Though Bungie recently left players just whelmed after The Final Shape reveal, the initial response to Season of the Witch seems to be a win. Alongside general weapon and armor changes and new Strand Aspects, Destiny 2‘s Season 22 adds a new Artifact with some interesting accompanying Artifact Mods. This season’s Mods stray away from the former practice to spotlight a couple of subclasses with powerful effects. Instead, players can enjoy almost any subclass with a new seasonal gameplay focus on Tangles and Elemental Orbs.
Though the seasonal narrative will slowly reveal itself over several weeks, players can level their Artifacts and equip any unlocked Artifact Mods at their own pace. Anything that nets Guardians experience will progress the Artifact, and players can choose 12 Mods out of the available 25 to passively weave into their build. That said, Guardians will want to pick and choose with a bit of intention this season, as there are plenty of options that require specific subclasses to use.
Column 1 Artifact Mods
- Anti-Barrier Auto Rifle – This Mod allows Auto Rifles to pierce the shields of Barrier Champions and stun them.
- Piercing Bowstring – This imbues Bows with shield-piercing arrows that can stun Barrier Champions.
- Unstoppable Scout Rifle – After peering down the scope for a few moments, Scout Rifles can fire an explosive stunning shot that disrupts Unstoppable Champions.
- Overload Hand Cannon – Multiple Hand Cannon hits disrupt Overload Champions and other enemies. The stun also reduces damage output and ability regen.
- Unstoppable Fusion – Like Scout Rifles, looking down Fusion Rifle sights loads an explosive that stuns Unstoppable Champions.
Column 2 Artifact Mods
- Arc/Strand Siphon Combo – This option fuses functionality of the Arc and Strand Siphon armor mods.
- Solar/Strand Siphon Combo – This option fuses the functionality of the Solar and Strand Siphon armor mods.
- Void/Strand Siphon Combo – This option fuses functionality of the Void and Strand Siphon armor mods.
- Origin Perk Specialization 1 – The Head Rush, Nanotech Tracer Rockers, Undated Hunger, and Cursed Thrall weapon Origin traits are all enhanced.
- Diviner’s Discount – Scavenger armor mods of any kind appear at a reduced price.
Column 3 Artifact Mods
- Thanatotic Tangles – In addition to the other methods at players’ disposal, Strand weapon kills have a chance to create a Tangle.
- Origin Perk Specialization 2 – Whenever an overcharged modifier is active in an activity, weapons with the Head Rush, Nanotech Tracer Rockers, Undated Hunger, or Cursed Thrall Origin trait are considered overcharged regardless of weapon or element type.
- Elemental Orbs: Void – Void weapon kills can create a Void Elemental Orb. If thrown, the Orbs erupt in a Void explosion and disperse the Volatile debuff.
- Elemental Orbs: Arc – Arc weapon kills can create an Arc Elemental Orb. These Orbs trigger a Jolting explosion when thrown.
- Elemental Orbs: Solar – Solar weapon kills can create a Solar Elemental Orb. The Orb explodes and Scorches enemies on impact.
Column 4 Artifact Mods
- Overload Machine Guns – Continuous Machine Gun shots imbue rounds with a stun that disrupts Overload Champions, delays ability regeneration, and lowers enemy damage potential.
- Elemental Fury – Players deal additional damage with abilities and Elemental Orbs to stunned Champions.
- Communal Pickups – If an ally steals or blows up a Tangle or Elemental Orb, the cooldown to produce another is reduced by five seconds. Additionally, the creator receives a damage buff to any weapons using the same element as their equipped subclass.
- Refreshing Pickups – Energy is gifted to players’ lowest-charged ability whenever they pick up a Tangle or Elemental Orb.
- Semi-Auto Striker – Continuous precision damage with Bows, Snipers, or Scout Rifles grants a stack of Armor Charge. This effect only triggers if players have less than two stacks of Armor Charge.
Column 5 Artifact Mods
- Monochromatic Maestro – Ability damage buffs matching elemental weapon damage and vice versa. The damage increase is 10%, and it lasts for five seconds.
- Rapid-Fire Ranger – Players can weaken long-range enemies or bosses by dealing continuous precision damage.
- Elemental Embrace – This Mod grants an absurd amount of Recovery and damage resistance against elemental damage matching players’ subclass. The effect triggers whenever players receive a unique elemental buff from their subclass (Amplified, Radiant, Woven Mail or Devour).
- Elemental Munitions – Special and Heavy ammo can appear whenever foes are defeated with Tangles or Elemental Orbs.
- Frenzied Stacks – Orbs of Power grant a temporary stack of Armor Charge, which now increases the damage of Tangles and Elemental Orbs.
