buff or even a rework before it’s even out.
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Why Destiny 2’s Winterbite is Repeating the Same Mistakes as Salvation’s Grip
The situation that Winterbite finds itself in is not unlike that ofSalvation’s Grip, another Stasis-based Heavy weapon. Salvation’s Grip was designed to create Stasis crystals and freeze nearby targets, providing synergy in situations where raw damage might not be the best option. However, Salvation’s Grip suffered from being a Heavy weapon, which meant that players had to give up their damage output for the utility provided by the Stasis crystals.
To this day, Salvation’s Grip remains a niche weapon in a sandbox where even many Legendary Heavy ammo weapons are more sought after. The two weapons, Salvation’s Grip and Winterbite, share a commonality in that they both provide synergy in the form ofStasis-based abilities inDestiny 2but are held back by their classification as Heavy weapons. With the launch of the Strand subclass, as well as at least one Strand-based Exotic weapon being confirmed, it seems unlikely that players will choose to, once again, play with another Stasis Heavy weapon when there are many other interesting options.
Destiny 2 Lightfall Is Bringing A Variety of Buffs To Other Exotic Heavy Weapons
Like the Two-Tailed Fox Exotic Rocket Launcher, whose Solar rockets are getting Scorch stacks added to its explosion on top of an Arc-damage dealing catalyst, other Heavy Exotic weapons are receiving similar buffs coming inDestiny 2’sLightfall expansion. Another good example is that the One Thousand Voices' explosions now apply stacks of Scorch, with Ember of Ashes causing a full-on ignition if every hit lands. Additionally, the Leviathan’s Breath now does more damage to Champions and applies Volatile on perfect draw impact. All of this is in addition to other Exotic weapons receiving similar elemental buffs.
Despite the Winterbite’s intriguing application of Stasis and the synergy provided by its Frost Orb, players may opt for weapons with higher damage output, leaving the first Stasis glaive as just another weapon in the game that won’t see much usage. Overall, it will be interesting to see how theDestiny 2communityreacts to this new Stasis glaive and if it has any extra functions or features. If the weapon isn’t well received, it’s possible that Bungie will take a second look at the glaive and tweak its damage and utility further down the line, as it did with The Witch Queen’s Exotic glaives after they were received poorly. Ultimately, Winterbite could prove once more that utility-focused Heavy ammo weapons just aren’t incredibly popular, especially against bosses.
Destiny 2is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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