An Obscure New Game-Breaking Destiny Bug Lets You One-Hit Bosses, and I Don't Think Bungie's Gonna Let This One Slide

Destiny 2's live service journey officially came to a close with its final update last week. Bungie packed in a ton of content, from new catalysts for every Exotic weapon to some seriously broken perk combinations. With no new endgame to grind or a need to protect balance, players were set free with some of the most overpowered—and fun—tools yet. But despite that, I don't think Bungie anticipated the return to the infamous "Craftening" levels of absurd builds.

For those who missed it, "Craftening" was a bug in the crafting system that allowed players to transfer perks from one weapon to another, including Exotics. Now, a new bug has emerged that lets players activate multiple instances of the same seasonal artifact mod at once. It's surprisingly simple to pull off, yet so obscure that I’m stunned it was ever found.

Here’s how it works:

  • Queue for a competitive or Trials of Osiris match, which disables your artifact.
  • Once your artifact is disabled, inspect it and equip the mods you want.
  • Leave the queue, and the artifact will remain in a broken state.
  • You can now equip max-level perks in any slot, including multiple of the same one.

This has led to some absolutely game-breaking combinations, allowing players to one-shot bosses in seconds. Stacking seven artifact mods is completely out of balance. For example, the Kindling Flame mod can stack, giving you an ignition on any hits against unscorched enemies. You can also use seven Pack Tactics mods alongside a Warlock's Mataiodoxia Exotic to summon a horde of Threadlings. Or, how about stacking seven Thunderous Retort mods with max Super stats to turn a Titan’s Thundercrash into something akin to a nuclear bomb?

Despite the current "do what you want" era of Destiny 2, I have no doubt this bug will be patched very soon. It's just too broken to be left alone. However, it feels oddly fitting that a bug like this would appear at the end of the game's life cycle. Some things, it seems, never change.

If you're still working through raids or dungeons, now is the perfect time to take advantage of these overpowered builds. In fact, with some of the mentioned combinations, you might even be able to solo encounters that would normally require a full fire team.