Khvostov Exotic Auto Rifle to undergo nerf in Destiny 2 

The iconic Khvostov Auto Rifle will be undergoing a nerf in Destiny 2. While the weapon has returned as an Exotic, Bungie seems to have tweaked its bullets with a special perk, allowing the Khvostov to fire powerful ricochet rounds that can damage multiple adjacent targets. Since this weapon was intended for use against PvE enemies, players are having quite a time clearing groups of mobs inside the highest tier of activities.

However, the PvP has not been the greatest place for anyone facing the Khvostov's perk. The Ricochet effect deals unintended damage to all players due to the damage-boost perk via Orbs of Light, all while always having minimal recoil.

All of this has been confirmed as being nerfed through a mid-Episode patch coming in Echoes, the release date for which remains unknown for now. This confirmation came via the weekly TWID blog post on June 27, 2024.

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Bungie nerfs Khvostov for Destiny 2 PvP

The Khvostov's reign in PvP is about to end with a mid-Episode patch, as has Bungie announced a nerf on the weapon. Aside from the broken damage being dealt with Ricochet bullets, the weapon also presents near-zero recoil when fired, making things significantly easier for all users.

Here is Bungie's statement regarding the recoil bug on Khvostov in Destiny 2 PvP:

"We will be removing the bugged effect that reduces recoil by 50%, but as a middle ground, we have increased the base stability by 30 (to 72). This will give it back some (not all) of that stable feel, without leaving it so far out of band."

Regarding the Ricochet damage bug, Bungie added the following statement:

"We want to avoid impacting PvE with this change, so we have reduced the initial bonus impact damage against players only from 15% to 5%. We have also reduced the bouncing bullet damage against players only from 18.4 to 4.6 damage, leaving PvE unchanged."

The Khvostov 7G-0X Exotic Auto Rifle has been the most-used Primary weapon in PvP since the launch of The Final Shape, even more in the last couple of weeks. However, with the damage and recoil nerf, players might see a rapid decline in this gun's user numbers in Destiny 2 PvP.