Bungie’s next major Destiny 2 update really is only hours away now and we think it’s about time everyone starts to seriously think about their build for the Season of the Wish. While your favorite weapon will still serve you well enough in the coming weeks, there’s new Destiny 2 Season 23 Artifact perks to play with and some of these could drastically change how you approach combat moving forward – especially if you’re a Solar player, or if you like rocket launchers.
At long last, the Destiny 2 Season 23 release date is upon us. We know The Final Shape expansion is really what everyone is looking forward to, but Bungie’s next batch of Destiny 2 content is definitely going to be worth checking out. The new Destiny 2 Season 23 Sparrow Control mode is an exciting step in the right direction if you want to see Sparrow Racing League return, and there’s also a handful of interesting Destiny 2 Season 23 Competitive changes to wrestle with.
However, one of the most interesting additions to Destiny 2 in Season 23 is the Season of the Wish Artifact; after weeks of waiting for more information on it, we finally know what to expect. In an effort to keep things fresh, and Destiny 2 itself as one of the best FPS games available at the moment, Bungie’s new seasonal artifact is more focused on rocket launchers than we expected. There’s also a fantastic selection of perks for players who take advantage of both the Solar and Strand element.
As Bungie’s most recent This Week In Destiny blog post explains, players can look forward to unlocking perks from the Queensfoil Censer in the Season of the Wish. Throughout the new season, players will be able to unlock a total of 25 perks using the seasonal artifact. Just like last season, these will be split into five tiers of five perks and you will be able to actively equip 12 of them at once. That might not sound like a lot, but there are some wicked combinations this time around and you can always refund any ones you’ve unlocked if you don’t like them. This is extremely useful if you’re struggling to settle on a set of perks perfect for your best Destiny 2 Titan build, best Destiny 2 Warlock build, or your best Destiny 2 Hunter build.
Although, with that being said, we do have some recommendations for you ahead of the season’s start.
In the first tier of the perks available, players can look forward to perks that will make it easier to stun Overload Champions, Barrier Champions, and Unstoppable Champions with any and all sidearms, hand cannons, auto rifles, bows, and pulse rifles. Some of the best Destiny 2 weapons fall into these categories and if you’re using a weapon in any one of them going into the Season of the Wish, you’re in for a treat. One thing worth keeping an eye on, though, is the fact that the ‘Overload Auto Rifles‘ and ‘Overload Pulse Rifles‘ perks will also delay ability regeneration and lower the damage output of enemies when attacking with sustained fire. This should help you make light work of any enemies you come across in the first few weeks.
When you unlock a couple of these, you’ll have access to the second tier of perks – which is where things start to get really interesting. The ‘From Whence You Came‘ perk is definitely one you’ll want to unlock first, as it increases the ability damage you deal against both Taken and Scorn enemies. ‘Blast Radius‘ is another interesting option, but you may have to change your loadout to take advantage of it. This will allow you to earn Armor Charge for rapid final blows with rocket launchers and grenade launchers. Combine this with ‘Kindling Trigger‘, another tier 2 perk that will apply scorch to enemies more frequently when radiant, and you’re going to find yourself setting the world ablaze (in a good way). You will need a Solar rocket launcher like Gjallarhorn, Apex Predator, or Hezen Vengeance to fully take advantage of both of these perks at once, though, but they’re both still worth checking out over the other options.
Then, when you unlock access to the third tier of perks available with the seasonal artifact, you’re going to be met with a couple Solar-focused perks that work wonderfully with one another. If you’re not using this element going into Season 23, you really should look into checking it out when you jump in after the update. ‘Flint Striker‘ is a perk that gives you Radiant when you get rapid final blows and precision hits with a Solar weapon – which will be important if you want to take advantage of the aforementioned ‘Kindling Trigger’. You can then improve upon the effectiveness of your Solar super ability with ‘Heart of the Flame‘, provided you’re near enough to your allies, and deal increased weapon damage to enemies effected by Strand and Stasis debuffs while radiant with ‘Torch‘. This one might mean you’re relying on the actions of other players a little more, but it’s always worth checking out what Stasis and Strand weapons you have access to; you may find that you already have a decent secondary weapon you can use to debuff enemies with yourself.
Again, the tier 4 perks seem to benefit players using the Solar element the most. The ‘Revitalizing Blast‘ perk will weaken enemy champions and bosses for a limited time when you deal damage with a Solar ability, which is far from a bad thing. You can also increase the effectiveness of your rocket launcher against Overload Champions with the aptly named ‘Overload Rocket Launchers‘ perk – which works well with ‘Blast Radius’.
However, if you’re using a Strand element weapon, you’re going to want to look into unlocking and equipping ‘Unravelling Orbs‘. This perk will give your Strand weapons Unravelling Rounds whenever you pick up an Orb of Power. You can then combine this with the ‘Dragon’s Bite‘ perk, which will add a chance at freezing an enemy if you break their shield with a Strand (or Stasis) weapon, to give yourself the upper hand against these tougher enemies.
In the final tier, the perks you will want to unlock will really depend on the perks you have already chosen to unlock; this is where you fine tune your build for this season. The ‘Horde Shuttle’ perk, for example, will occasionally spawn a Threadling when you damage an unraveled enemy – which you can make sure you’re doing more often than not with the tier 4 perk ‘Unravelling Orbs’. Or, if you’re sticking with Solar, you’ll want to make sure you have the ‘Rays of Precision‘ perk active; this will, while radiant, cause enemies to ignite when hit with a Solar precision final blow – which will mean you can clear out groups of weaker enemies nice and quickly. If you’re a lone wolf, the ‘Solo Operative‘ perk is a no-brainer. With this equipped and active, you’ll deal more damage to all enemies if you’re the only member of your fireteam. It’ll take you a while to unlock it, as it’s a tier 5 perk, but it’s definitely one to aim for if you enjoy playing alone.
While the Destiny 2 player count has hit a shocking low ahead of this new update, the Destiny 2 Season 23 dungeon is shaping up to be an exciting new activity for players to jump into. This season is also solving a mystery five whole years in the making, if that wasn’t enough. So, even if you just check in for the narrative content, there’s a lot to look forward to ahead of the Destiny 2 The Final Shape release date. We do, though, think it’s well worth paying a little more attention to the seasonal artifact this time around; there really are some exciting perks for you to to take advantage of in Season 23.