Bungie has decided to overhaul Destiny 2’s armor system in their next big update called Codename: Frontiers.
This change, arriving with the Codename: Apollo expansion in Summer 2025, will cut armor stats from six to three and let players double their character stats. Bungie discussed these updates during their Episode: Revenant livestream and in a detailed blog post. The new approach means armor will be more focused, like improving your melee or grenade skills specifically, making it more rewarding and useful.
Right now, armor gives points across six categories, but the new system will specialize armor. For instance, high Discipline makes grenades recharge faster. But, with points spread across all categories, players often get armor that’s not optimal for their needs.
With Frontiers, each armor piece will have a “stat archetype,” focusing on primary and secondary stats, like melee and grenades, with a random third stat. This will help players create more specialized builds.
Sometimes, we just want our favorite gear to stay relevant forever.
Also, the tier system is changing. Currently, only every 10 points in a stat matter, but soon, every point will count. Plus, stat limits will increase from 100 to 200, offering new abilities beyond the first 100 points.
For example, going over 100 points in your grenade stat might let you get an extra grenade charge. Bungie is still figuring out the details, but it looks promising for enhancing abilities.
In addition to stats, Bungie is introducing set bonuses for wearing multiple pieces from the same set. A two-piece bonus gives a small benefit, while a four-piece bonus gives a bigger one. This allows mixing and matching with Exotic armor without losing bonuses.
One example Bungie gave was the Tex Machina set, which boosts movement and accuracy when hip-firing. Two pieces improve speed and handling, while four pieces enhance accuracy and range.
Other sets might focus on explosive weapons or healing after kills with freshly reloaded weapons. These changes are designed to make armor sets more strategic and useful.
However, this will likely mean old armor won’t fit into the new system well. Bungie says they’ll adjust old armor stats as best they can, but some changes won’t be possible.
“Old Legendary armor will be changed as little as possible,” Bungie states. “But because the change to stat mechanics and types are global changes, old armor pieces will have their stat types (but not their values) changed around.”
So, older armor might not be as effective and could be replaced quickly by new pieces from the update. This happened before with the Armor 2.0 update in 2019, and it seems likely to happen again.
Exotic armor will also change, though not immediately. Bungie plans to update Exotics later, ensuring their perks remain appealing. They aim to let players update Exotics to match new Legendary stats.
“The Exotic class items introduced in The Final Shape are a special case,” Bungie notes. “Even though Legendary class items will be gaining full random stats with this update, we don’t wish to add additional randomness to the Exotic class item chase.”
Bungie will provide more details as development continues. Until then, players might need to start letting go of some beloved gear before Codename: Apollo launches in Summer 2025.
