Destiny 2 exploit: unprecedented damage through mod stacking

Intelligence Summary
- A new Destiny 2 exploit lets players stack mods for absurd damage, raising fresh concerns about game balance.
In short
- A Destiny 2 exploit lets players stack up to seven identical mods, resulting in extremely high damage in combat.
- Bungie’s choice to let the exploit remain for a week has raised questions about its priorities around balance and player experience.
- The Thunderous Retort mod is key to maximizing Arc Super damage, making the exploit even more effective.
GAME-scanner analysis
The discovery of this exploit, dubbed by the community “The Artifactening,” has sparked a wave of excitement and debate. Players can now melt raid bosses in seconds, dramatically changing the pace of PvE content. Bungie’s decision to ignore the exploit for a week before announcing a fix can be seen as a sign of weak control over game balance. It raises the question of whether Bungie is prioritizing a challenging experience or a fair playing field. The community is split: some see the exploit as a chance to experiment with builds, while others worry about the impact on the game’s competitive integrity.
What does this mean for players?
For players, this exploit offers a temporary opportunity to massively increase damage output. However, it’s important to expect Bungie’s upcoming patch, which will address the issue. Players should optimize their builds and combine the Thunderous Retort mod with other powerful gear to get the most out of the situation before balance is restored. This could be a strategic moment for players to showcase their skills and strengthen their characters before the exploit is patched.
Timeline
2026-06-22: Players discover the exploit and begin using it in PvE.
2026-06-29: Bungie confirms it is aware of the exploit and is planning a fix.
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Sources
Tweet van @iTweet van @iOrdinarily, your Super is quite lethal on its own, as demonstrated here on everyone's favorite training dummy, Carl:
Tweet van @rebbfordTweet van @rebbford"I think what's unfortunate and sad is they announced this was happening, and suddenly people are showing all this support for them," she added. "They've been getting a lot of negativity for all this time, and it's like, where was all this love? People need to put the hate away and show the love, because they could have really used that. I know it was there, but it wasn't as vocal as maybe some of the negativity."