Destiny 2’s Most Annoying PvP Weapon Will Get Nerfed, Eventually
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First, they’re coming for The Immortal, which will get specifically nerfed in Destiny 2’s Season of the Deep next week. Next, they’re tackling a poison plague that has been pervasive in Destiny 2 PvP for ages, Le Monarque.
Bungie confirmed on the Fire Range podcast that Le Monarch will indeed be nerfed, though it's inevitable and planned for "future seasons."
The nerf in question will be a reduction in poison damage over time, lasting 1.5 seconds instead of 3 seconds, and the bow’s base damage will be lowered to match Lightweight legendary bows. These in combination should make Le Monarque far less annoying to fight against, though I do find myself hoping these nerfs won’t apply in PvE. I bet they will, however, because now intrinsically anti-Overload, Le Monarque can essentially double-stun all Overload champions, if not chain stun them forever, because of its poison ticks, and that may no longer by the case if poison time is halved. I *think* it may still work with constant shots given that it doesn’t take 1.5 seconds to draw and fire, but we’ll see.
Bows are currently a fairly safe combat option in PvP, but Destiny 2's map design doesn't offer many long-range situations to use bows in, making bows less common. However, Le Monarque is an exception. Because he doesn't just hit someone in the head, he hits them hard and then poisons them.By the time it’s said and done you have taken a massive chunk of their life with a single shot, and possibly even poisoned teammates around them.
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It has taken a long, long time for Le Monarque to get a PvP nerf. Things really escalated when Le Monarque got a catalyst back in early 2022, where PvP kills could trigger health regeneration, and also the bow’s stability and reload improved by 30 and 20 points respectively, making it even easier to use. The poison has always been powerful, and previously was used as a point of evidence along with things like Osteo and Thorn that Bungie was working on a poison-based, DoT class. That…did not happen. We got Strand.
What else might be on the chopping block? That may be most of the current top choices, but others remain strong like No Time to Explain, Ace of Spades, Cloudstrike, Rose, Matador 64 and even Crimson. Though are any as oppressive as The Immortal and Le Monarque were? I’d argue no, definitely not. But there’s always something that rises to the top and usually ends up hammered back down. I just hope Le Monarque doesn’t lose too much of its PvE punch in the process.