Destiny 2's most used weapon has created a major problem for Bungie

After the lukewarm response to Edge of Fate and the general dislike of Ash and Iron, Destiny 2 needed Renegades to be a hit. There have been many moments there Destiny 2 felt like it was in a bit of a funk, and if the upcoming expansion didn't land things would feel terrible, but this time it was a little different. The emotions of the players had subsided for a while, important changes made during Edge of Fate were frowned upon, and many of them were completely reverted, and the lack of communication made the affected community.

With all of this in mind, it makes sense that Bungie is putting a lot of extra love and attention into it Destiny 2: Renegades. The Star Wars-inspired expansion pulled out all the stops when it came to production value and activities, but most of all, Bungie brought a bunch of fun new toys to the table in the form of heat guns. Even then, nothing could hold a candle to the Praxic Blade, Destiny 2s version of a lightsaber.

The Praxic Blade may be Destiny 2's strongest weapon ever

When I first previewed Destiny 2s Renegade expansion at Bungie's HQ, I knew Praxic Blade was going to be special. But it wasn't until the expansion was officially released and players started building crafts that the lightsaber's power really became apparent. This is easily one of the Destiny 2s most potent weapon and it's downright fun to use.

You have to assume Bungie put a lot of thought into the Praxic Blade, making sure it was not only viable, but strong. For example, Season's Artifact has a lot of mods that make Praxic Blade even stronger, from Argent Blade to Sword Storm Combo. Not to mention, the new Equilibrium Dungeon has two boss encounters that are perfect for taking a beating from some laser swords.

Bungie knew what it was doing with Praxic Blade. They needed the weapon to be strong to ensure that the Renegades were not a disappointment. You can't have a Star Wars expansion that gives players a lightsaber and doesn't take a stranglehold on your primary weapon slot.

The Praxic Blade is a success. It is the most used weapon in Destiny 2 by a wide margin and you can't go into any activity, from the new Lawless Frontier to the Arena Ops playlist, without seeing at least one fireteam member using it. As a Titan main unit, I have to force myself not to use Praxic Blade because it is so strong and most of the higher level content requires a powerful build.

Destiny 2's Lightsaber creates a problem that Bungie may need to address

But this is where it gets complicated. As I mentioned, Praxic Blade is so good that you won't want to use anything else. Bungie did its job, but now it faces its biggest conundrum. How do Destiny 2 move forward knowing that the Praxic Blade exists?

The obvious answer is that Bungie nerf the Praxic Blade going into Shadow and Order, the next big update for Destiny 2. But where a weapon nerf might have been expected (or even welcomed) before, this is a little different for a few reasons.

Many players returned to Destiny 2 with the Renegades, and they would be disappointed to see their favorite weapon – the coolest weapon – rendered irrelevant.
The community is on shakier ground than in previous years, so it's not as easy for Bungie to geek out and not lose its audience.
You can't make one of the most powerful weapons in sci-fi suddenly inert.

One of the challenges of a live service game is that you have to find a way to challenge players with the tools available to them. If the lightsaber remains as potent as it is now, future content will be built around the expectation that the Praxic Blade can trivialize it. Bosses will be given even more stomp mechanics, or ranged, or given higher health pools. Other weapons will need to match or surpass the power of the Praxic Blade and then the power creep becomes an issue as older weapons fall by.

Bungie has solutions to these problems, but they can create new problems. As it stands right now, primary weapons are practically useless in high level content and Bungie needs to fix that as well. They have a fine line to the toe and not the same amount of wiggle room they once had.

I think a change to the ammo economy for the Praxic Blade is a good solution, and that will likely be how Bungie “nerfs” the weapon. It will still be very strong without artifact mods, but not as strong, and lower ammo will mean you can't just keep the lightsaber out for an entire activity. Still, a nerf is a nerf, and it's a “bad” word for a reason.

Previously I would have counted down the days until a nerf, but now I'm not so sure. Even with Renegade's success, Destiny 2 is in a weird place right now and Bungie is under a microscope. Maybe the lightsaber will stick around longer than we expect. Right now I'm going to continue to enjoy Praxic Blade and let Bungie figure out how to deal with it.