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Destiny's December update with Sparrow Racing deployed, here's the patch notes

Stephany Nunneley-Jackson avatar
News by Stephany Nunneley-Jackson Former News Editor
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The December update for Destiny is now ready for download, and according to the notes, Nightfalls now award +500 Vanguard Rep on first completion per character, per week. Pretty nice.

destiny_sparrow_racing

In order to apply the update, players may be asked to login again in order to download the patch.

The update will contain the Sparrow Racing event announced during PlayStation Experience over the weekend, and it will be live for three weeks.

Update 2.1.0 will also contain 14 new emotes, more Exotics, a nerf to the Titan Sunbreaker subclass, and more.

Patch notes

New

  • The SRL event is live in the Tower until December 29th
  • Talk to Amanda Holliday to get started on Sparrow Racing Quests and Bounties
  • Race to unlock new SRL rewards
  • Check out Eververse for a new stock of items

Classes

General

  • Fixed some issues where the player could sometimes get stuck in a slow sprint speed
  • Players can now use charged melee attacks while tethered by Hunter's Shadowshot ability

Titan Changes

Sunbreaker

Melee

  • Titan Melee: Extended Titan Melee range (+12.5%)
  • Sunstrike: Decreased DOT Time (6.5s -> 5.5s)

Super

  • Hammer of Sol: Reduced Damage Resistance during Super (-9.09%)
  • Hammer of Sol: Slowed Hammer travel speed by (-1.32%)
  • Hammer of Sol: Reduced the ability to create never ending chain of explosions

Passives

  • Forgemaster: Reduced Splash damage detonation radius multiplier) (-20%)
  • Flameseeker: Turned down Hammer tracking bonus (-25%)
  • Flameseeker: Removed +1 Recovery, and +1 Agility stat bonuses
  • Fleetfire: Addeded +1 Agility stat
  • Firekeeper: Added +1 Recovery stat
  • Cauterize: Added cooldown (0s->3s)

Movement: Catapult Lift: Faster Initial velocity (+5%)

Striker

Melee

  • Titan Melee: Extended Titan Melee range (+12.5%)
  • Storm Fist: Increased base damage (+18.2%)
  • Overload: Now also provides faster melee recharge (+50%)
  • Discharge: Additional Damage (+7.69%)
  • Discharge: Changed AOE to spherical shape
  • Amplify: Increased Super energy bonus (+30%)

Passives

  • Headstrong: Now also provides Faster Sprint
  • Transfusion: Improved cooldown (5s->2s)
  • Unstoppable: Now provides +2 Armor (+1 additional)
  • Unstoppable: Increased damage resistance (+25%)
  • Juggernaut: Improved Shield health (+14.3%)
  • Juggernaut: Now works when airborne

Movement: Catapult Lift: Faster Initial velocity (+5%)

Defender

  • Melee: Titan Melee: Extended Titan Melee range (+12.5%)
  • Super: Ward of Dawn: Recharged Grenade and Melee Abilities on Super cast
  • Movement: Catapult Lift: Faster Initial velocity (+5%)

Weapon Changes

Auto Rifles

  • Small increase to base damage
  • Low RoF (Suros Regime, An Answering Chord): 3% increase from previous base damage
  • Med RoF (Zhalo Supercell, Paleocontact JPK-43): 7% increase from previous base damage
  • High RoF (Arminius-D, Necrochasm): 4% increase from previous base damage

Pulse Rifles

  • Reduced base damage
  • Low RoF (The Messenger, Spare Change): 9% reduction from previous base damage
  • Med RoF (Hawksaw, No Time To Explain, Red Death): 8% reduction from previous base damage
  • High RoF (Bad Juju): 8% reduction from previous base damage
  • Highest RoF (Grasp of Marok): 2% reduction from previous base damage
  • Reduced damage falloff to start between Auto Rifle and Hand Cannon ranges
  • A low range Pulse Rifle will have shorter damage falloff than an average Hand Cannon
  • A high range Pulse Rifle will have farther damage falloff than an average Hand Cannon
  • Increased base damage against AI combatants by roughly 5%

Hand Cannons: Increased ADS Accuracy for more reliable shooting at close to medium range

Shotguns

  • Reduced damage falloff to start at melee lunge ranges
  • Low range falloff starts at standard melee lunge
  • High range falloff starts at Blink Strike lunge
  • Final damage falloff extends 0.5 meters longer for a smoother drop
  • Slower ready/put away time for all shotguns
  • Additional recoil on weapon fire for all Stability values
  • Slower reload speed for all Reload stat values
  • Slower time to Aim Down Sights speed for all shotguns
  • Slower movement speed when shotgun is held. Walk and Aim Down Sights movement is affected. Sprint is unaffected
  • Add 2 frames delay when firing out of sprint
  • Increased base damage against AI combatants by roughly 5%
  • Fixed Kneepad perk on Hakke shotguns

Fusion Rifles

  • Increased Charge Speed on fast charging Fusion Rifles. Reduce burst damage to compensate
  • Fusion rifles behave more predictably based on player state
  • Reduced Hip Fire Stability for all fusions
  • Increased ADS and Crouched Stability for all fusions
  • Reduction in carried inventory for all fusion rifles
  • 10% increase to PvE damage bonus to offset

Sniper Rifles

  • Extended Sniper Rifle damage falloff so damage only reduces on very long range shots
  • Luck in the Chamber on Omolon Sniper Rifles now only buffs precision damage

Sidearms:Increased ready speed for all Sidearms

Swords:Arc and Void sword guard abilities can now survive a single Hammer of Sol

Exotics

  • The First Curse
  • The First Curse perk now refills the magazine when activated, provides better Stability, better Target Acquisition, and damage falloff starts further out while the perk remains active
  • +25 to First Curse base range
  • Fixed a bug where The First Curse perk would deactivate if the player summoned their Ghost
  • Boost to Imprecation base range and Magazine Size

Hawkmoon

  • Reduced base Range by 20
  • Lucky bullets from Luck in the Chamber and Holding Aces now deal 1.2x bonus damage (was 1.3x bonus damage)

The Chaperone: Reduced base damage. Increase precision damage scalar.

Dragon’s Breath

  • Remove Pyromancer and Tripod perks
  • Replaced with Surplus and Who’s Next
  • Add intrinsic perk Napalm: Rocket fires on a remote detonation trigger
  • Hold to trigger to fire, release trigger to detonate
  • Detonation drops a Solar Damage napalm canister
  • Reduced projectile speed to help timing of the trigger release. Reduce detonation radius of initial rocket. Reduce mag size to 1, increase Inventory

Fabian Strategy

  • Front Lines perk on Fabian Strategy no longer buffs Rate of Fire as a bonus modifier
  • Front Lines now increases the base Rate of Fire stat to highest speed
  • Damage per bullet is offset to match the High RoF archetype
  • Remove Extended Mag perk and replaced with Flared Magwell
  • Remove Small Bore perk and replaced with Rifled Barrel
  • Increased base Reload and base Stability on the weapon to help offset the benefits the removed stat upgrade were providing

Black Spindle: Removed scope upgrades from Black Spindle talent grid (Spindle only has one scope) and replaced with Barrel upgrades

Super Good Advice

  • Reduced chance that SGA returns ammo on missed shot by 20%
  • Added a chance for SGA to pull inventory ammo into magazine on landed shot

Sleeper Simulant

  • Maximum inventory ammo buffed (from 7 -> 9)
  • Ammo swap exploit removed (weapon no longer converts one ammo from a different heavy weapon to a full inventory)
  • Inventory no longer benefits from Fusion Rifle armor perks, but does benefit from Heavy Ammo armor perks

Armor

General

  • Exotic Collector's Edition class armor may now be Infused and now has the Life Exotic perk to permit use with other Exotic Armor
  • Fixed an issue where some Rare Leg armor was not granting its bonus ammo perks to certain exotics
  • Fixed an issue where the Warlock Helm armor Salicin Fen II so it no longer uses a leg armor talent grid

Exotics

  • Taikonaut No longer turns off tracking for rocket launchers that have tracking
  • ATS/8 Tarantella: Arc Damage Reduction applies to vehicles
  • Achlyophage Symbiote: Time you can have golden gun active is reduced
  • Nothing Manacles
  • Slightly turned down the tracking on the scatter grenade
  • No Backup Plans: Shotgun activating force barrier only works for defender titans
  • Skull of Dire Ahamkara: Has been added to the Exotic Blueprint Collection

Activities

  • Hive Ship: Various chests around the Hiveship will now grant Hadium Flakes instead of Wormspore
  • Strikes: Will of Crota strike has been added to the Vanguard Strikes and Vanguard Heroic Strikes playlists
  • Nightfall: Nightfalls now awards +500 Vanguard Rep on first completion per character per week

Crucible

General: 3 of Coins are now applicable in Crucible playlists at match completions

Playlists

  • Zone Control scoreboard now sorts players based on "Advantage Kills" (kills when their team holds 2+ zones)
  • Inferno Rumble now has the correct tooltip information
  • Mercy Rule no longer applies to the Rumble playlist
  • Rumble playlist must now be entered as a solo player
  • Classic rumble will continue to allow Fireteams up to 3

Bounties

  • "Returning Victor" weekly bounty has been removed from rotation
  • Fixed some issues where some bounties were not accurately reflecting the playlist/game type they must be completed in

Maps

Aslyum

  • Heavy Ammo spawn locations have been moved away from the center of the map
  • Fixed an issue with a small hole in the environment

Black Shield: Adjusted Alpha Team's Rift spawn location to make it slightly easier for Bravo to score

Crossroads: Fixed an issue where the teleporter would break for a player until they respawned

Frontier: Fixed some issues where players were able to get out of environment

Memento

  • Fixed some issues where players were spawning in bad locations
  • Fixed some issues where players were able to get out of environment
  • Adjusted spawn locations for Rift game mode

Pantheon: Fixed some issues where players were spawning in view of an enemy

The Burning Shrine

  • Fixed some issues where players were able to get out of environment
  • Fixed some issues where players were spawning in view of an enemy

Vertigo

  • Fixed an issue where some players able to perch in an unfair position on an interior wall
  • Fixed some issues where players were able to get out of environment

Items

  • Fixed an issue where some players able to perch in an unfair position on an interior wall
  • Fixed some issues where players were able to get out of environment

Inventory: Discarding an Exotic Shard now takes longer button press time to prevent mistaken discards

Audio: Fixed an issue where all sound was too loud across the game

Technical: Fixed a rare crash on Xbox One during sign on

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