Destiny 2’s Monument of Triumph update has arrived, and this is not just another routine patch. Update 9.7.0 is one of the biggest patches Bungie has released in a long time, bringing a massive list of activity updates, sandbox changes, reward reworks, buffs, nerfs, armor adjustments, Crucible updates, and quality of life improvements.
More importantly, Bungie has described this as Destiny 2’s final major patch. The game will still receive maintenance updates and smaller hotfixes, but Monument of Triumph feels like a major closing chapter for the current era of Destiny 2.
Destiny 2 Monument of Triumph Update Adds a New Tower Feature
The biggest headline of Update 9.7.0 is the arrival of the Monument of Triumph itself. Bungie has added the Monument to the center of the Tower courtyard, giving players a new reward-focused system built around Triumph completion.
Players can now complete Triumphs in the new Monument of Triumph category to earn Legendary Marks. These marks can then be exchanged at four Guardian Tenet vendors in the Tower for free armor ornaments, accessories, weapon engrams, and other rewards.
Iron Banner has also received a small Tower change. When Iron Banner is active, its vendor location has been moved back to its original spot above Shaxx in the Tower Courtyard.
Distortions Bring Tougher Destination Content
Update 9.7.0 also introduces Distortions across the Sol System. These are rotating destination modifiers that bring a higher level of challenge and better rewards while active.
Distortions rotate through one destination every hour, with the active location and remaining time shown on the Destinations screen. Enemies affected by Distortions will be tougher, while the environment will also change to make the activity feel more dangerous.
The reward side is where this system becomes interesting. Public events completed during Distortions can drop rewards at a higher gear tier than normal, and Distortion-specific events may also reward unique loot. For players still chasing better gear, this gives patrol destinations a much stronger reason to be played again.
Pantheon 2.0 Arrives With New Raid and Dungeon Challenges
Pantheon 2.0 is another major part of the Monument of Triumph update. Bungie has launched the first two Pantheon activities, Calus Resplendent and Morgeth Surpassing, each featuring its own lineup of bosses.
A third Pantheon activity will arrive later, featuring the full gauntlet of bosses. Bungie is also adding a weekly rotation of individual boss features, with two bosses featured at a time.
The raid and dungeon reward structure has also been heavily updated. All pre-The Edge of Fate raids and dungeons now drop tiered rewards. Raid and dungeon armor can now come with unique set bonuses, dungeon weapons now have new origin traits, and craftable raid weapons have received updated perk pools.
The weekly rotator has been reworked as well. Each week, two raids and two dungeons will be featured, giving players farmable access to high-quality gear. Featured raids can reward Deepsight weapons, Tier 5 armor, and Adept weapons on Master difficulty, while featured dungeons can drop Tier 5 weapons and armor.
Ops Activities Get a Big Restructure
Bungie has deprecated the Portal screen and moved Ops activities to the bottom of the Director. This update reorganizes several playlists into Fireteam Ops, Pinnacle Ops, Arena Ops, Solo Ops, Crucible Ops, and Gambit Ops.
Fireteam Ops has added activities such as Heist Battleground: Mars, The Disgraced, The Lightblade, The Scarlet Keep, Lake of Shadows, and The Corrupted. Pinnacle Ops now includes The Whisper and Zero Hour, with their Exotic rewards awarded on completion, like other Exotic missions in the category.
The Exotic Rotator has also been deprecated because many of its missions are now part of Pinnacle Ops. Operation: Seraph’s Shield has been moved into Pinnacle Ops along with its associated weapon, Catalyst, and Intrinsic rewards.
Activity scoring has been simplified. Power and season pass bonuses have been removed from scoring, meaning everyone in a fireteam should receive the same score. Difficulty now gives flat score bonuses, modifiers provide flat bonuses, and reward tiers are tied more clearly to activity grades.
Destiny 2 Weapon Changes in Update 9.7.0
One of the biggest sandbox changes in Update 9.7.0 is Anti-Champion 2.0. Bungie has removed anti-Champion mods from artifacts and given weapons intrinsic anti-Champion capabilities based on their archetype.
Aggressive and High Impact weapons now lean into Unstoppable effects, Precision and Adaptive weapons lean into Barrier effects, while Lightweight and Rapid-Fire weapons lean into Overload effects. Several specific frames also have assigned anti-Champion roles, including Support Auto Rifles, Wave Grenade Launchers, Rocket-Assisted Sidearms, Caster Swords, and Vortex Swords.
Primary weapons also received major PvE damage buffs. Legendary Primary weapons now deal 30 percent more damage against base combatants, while Exotic Primary weapons had their bonus damage against base combatants increased from 30 percent to 40 percent. Non-Blaster Primary weapons now deal 15 percent more damage against elite combatants, while Blaster Primary weapons had their elite damage bonus increased from 15 percent to 20 percent.
Auto Rifles saw notable tuning. High Impact Auto Rifles had their rate of fire increased from 360 RPM to 400 RPM, although their base damage and ADS damage falloff scalar were reduced to balance the change. Adaptive Auto Rifles received a small damage increase.
There were also nerfs. Lightweight Pulse Rifles had their base and critical damage reduced, Rapid-Fire Scout Rifles saw a damage reduction, and Aggressive Hand Cannons received a small damage decrease.
Ammo economy also changed. Heavy and Special Precision Linear Fusion Rifles now receive more ammo per brick in PvE, while Choir of One has had its ammo per brick reduced. Special weapons also gain less ammo meter progress from minor enemy defeats at 100 Ammo Gen stat.
Armor Buffs, Reworks, and Nerfs
Update 9.7.0 includes a huge number of armor changes, especially for Exotic armor.
Hunters received several notable Exotic updates. Wormhusk Crown has been reworked to grant cure on class ability activation, while Solar multikills grant Burning Souls. Caliban’s Hand now gives a bigger melee recharge bonus, scorch damage refunds melee energy, and ignition final blows can fully refund knife energy. Mothkeeper’s Wraps has also been reworked so kills from any source charge up moth grenades.
Lucky Pants received both buffs and nerfs. Eriana’s Vow now gets a higher maximum damage bonus, but Uncivil Discourse has a lower bonus, and Lucky Pants deals around 33 percent less bonus damage to bosses.
Titans also received several major updates. Hallowfire Heart has been reworked around Sunfire Furnace stacks, healing, ability regeneration, Super damage, and ignition effects. Pyrogale Gauntlets received stronger tracking and damage improvements, while Praxic Vestments received a massive melee attack damage increase.
Peregrine Greaves had its shoulder charge damage bonus reduced on paper, but Bungie notes that shoulder charge base damage in PvE has been doubled, meaning the Exotic should still hit harder overall after the update.
Armor stats also expanded with six more Armor Archetypes, bringing the total to 12. Ghost Armorer mods are now stronger too, giving players a better chance of getting their chosen archetype.
Ability Buffs and Nerfs in Monument of Triumph
The ability sandbox has also changed in a big way. Bungie has added two new grenades, the Stasis Shatter Grenade and the Strand Slicewire Grenade.
Lightning Grenade received a 25 percent detonation damage buff, while Spike Grenade had its damage area slightly increased. Scatter Grenades were nerfed in PvP, with their chase distance against players reduced by 50 percent and the grenade energy they gain from perks reduced.
Grapple received a boss damage nerf. Against boss combatants, the max grapple melee damage bonus from grenade stat has been reduced by 50 percent, and the damage bonuses from grenade and melee stats are now additive instead of multiplicative.
Supers were also hit with a major change. Super energy generation from dealing damage to bosses has been reduced by 60 percent, which should have a noticeable impact on boss damage rotations.
Titan players also received some big subclass updates. Sunbreaker now has a new Shieldburst Aspect that enhances barricades with Solar effects, while Hammer Strike deals 100 percent more damage against combatants. Ward of Dawn has been reworked into a larger dome that players can fight inside, with Weapons of Light for allies, weakened enemies inside the dome, and a relocatable core object.
Crucible and PvP Changes
Crucible also received a long list of updates in Update 9.7.0. Small team quickplay modes now have updated matchmaking settings that allow matches to start early without full lobbies.
Crucible Ops rewards now scale by performance grade, with C awarding Tier 3 gear, B awarding Tier 4 gear, and A or higher awarding Tier 5 gear. Several classic modes have also been folded into Crucible Ops, including 6v6 rotator, 3v3 rotator, Rumble, and Private Match.
Competitive has replaced its seasonal Competitive Weapon reward with a Competitive Gear reward that pulls from a pool containing both weapons and armor. Trials now uses a random set of weekly featured maps, while the weekly Lighthouse chest reward pulls from a featured weapon pool.
Iron Banner focusing has been updated as well. Players can now focus tiered Iron Banner gear using Iron Banner Ciphers earned through Iron Banner match completions.
Sparrow Racing League and Heavy Metal Return With Updates
Monument of Triumph also brings back Sparrow Racing League with all four original Destiny 1 maps. Bungie has added the Quantum Circuit Track, support for Skimmers, Rocket Start, Trick Boost, improved handling, faster race pacing, and better race balancing.
Heavy Metal also received updates, including the new Nightfall Ruins map and the option to play as a Cabal Behemoth. Players can now choose between Tank, Brig, and Behemoth before a match. Even tanks can jump now, which is exactly as chaotic as it sounds.
UI and Quality of Life Changes
The Director has been updated heavily. The Portal tab has been deprecated, Ops content has moved to the Destinations tab, and Raids and Dungeons now have their own entry point. The Legends node is also being replaced by the new Raids and Dungeons node.
Players can now attune to specific rewards from a new Inventory menu. Attunement increases the drop chance of the selected weapon from that activity’s rewards, and players can freely change their selections at any time.
Eververse also received major changes, including Bright Engram Focusing. This system lets players spend Eververse Engrams and Bright Dust to focus specific cosmetic categories, including shaders, accessories, emotes, finishers, and armor ornaments.
Monument of Triumph Patch Notes Summary:
Here’s a shorter major-changes table based on Bungie’s official Destiny 2 Update 9.7.0 patch notes. (Bungie)
| Major Change | What Changed | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Monument of Triumph | A new Monument has been added to the Tower, letting players earn Legendary Marks through Triumphs. | This is the main feature of the update and gives players a new reward chase. |
| Legendary Marks | Legendary Marks can be exchanged at Guardian Tenet vendors for free armor ornaments, accessories, weapon engrams, and more. | Adds a new way to unlock cosmetic and gear rewards. |
| Distortions | Rotating destination modifiers now appear hourly across the Sol System with tougher enemies and better rewards. | Gives patrol zones and public events more endgame value. |
| Pantheon 2.0 | New Pantheon activities launch with boss gauntlets, new Triumphs, rewards, and a title. | Adds a major raid-style challenge for endgame players. |
| Raid and Dungeon Rewards | Older raids and dungeons now drop tiered rewards, new armor set bonuses, dungeon origin traits, and updated raid weapon perk pools. | Makes legacy endgame content more rewarding again. |
| Ops Rework | The Portal has been deprecated, and Ops activities now live on the Director under updated categories. | Makes activity navigation cleaner and reshapes Destiny 2’s playlist structure. |
| Activity Scoring | Scoring has been simplified, with Power and season pass bonuses removed from score calculation. | Fireteams now earn the same score, making rewards easier to understand. |
| Crucible Updates | Crucible Ops rewards now scale by grade, Competitive rewards were updated, Trials map selection changed, and Iron Banner focusing was improved. | PvP rewards and matchmaking systems have been refreshed. |
| Sparrow Racing League | SRL returns with original Destiny 1 tracks, Skimmer support, Rocket Start, Trick Boost, and a new Quantum Circuit track. | One of Destiny’s most requested event modes is back with upgrades. |
| Heavy Metal | Heavy Metal adds the Nightfall Ruins map, Cabal Behemoth option, and vehicle jumping. | Makes the mode more chaotic and varied. |
| Anti-Champion 2.0 | Anti-Champion effects are now built into weapon archetypes instead of Artifact mods. | This is a major buildcrafting change that affects nearly every loadout. |
| Primary Weapon Buffs | Legendary and Exotic Primary weapons received stronger PvE damage bonuses. | Primary weapons should feel better in regular PvE and elite enemy encounters. |
| Weapon Tuning | Several weapon types were buffed, including Bows, Fusion Rifles, Shotguns, Trace Rifles, Rocket Launchers, and Linear Fusion Rifles. Some outliers like Rocket Pulses and Choir of One were nerfed. | The PvE weapon meta should shift noticeably after this patch. |
| Exotic Armor Changes | Many Hunter, Titan, and Warlock Exotics were buffed, reworked, or nerfed, including Wormhusk Crown, Hallowfire Heart, Nezarec’s Sin, Lucky Pants, and Peacekeepers. | This patch heavily impacts class builds and Exotic choices. |
| Ability Sandbox | New Stasis and Strand grenades were added, while several abilities, Supers, and cooldown systems were adjusted. | Ability spam, boss damage rotations, and subclass builds will feel different. |
| Artifact 2.0 | Artifact perks have been streamlined, anti-Champion mods were removed, and Artifact mods are disabled in Glory and Trials. | Makes the Artifact easier to manage while reducing PvP balance issues. |
| Power Progression | Power cap remains 550, but reward progression has been improved through activity grades. | Players can keep progressing without a full Power reset. |
Destiny 2 Update 9.7.0 is a massive patch, and Monument of Triumph feels like Bungie trying to give the game a proper sendoff before moving into a smaller update cadence.
Between Monument of Triumph, Pantheon 2.0, Distortions, raid and dungeon reward changes, Anti-Champion 2.0, major Exotic armor updates, PvE weapon buffs, ability tuning, and Crucible reward changes, this patch touches almost every major part of the game.
