Destiny 2’s The Edge of Fate Melee Nerfs Could Be a Blessing in Disguise For Titans

With a massive shift for the franchise coming in The Edge of Fate expansion for Destiny 2, Bungie has been slowly preparing players for this upcoming chapter in the game’s sandbox and ongoing story. The most recent announcement for Destiny 2 regarding changes coming in The Edge of Fate expansion comes straight from Bungie’s This Week in Destiny (TWID) weekly development blog, formerly known as the TWAB.

One of the hottest items of this week’s TWID are balancing changes coming to players’ melee damage. Although this news about Destiny 2’s upcoming expansion might seem upsetting at first glance, this could be a sign of the Titans’ class identity undergoing a major evolution when The Edge of Fate expansion for Destiny 2 releases on July 15, 2025.

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Destiny 2’s Melee Nerfs Coming in The Edge of Fate Expansion Are a Necessary Evil

The Edge of Fate Expansion Melee Buffs and Nerfs Explained

As of the release of The Edge of Fate expansion, all sources of increased melee damage in Destiny 2 will be additive bonuses, as opposed to multiplicative bonuses.
Buildcrafting tools that are affected by this change will have their effectiveness increased.
Sources of increased melee damage will now have little to no soft cap restrictions in PvE.
Scorch and Ignition damage will no longer be affected by melee damage buffs.
Glaive melee attacks will be considered unpowered melee attacks.
Glaive melee damage against all enemy types in PvE will be nerfed to account for Glaives’ new access to unpowered melee damage buffs and buildcrafting synergies.

Although these balancing changes for melee damage are being described as an overall “buff” in Destiny 2’s latest TWID, this is a bit misleading, as the change from multiplicative to additive bonuses is a greater loss than what is being gained from each individual bonus having its effectiveness increased. Quoting Destiny 2’s TWID from June 19, 2025, “Now, this does result in a lower damage ceiling for melee abilities, and it is unlikely that most bosses will ever be one-shot with melee abilities going forwards …” So, while Glaives are going to evolve into more versatile buildcrafting tools, these balancing changes for melee damage are ultimately nerfs for the melee builds that have dominated the meta in Destiny 2 for a while now, instead of buffs.

In defense of these upcoming melee nerfs, absurdly powerful melee builds have proven to be quite a problem for balancing endgame content in Destiny 2. Consequently, these melee nerfs are arguably for the best, since it means that endgame encounters can be designed from a perspective that allows a wider variety of builds to shine, and overall, making Destiny 2 more accessible for newcomers in The Edge of Fate expansion.

Destiny 2’s Melee Nerfs Make a Titan Class Identity Change Seem More Necessary Than Ever Before

While justified, these upcoming melee nerfs are admittedly still a cause for concern for the resident melee character class in Destiny 2: Titans. After Titans’ Ward of Dawn Super was power-crept by the introduction of Warlocks’ Well of Radiance Super as a more versatile support Super, doubling down on high-DPS Titan melee abilities with a dedicated melee build has arguably been Titans’ only saving grace to compete with the current meta for Hunters and Warlocks.

Hence, if Destiny 2 is about to heavily nerf a core part of Titans’ power fantasy, this seems like a precursor for Titans undergoing a major evolution in their class identity. In other words, these controversial melee nerfs could finally take Titan builds beyond the point of being the one-trick pony melee class. At long last, Titans could finally restore their status as the hybrid tank and support class, with more unique Titan Exotic armor sets added to give Titans more time in the spotlight. If no such additions and changes are made, and Titans keep the same class identity in The Edge of Fate era of Destiny 2’s meta, then they could be in for a world of hurt. However, when taking a glass half full view of the situation, these changes could be seen as a sign that Bungie is planning to give Titans a much-needed shake-up.