Bungie has revealed a sweeping change to Destiny 2’s melee combat system as part of the upcoming Edge of Fate expansion, launching on July 15, 2025. Announced in the game’s latest TWID blog post, this update is being called one of the most significant systemic overhauls in Destiny 2’s history.
From Multiplicative to Additive: A New Melee Meta
The major change lies in how melee damage is calculated. Currently, Destiny 2 uses multiplicative scaling for damage boosts—meaning buffs are multiplied together, resulting in occasionally extreme numbers. With the Edge of Fate update, Bungie is moving to additive scaling, which will make damage increases stack together more consistently.
“This shift reduces extreme outliers but significantly buffs all melee damage-enhancing status effects,” Bungie’s Sandbox Team explained.
This change offers several key impacts:
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Lower overall damage ceiling, but more predictable scaling.
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All melee damage buffs in PvE will stack at full value if applicable.
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Status effects that boost melee damage (like Radiant or Weaken) will now be stronger and more synergistic.
PvE Benefits and Buildcrafting Opportunities
This overhaul is designed to create more consistency and clarity around melee builds, particularly in PvE activities like Nightfalls, Raids, and Dungeons. Players who invest in melee-focused subclasses or exotic armor will benefit from the changes thanks to full-value stacking of melee damage increases.
A New Direction for Destiny 2
The melee rework is part of Bungie’s larger effort to reshape Destiny 2’s gameplay foundation. After moving away from the seasonal content model, Bungie has begun revealing its Frontiers initiative, including two mini-expansions and several system-wide updates through 2025.
This melee change is part of a broader shift in how the game will handle:
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Combat sandbox balance
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Buildcrafting customization
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Core gameplay mechanics
Community Reaction
Initial community response to the change has been mostly positive, with many players welcoming the clearer buildcrafting math and boost to synergistic melee playstyles.
Streamer and PvE guide creator @VoidBrawler commented:
“Additive scaling for melee damage is huge. No more weird stacking limits—just clean, consistent buffs. This is how it should’ve worked years ago.”
Destiny 2’s upcoming Edge of Fate expansion is shaping up to be more than just new content—it’s becoming a full gameplay renaissance. With the melee damage system being reworked from the ground up, players can expect fresh strategies, stronger PvE builds, and a more streamlined combat sandbox.
Keep your fists ready—July 15 is just around the corner.