Destiny 2’s Tonic Controversy Explained

Destiny 2's Tonic Controversy Explained

Key Takeaways

  • Destiny 2 Revenant Episode has flaws, such as convoluted Tonics and unavailable craftable weapons.
  • Tonics are bugged, leading to wrong weapon drops and low chances of specific ones.
  • Players struggle with Tonics and low drop rates in Revenant compared to past events in Destiny 2.



Destiny 2‘s Revenant Episode is well underway with around five weeks remaining until the launch of Act 3, which is going to feature a new Exotic mission with the associated reward being the Slayer’s Fang Exotic shotgun. Although Revenant made Destiny 2 Stasis builds popular and strong again, the release was considered overall subpar by many players – partly because of the decision to make all story missions available at once, partly because of the convoluted Tonic system and the lack of craftable seasonal weapons. Not only did Bungie miss its chance to make the Onslaught-related weapons available as “shiny” like with the original Onslaught guns, but Tonics are leaving a lot to be desired, and they are bugged, on top of that.

The main problem with Tonics in Destiny 2 is that they are crafted with farmable ingredients, but the ratio at which one gains ingredients and that at which Tonics must be crafted to unlock new recipes is arguably quite flawed. Additionally, Tonics are consumable items on a timer, and occasionally the timer is off. More importantly, the Tonics should be Destiny 2‘s way of granting players the ability to chase specific guns and their rolls, but they are not working as intended.


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Why Destiny 2’s Revenant Tonic Bugs Are Just The Tip of The Iceberg

One of the main reasons Bungie gave for not adding craftable seasonal weapons in Revenant was that players would have incentives in the form of Tonics, and also make for a sense of chase that has been missing for some loot in the game more recently. However, the Tonics being wrong regarding which weapons they actually increased the drop chance for was a big downer for community morale, and rightfully so. Bungie had just made good on the perk weighting controversy in Destiny 2 only for fans to find a different bug.


Tonics already had a bad reception on launch given how convoluted the system can be and how slowly ingredients are obtained, but this bug actively ruins the overall experience on multiple levels. For starters, the fact that a given Destiny 2 Revenant weapon Tonic gives increased drop chances for a different weapon makes target-farming more difficult, and while Bungie is aiming to fix this in the coming weeks, it has probably been an issue for the entirety of Act 1 and 2 so far.

Furthermore, players are lured into crafting a given Tonic, only for it to boost the chances of getting a different gun. Even then, the increase in drop chances for a specific weapon seems on the lower end of the spectrum, with most players reporting that a Legendary Tonic typically awards one or two guns throughout its entire duration. This is more of a general Revenant issue, but it highlights just how much of a miss this Episode was compared to the loot shower in Destiny 2‘s Onslaught when Into The Light was released.


Why Destiny 2’s Revenant Needs More Than a Bug Fix For Tonics

In fact, Revenant weapons drop significantly less frequently in Revenant activities – even the full 50 waves of Onslaught and with a Tonic active – compared to Into The Light. Tying Onslaught with seasonal content is not necessarily a bad move per se, but the difference in drop rates is quite noticeable, and it’s likely what spurred fans to take a look at Destiny 2 Tonics‘ effectiveness. What follows is that, in another effort to make good on issues affecting farming in Destiny 2, Bungie should take a look at the base odds of Revenant weapons dropping from related activities and increase that.

It’s worth noting that Revenant weapons can drop in what seems like a “shiny” callback version to the original Onslaught guns, though the shiny skin is not there – just the extra perks in each column and the fact that they drop fully Masterworked. However, these are extremely rare.


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