Lightfall represented a pretty big shakeup to a lot of the existing systems in Destiny 2. In particular, the expansion brought a number of changes to activity modifiers. These modifiers change the rules of an activity and can make a familiar Strike or seasonal playlist more challenging. Here’s a breakdown of how surges, threats, and overcharge work in Destiny 2 Lightfall.
How Surges and Threats Work in Destiny 2
Surges and threats have replaced the old elemental burn system in Destiny 2. Previously, one damage type in a given activity would have its damage increased both ways — dealing and receiving. Now, we have surges, which increase your outgoing damage by 25%, and threats, which increase incoming elemental damage by 25%.
Surges apply to all sources of a particular element. For instance, if the active Surge is Arc, then both Arc abilities and Arc weapons will receive a 25% damage bonus.
It’s also worth noting here that the old Match Game modifier has been removed from Destiny 2 entirely. Instead, all non-matching weapons deal less damage to enemy shields in all activities. This makes matching shields more important in general, but no longer as critical in high-level activities.
How Overcharge Works in Destiny 2
Overcharge is a new modifier in Destiny 2 Lightfall. If an activity specifies that a particular weapon type is Overcharged, then any weapons of that type will do 25% more damage than usual. However, surges and overcharges do not stack. The purpose of the Overcharge system appears to be to give players more flexibility in their loadouts, rather than forcing them to min-max to get the most possible buffs. So if there’s a Void Surge and Overcharged Machine Guns, your Void Machine Gun will still only get a 25% buff.
But Overcharge doesn’t just apply to specified weapons in an activity. Many activities will note that weapon overcharges from the Seasonal Artifact are active. This means that any weapons with anti-Champion perks in the Seasonal Artifact will also be Overcharged. Again, this effect doesn’t stack with Surges.
Lastly, note that Kinetic weapons will always receive the 25% damage bonus if you’re playing on a subclass that matches one of the Surges. For example, if the Surge is Strand and you’re playing a Strand subclass, any kinetic weapons you’re using will deal bonus damage. (And remember, kinetic primary and special weapons now deal 10% and 15% bonus damage to unshielded enemies, respectively.)
