Destiny 2 Season 19 arrived with a new dungeon and a range of fresh missions, but the Sandbox Team at Bungie also used the latest TWAB to explain how existing subclasses would be adjusted. The developers described a clear goal: move the game closer to the previously planned 60/40 gunplay-to-ability baseline in PvP. A larger holistic update for every subclass was promised for the post-Lightfall era because the team wanted to include the then-upcoming Strand subclass in that overhaul.
🔥 Solar Adjustments
After the Solar 3.0 revision from Season 17, Bungie planned to reduce the strength of Restoration. Restoration x1 base healing dropped from 25 to 20 health per second in standard activities, while PvE healing fell from 50 to 40 health per second. Restoration x2 saw a reduction from 40 to 32.5 health per second, and in PvE from 80 to 65. Restoration also stopped stacking with Healing Rift. When both effects were active, the stronger heal-over-time value took priority and the weaker effect would no longer apply.
Radiant uptime also changed. Ember of Torches reduced Radiant base duration from 10 seconds to 8 seconds, and it added a -10 Discipline penalty while equipped. Ember of Solace moved away from a flat 5-second bonus. Instead, it now provides a 50 percent bonus to Radiant duration, which made its behavior consistent with Restoration.
The Knock 'Em Down aspect received adjustments for both Golden Gun and Blade Barrage. Deadshot Golden Gun gained 15 percent bonus damage resistance but no longer gained bonus duration. Marksman Golden Gun lost its previous 15 percent bonus damage resistance. Blade Barrage bonus projectiles were reduced from 5 to 3 per group, lowering the total number of knives from 24 to 20. A fix for Celestial Fire was also included so the ability would work as intended during close-range melee combat.
| Solar Element | Change |
|---|---|
| Restoration x1 | Healing reduced to 20 health per second, 40 in PvE |
| Restoration x2 | Healing reduced to 32.5 health per second, 65 in PvE |
| Ember of Torches | Radiant reduced to 8 seconds, -10 Discipline |
| Ember of Solace | 50 percent Radiant duration bonus instead of flat 5 seconds |
| Blade Barrage | Total knives reduced from 24 to 20 |
🟣 Void Adjustments
Unlike Solar, the Void changes focused more on buffs. The Void Overshield bug was scheduled to be fixed in Season 19, allowing it to provide the intended 50 percent protection. Nova Bomb: Vortex received several improvements. The initial projectile speed increased by 21 percent. The radius of the inward pull on impact grew by about 17 percent, and the strength of that inward pull increased by roughly 20 percent.
Bungie also tweaked the suppression effect for Shield Bash. For Shadowshot, the Tether anchor lifetime was balanced between Deadfall and Moebius Quiver. The goal was to make Deadfall a more attractive option rather than leaving Moebius Quiver as the dominant choice.
⚡ Arc Adjustments
Arc was described as well-balanced in PvP, so most of the changes targeted PvE. One exception was Touch of Thunder Storm Grenade, which was considered overpowered in Crucible feedback. The bonus lifetime granted by Spark of Magnitude to the enhanced Storm Grenade decreased from 2 seconds to 1.5 seconds. The friend-or-foe visual language for that grenade was also updated to improve clarity.
Several Arc abilities received buffs. These included Ballistic Slam, Tempest Strike, Arc Soul, the Stormcaller melee abilities Ball Lightning and Chain Lightning, and Chaos Reach. The adjustments were meant to lift underused options and improve the subclass in PvE without disturbing the PvP balance.
❄️ Stasis Adjustments
Stasis received a broad set of changes across several abilities and Aspects. Bungie listed adjustments for Stasis Slow, Coldsnap Grenade, Duskfield Grenade, Revenant Hunter, Behemoth Titan, Shadebinder, and Whisper of Rending. Some of the specific changes were highlighted in the preview.
For Revenant Hunter, Winter's Shroud had its fragment slots increased from 1 to 2. Behemoth Titan received a similar improvement, with Cryoclasm also moving from 1 fragment slot to 2. Shadebinder's Glacial Harvest reduced the cooldown on Stasis Shard creation, changing it from 15 seconds to 10 seconds for every six shards. Whisper of Rending was included among the targeted adjustments, although the full numerical changes were not detailed in that initial breakdown.
A Broader Overhaul After Lightfall
The Season 19 changes were only part of the long-term sandbox plan. Bungie made it clear that a bigger overhaul for all subclasses would arrive after the launch of Lightfall. The developers wanted that future update to include Strand, so they delayed the holistic balance pass until the new subclass was part of the environment. The Season 19 tuning therefore served as a bridge, reducing problem areas in Solar, strengthening parts of Void and Arc, and giving Stasis players extra build flexibility while the larger rework remained on the horizon.