A Catalyst is Breaking a Popular Destiny 2 Exotic Instead of Improving It

In Destiny 2, the exotic's streak of bad luck continues in Lightfall when, after installing a new catalyst, the player discovers that the exotic's missile launcher is not working. Bugs and crashes aren't uncommon after a major release, and it's up to Bungie to see if the studio can fix the issues quickly. However, with the Lightfall expansion, an unusually large number of bugs involving exotic weapons appeared, sparking serious conversations in the community about the current state of Destiny 2.

Exotic weapons in Destiny 2 differ from legendary weapons in that they allow players to select exotic perks that provide powerful rewards when activated. Some perks increase the rate of fire and other mechanical aspects, but weapons like Destiny 2's famous Osteo Striga SMG and the Witherhoard grenade launcher have perks that can completely transform the performance of entire subclasses. An important part of Exotic weapons in Destiny 2 are the catalysts on your weapon. This changes the functionality of Exotic Gifts, allows for additional features, or drastically changes existing aspects of Perks.

In Lightfall, Bungie added a new Catalyst to the Two-Tail Fox, an exotic missile launcher that comes with Destiny 2's Shadowkeep expansion that, as its name suggests, can cause vacuums and solar radiation. Following the naming pattern, the Catalyst adds an exotic third tail perk that allows the weapon to fire a third missile that deals arc damage. Destiny 2 YouTuber Nodnahs reported that the third missile is currently buggy and does not fire properly when the player is progressing. Notnas explains that the weapon works as intended when it moves in the other direction and falls. An entire projectile disappearing into thin air is a fun show, even if it gives weird glitches and reduces effectiveness against enemies.

This can easily be avoided by staying in one place or moving left or right during normal gameplay. However, given Destiny 2's chaotic late-game encounters and the Two-Tailed Fox's slow-moving projectiles, this can be problematic for players looking to use this weapon as a DPS option. Catalyst Activated is currently one of the DPS leaders among heavy weapons, with the added benefit of being able to dodge, scorch, and impact enemies. The player's movement is stopped so as not to affect DPS. So unless this bug is patched, this weapon could quickly lose its newfound relevance.

A unique option among a bunch of weird weapons, the Two-Tailed Fox has even made its way into the DPS meta after changing its damage type and function. Players can only hope that Bungie fixes the strange rocket launcher along with several other buggy weapons in Destiny 2 soon.