D2: Season 8 weapon prep

Houndish video snapshot

Gamer-reviewer Houndish discusses some of the adjustments that Bungie is making prior to, and for the Shadowkeep launch on October 1st. For example, in a recently added patch note related to enemy combatants, 'rank and file' enemies no longer take more precision damage than other enemies (minor enemies previously took twice as much precision damage than higher-ranked enemies).

Going forward, precision damage is entirely dependent on the weapon used. This means that minor enemies are more of a threat since they will be harder to dispatch permanently. It also means that players may want to consider their weapon choices more carefully before engaging enemies in a given activity.

Since players will undoubtably chew through more ammo with the new enemy damage changes, it's more important than ever to get the best weapon perk rolls possible for your favourite weapons. Desirable perks include:

Rampage — Kills with this weapon temporarily grant increased damage. Stacks 3x.
Kill Clip — Reloading after a kill grants increased damage.
Multi-kill Clip — Reloading grants increased damage based on the number of rapid kills made beforehand.
Outlaw — Precision kills greatly decrease reload time.
Rapid Hit — Rapid precision hits temporarily increase stability and reload speed.
One-Two Punch — Hitting an enemy with every pellet in a shot increases melée damage for a short duration.
Trench Barrel — After a successful melée hit, this weapon gains increased damage, handling, and reload speed for a short duration—or until three shots are fired.
Grave Robber — Melée kills reload a portion of this weapon's magazine. Grants ammo for Primary ammo weapons; reloads from reserves for Special and heavy ammo weapons.

Moving on to weapons that are clearly worth carrying forward to Shadowkeep ...

HAND CANNONS
The Crimson exotic hand cannon is getting a base damage buff. Yay! But generally, damage for hand cannons in PvE has been increased by 30% against minor enemies. That would address (offset) the change to precision damage to enemies mentioned above. So good hand cannons may become even more appealing, such as Spare Rations, Austringer, Thorn, Ace of Spades, Midnight Coup, Sunshot, Kindled Orchid ... and the list goes on.

PULSE RIFLES
Graviton Lance is also getting its PvE damage increased by 30%. Another cheer! Other good pulse rifles include Chattering Bone, Bygones, and of course, Outbreak Perfected (with catalyst). Generally, pulse rifles got a minor buff of about 4% in terms of damage increase.

BOWS
For Shadowkeep, bow damage in PvE is being increased by 31% against minor enemies, and by 26% against major enemies. Good bows include Tyranny of Heaven, Hush, Le Monarque, The Spiteful Fang, and Subtle Calamity, among others. Note that bows with Dragonfly are obviously a big plus.

SCOUT RIFLES
Damage in PvE is being increased between 18% and 36%, depending on enemy combatant rank. The Oxygen SR3 with Dragonfly is definitely worth carrying forward to Shadowkeep. Also consider Polaris Lance.

SUBMACHINE GUNS
SMGs will see a net damage increase of 10% across both PvE and PvP. This includes fun weapons like The Huckleberry and Riskrunner. Otherwise The Recluse will experience a 22.5% damage buff in general.

AUTO RIFLES
It seems Sweet Business will get its magazine increased from 100 to 150 rounds, and a PvE damage increase of 15%. Generally, auto rifles have had their damage buffed between 25% and 30%, depending on enemy combatant rank.

DPS & HEAVIES
Bungie is buffing PvE damage for sniper rifles by 47% against minor enemies, and by 20% for other enemies. But don't expect every sniper rifle to carry these exact buffs, because weapons are being individually tuned. Good sniper rifles include Izanagi's Burden, Sole Survivor, D.A.R.C.I., and Whisper of the Worm.

With Mountaintop seemingly becoming a little less popular, The Prospector grenade launcher still does some serious DPS damage, as does the Wendigo GL3. In terms of awesome shotguns, Threat Level and the Ikelos SG are still absolute monsters, especially with the One-Two Punch, Trench Barrel and Grave Robber perks.

Watch Houndish's video on YouTube [11m 53s]