Destiny 2’s Season of the Defiance is debuting alongside Lightfall, kicking off a new year of content and ushering in a litany of new systems. Artifact mods will see a tremendous change when compared to their pre-Lightfall state—most notably because they’ll be equipped passively instead of taking up space in guardians’ armor.
In addition to the new system, players can also experiment with new mods and systems coming with Lightfall, including some that tie into build synergy and Strand. Firebolt Grenades will see some love through two Artifact mods that focus on enhancing that grenade, which might come in handy for Titans and Hunters. Solar Warlocks have a harder time straying away from Starfire Protocol and its brutal Fusion Grenades, though that doesn’t mean they can’t dip into it either.
Season of Defiance will also usher in a new set of Anti-champion mods. The mods themselves are mostly familiar, but with a few new additions to their effects. Champion mods will overcharge weapons, boosting their damage by 25 percent (based on Bungie’s blog post on difficulty) while their effects last. Guardians will also get a suite of new ways to stun Champions with Lightfall.
Radiant, Volatile Rounds, and Unraveling Rounds will break down Barrier Champions, while Unstoppable Champions can be stopped easily through the Ignite, Blind, Shatter, and Suspend keywords (in addition to their regular counters). The pesky Overloads, on the other hand, can be stunned by Jolt, Suppression, and Slow. These effects are complementary to Champion mods, so there will always be a few different ways to take on these combatants. Chill Clip in particular can potentially counter all three Champion types, with the first burst of Chill Clip stunning Overloads, the second shot causing a Shatter that stops Unstoppables, and even breaking Barrier shields when Radiant (though it won’t stun Overloads when Radiant, according to Bungie).
Here are all of the Artifact mods in Destiny 2’s Season of Defiance, as described in the Feb. 23 This Week At Bungie blog post.
All artifact mods in Season of Defiance in Destiny 2
First column (Champion mods)
- Anti-Barrier Sidearms: Sidearms have Anti-Barrier capabilities and are always overcharged when that modifier is active.
- Anti-Barrier Pulse Rifles: Pulse rifles have Anti-Barrier capabilities and are always overcharged when that modifier is active.
- Overload Bows: Shots from fully drawn bows have Anti-Overload capabilities and are always overcharged when that modifier is active.
- Unstoppable Scout Rifles: Scout rifles can stun combatants when aimed down sights for a brief period and are always overcharged when that modifier is active.
- Automatics Overload (Overload Rounds): SMGs and auto rifles have Anti-Overload capabilities after firing for a brief period and are always overcharged when this mod is active.
- Medieval Champion (column five) will also let players use Glaives to stun Unstoppable Champions and Swords to stun Overload Champions.
Second column (armor cost mods)
These mods will shorten the cost of some armor mods, which should open up some buildcrafting options. Here are the descriptions of each mod, according to Bungie.
- Authorized Mods: Solar: The armor energy costs of all armor mods affecting your Solar weapons are significantly discounted.
- Authorized Mods: Strand: The armor energy costs of all armor mods affecting your Strand weapons are significantly discounted.
- Authorized Mods: Void: The armor energy costs of all armor mods affecting your Void weapons are significantly discounted.
- Authorized Mods: Grenades: The armor energy costs of all armor mods affecting your grenades are significantly discounted.
- Multi-Siphon Mods: Grants access to armor mods in your helmet that combine the effects of the Strand Siphon mod with the Solar Siphon Mod and the Void Siphon mods.
Third column
These miscellaneous mods have some synergy with new systems, such as Strand and Firesprite, and new origin traits. Volatile Rounds is also returning in Season of the Defiance, based on the official blog post.
- Shatter Orbs: The first time you break a combatant’s shield, you create an Orb of Power if you break the shield with the matching damage type.
- Defiant Armory: Greatly improves the benefits provided by the Noble Deeds, Nanotech Tracer Rockets, Tex Balanced Stock, and Ambush Origin traits.
- Untangler: Destroying a Tangle with a Strand weapon suspends targets damaged by the explosion.
- Solar Surge: Collecting a Firesprite gives you Armor Charge.
- Volatile Flow: Picking up an Orb of Power grants your Void weapons Volatile Rounds.
Fourth column
These mods touch on a few different areas, but the potential synergy between Origin Hones and Defiant Armory could make them both solid options in Lightfall. Here’s what these mods do, according to Bungie.
- Bricks from Beyond: Defeating a powerful combatant with a Void weapon has a chance to generate Heavy ammo for you and your teammates.
- Flare Up: Firebolt Grenades apply more Scorch stacks. Damaging a combatant with a Firebolt Grenade spawns a Firesprite near them.
- Origin Hones: Weapons with the Noble Deeds, Nanotracing Rockets, Tex Balanced Stock, and Ambush Origin traits are always Overcharged when that modifier is active.
- Allied Unraveling: Rapid final blows with a Strand weapon grant your weapon Unraveling Rounds, with a longer duration near allies.
- Counterweave: When you or a member of your fireteam stuns or defeats a Champion, you gain energy for your least-charged Strand ability.
Fifth column
These mods have the potential to bring other synergies, especially for Strand or Void. Players may also find familiarity with the new Medieval Champion since it’s a mix of Overload Swords and Unstoppable Glaives. Here are their descriptions, as per Bungie’s blog post.
- Stranded Reach: Destroying a Tangle with a Strand weapon creates a larger and more damaging explosion.
- Rain of Firebolts: When you have Firebolt Grenades equipped, gain a second grenade charge.
- Void Weapons Channeling: You gain a temporary bonus to Void weapon damage after you defeat a target with a Void weapon while at least one of your Void abilities is fully charged. This damage bonus increases based on the number of fully charged Void abilities you have.
- Medieval Champion: Combines the old Unstoppable Glaive and Overload Swords into a single mod. Additionally, equipped glaives and swords are overcharged when that modifier is active.
- Prismatic Transfer: When you cast your Super, each member of your fireteam with a subclass damage type different than yours gains a bonus to weapon damage.
