Destiny's April 12 update has big changes in store for Warlocks and sniper rifles

The day of reckoning is nearly at hand for divebombing Stormcallers and close-quarters snipers. In its final informative livestream for Destiny Update 2.2.0, Bungie shared several changes coming to the Warlock class, weapon types, and even the basics of reviving your teammates.

First off, Landfall won't allow Stormcallers to break through Wards of Dawn while killing and blinding everyone any more. Bungie is toning down that particular talent for the Stormtrance super ability, while reining in some other perks that allowed players to keep Palpatine-ing for extended periods in Crucible matches.

Sunsinger Warlocks will no longer be quite the same melee bruisers, with the Flame Shield talent triggering less frequently and furnishing less powerful protection. And Voidwalkers will be brought up with several tweaks to encourage their energy-draining, ability-recharging cycle, hopefully firming up their status as Destiny's designated space magic slingers.

The war against sniper rifle dominance will begin anew on April 12 as well: Crucible players will once again start with special weapon ammo, but extra ammo will now only drop three minutes into the match and again two minutes later. You'll still see plenty of snipers and other special weapons out in PvP, but players will need to be more judicious about how they use them.

In other "sniper no sniping" news, medium-range sniper rifle scopes will get a slightly longer zoom across the board. They'll also take a bit more time to aim, and will be marginally less stable. All of these changes should have minimal impact on the classic sniper who carefully lines up shots from afar, but should make the weapons significantly less useful in medium/close range engagements.

Whether you're doing a co-op mission or taking on other players in Skirmish, you'll notice that reviving fallen teammates is more of a commitment in Update 2.2. Players will be required to both stand closer to their teammates and hold the button down longer to revive them. Sprinting will interrupt revive attempts and the overshield bestowed to both the helper and resurrected will be reduced, making it a more dangerous proposition (and, by extension, death a bit more punishing).

Seen something newsworthy? Tell us!

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.

Latest in Destiny
Key art for Destiny 2's Heresy Episode.
"A fun example of a bug becoming a feature": Destiny 2 accidentally made Exotic Glaives free to all classes, and Bungie says "we're going to let this ride"
Destiny 2 Episode 3 Heresy screenshot of Eris Morn
Destiny 2's new Episode suggested the upcoming Apollo expansion will launch on July 15, but that date has mysteriously been scrubbed from the game
Destiny 2 Guardian in Taken energy
Bungie yanked Destiny 2 servers offline for emergency maintenance as Episode 3: Heresy got off to a rocky start, but it looks like we're back in business
Destiny 2 Star Wars armor sets
"Oryx is back": Destiny 2's final Episode takes the MMO to the site of the iconic Taken King expansion for a Coil-inspired roguelite mode, and also Star Wars armor
Destiny 2 guardian in scorn armor
How to get Destiny 2 Twitch Drops and link your accounts
Destiny 2 Kell's Fall art
The Destiny 2 dev behind Titan's game-changing Banner of War was also on its new Exotic shotgun Slayer's Fang: "I gotta live up to this, especially as my first gun"
Latest in News
Dragon Age Inquisition
Dragon Age actor says the last time he played Inquisition, he upheld the RPG tradition led by Baldur's Gate 3 actors and romanced his own character: "Which is the best — the best"
Monster Hunter Wilds
Capcom promises "this is just the start for the next generation of Monster Hunter" as Wilds shatters sales milestones: "The Guild authorizes this celebration!"
Lester sitting at a computer in some artwork for GTA Online
Some GTA 5 players can't bring their characters to the new PC upgrade, and the open-world game's mixed Steam reviews are hammering FPS caps and a lack of text chat
Kamala Khan holds Jean Grey's body in an homage to the cover of Uncanny X-Men #136
45 years after the original Dark Phoenix Saga, Ms. Marvel Kamala Khan will travel back in time to save X-Men history
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing Yasuke kneeling and praying while wearing a traditional purple robe
Assassin's Creed Shadows is the first game in the series with "a fully customizable sandbox" as your base, which is where Yasuke and Naoe hang out and pet baby animals
Monster Hunter Wilds screenshot of spider boss Nerscylla
Monster Hunter Wilds takes an infamously rare and annoying material from the old games and absolutely buries you in it – and also buries you in tiny spiders