Why Destiny 2’s Endgame Difficulty Has Suddenly Increased

With the Heresy episode, Destiny 2’s PvE difficulty has noticeably ramped up, mainly because the Taken Phalanx enemies have become significantly tougher. These rigid foes aren’t the only ones posing a greater challenge; Unstoppable Champion enemies have also been reinforced, demanding more refined strategies from players tackling endgame content. To effectively stand against these more formidable opponents, players might need to rethink their approach, possibly adjusting loadouts, opting for specific weapons, or swapping out abilities.

Bungie, overcoming internal struggles and game-related issues, seems to have struck a chord with Destiny 2’s latest installment, Heresy. It remains to be seen if this momentum will carry through to Frontiers and the new content model planned for the future. Despite a smoother release compared to the buggy and problematic Revenant, players have sensed an unexpected spike in difficulty in Destiny 2’s PvE. This increase has stirred some confusion within the community.

The debate around difficulty is not new among players, especially when considering how easily past content like the Root of Nightmares could be completed. Some players even felt that mechanics like Prismatic diminished the challenge posed by certain content or build crafting in Destiny 2. Though these tweaks in difficulty might seem unexpected, a potential bug could be the culprit behind the newfound toughness of the Taken Phalanx enemies, which is causing quite a bit of frustration in high-stakes scenarios.

Delving deeper into this, the notorious Taken Phalanx enemies have always been a challenge, particularly because of their ability to push Guardians off platforms. With Heresy, their level of threat has escalated. The enemies now sport larger shields and altered postures, making them significantly harder to tackle. This change hasn’t gone unnoticed; community contributors like Chablo91 on YouTube and FrostWendigo on Reddit have highlighted these differences.

These adjustments can heavily impact challenging Destiny 2 activities such as Grandmaster Nightfalls, Expert Nether runs, and the Starcrossed Exotic Mission. Not only are the basic Taken Phalanxes tougher, but the adjustments carry over to Unstoppable Champions as well. Heresy currently offers limited options for mods that counter these Champions, highlighting the need for strategic planning around weaponry and abilities – particularly as many players favor Arc.

In Destiny 2, Arc builds could relatively easily handle both Overload and Unstoppable Champions. However, the stronger Taken Phalanxes require tactics like swapping to Flashbang Grenades for guaranteed stuns on Unstoppable Champions. Players might also need to leverage reliable AoE damage solutions such as the Psychopomp grenade launcher or Solar ignitions in scenarios where these enemies are prevalent, though long-range strategies might be more effective in missions like Starcrossed.

The enhanced defenses of Taken Phalanx foes, who now thoroughly cover themselves even more shrewdly, undoubtedly demands greater precision and strategy from a distance. This defensive upgrade extends to Unstoppable Champions too, suggesting that players might want to explore Exotics with ingrained anti-Unstoppable capabilities, like Malfeasance, which also boosts damage against Taken foes. Whether these changes are intentional or the result of a bug remains to be clarified, yet it’s something that players should keep in mind when embarking on activities featuring these formidable adversaries.