Destiny 2’s first-ever Arms Week event has officially kicked off. This week-long event introduces a variety of challenges for players to complete while using a featured weapon type, and the majority of the rewards are new and returning weapons of the same type. ForDestiny 2’s first Arms Week event, hand cannons are the featured weapon, which is no surprise considering how popular this weapon type is in PvE and PvP meta builds.
Despite hand cannons consistently being one of the most popular weapon types in meta builds, the Arms Week event’s rewards have sparked anew controversy inDestiny 2. This is because the vast majority of the rewards from the event belong to the weaker, legacy Armor 2.0 system, instead of the new and improved Armor 3.0 meta. Hence, the rewards from the new Arms Week event arguably feel weak.
Destiny 2’s Arms Week Rewards Stick Out Like a Sore Thumb
Destiny 2’s July 29 Arms Week Rewards
Of all the rewards from the current Arms Week event, the two new weapons, Phoneutria Fera and Ribbontail, are admittedly quite strong. Phoneutria Fera is anew spread shot frame hand cannon inDestiny 2, which has firepower closer to a shotgun than a hand cannon, while also having the benefit of unlimited ammo as a primary weapon. This weapon can also roll with legendary weapon perks that are normally exclusive to shotguns, making it a powerful buildcrafting tool for melee builds inDestiny 2.
As for the new Ribbontail weapon from this event,legendary trace rifles inDestiny 2are a relatively niche weapon type, so this weapon might not appeal to everyone. Regardless, the limited-time availability and rare Holofoil variants of both the Phoneutria Fera and Ribbontail make them appealing as collector’s items, so players should consider grabbing these weapons before they’re gone.
Destiny 2’s Arms Week event will be available from July 29 to August 5. It’s currently unclear when this event will return, and if its rewards will become available from other sources after it ends.
Although the two new weapons fromDestiny 2’s first Arms Week event have generally turned out to be welcome additions to the current meta, the returning weapons available in this event haven’t been so well-received. And rightfully so, given that a whopping eight out of the 10 rewards featured in the Arms Week event are Armor 2.0 legacy rewards.
Destiny 2’s metaafter the Armor 3.0 update hasn’t quite reached the point where Armor 2.0 legacy loot is entirely obsolete, but as posts like that of Redditor u/ShardofGold point out, the difference between these two generations of buildcrafting tools isn’t negligible. In general, Armor 3.0 loot will only continue to grow more powerful than legacy loot, so it’s admittedly quite confusing why the majority of the rewards fromDestiny 2’s Arms Week event belong to the lesser Armor 2.0 system.
Destiny 2’s New Arms Week Event Misses a Golden Opportunity
Given that the selection ofArmor 3.0 loot inDestiny 2is rather sparse right now, since this major overhaul of the game’s core loot system was introduced only a couple of weeks ago, the Arms Week event could have been the perfect opportunity to expand the loot pool with a sizable amount of new weapons. Unfortunately, this event is packed with more legacy loot than anything else, making its overall offering of rewards rather weak, despite the new spread shot hand cannon and trace rifle event rewards being notable outliers.
