Table of Contents
Bungie shipped a compact patch that trims grind, restores a few perks, and removes some brick-wall modifiers from Portal matchmaking. It is not a giant sandbox shakeup, but it will make your week smoother whether you are tuning builds or climbing activity playlists.
TLDR
- Infusion now costs 1 Enhancement Core and 5,000 Glimmer at every Power level.
- Unstable Cores are out of the Infusion economy and no longer drop from dismantles.
- Stronghold correctly grants Ergo Sum infinite guard and max Guard Resistance.
- Enhanced Controlled Burst finally gains its extended duration.
- Ability touch-ups: Prismatic Titan refunds when Shiver Strike whiffs, Solar Hunter quality-of-life buffs for On Your Mark, Void Warlock Vortex Grenade pulls as expected.
- Portal playlist drops a stack of challenge modifiers to improve matchmade runs.
- A round of activity and reward fixes, plus a Bright Dust refund for some Week 1 armor ornament buyers.
Power and progression
Infusion costs are simple again
Infusion has a flat price: 1 Enhancement Core plus 5,000 Glimmer. No scaling by Power. No Unstable Cores. This makes leveling alt gear painless and helps new or returning players keep favorite rolls viable without spreadsheeting their wallet.
Practical tips:
- Keep a small buffer of Enhancement Cores so you can Infuse new drops on the fly.
- Spend surplus Glimmer before cap to avoid waste. Buy repeatable bounties or craft mats if you are full.
- Dismantling gear no longer returns Unstable Cores, so plan your economy around Cores and Glimmer only.
Exotic armor
Stronghold and Ergo Sum synergy fixed
Stronghold now correctly provides Ergo Sum with infinite guard and maximum Guard Resistance. That interaction was the fantasy of the kit, and it finally works. Sword-heavy Titans can lean into a defensive playstyle around guard uptime without losing value to a bug.
Play idea:
- Pair Stronghold with a damage-over-time fragment or a finisher mod package. Hold choke points, tank shots during rez attempts, then counter with heavy attacks.
Weapons
Controlled Burst enhanced perk
The enhanced version now lasts longer than the base version, as it should. That means weapons with the enhanced roll gain a real perk edge instead of a tooltip-only bonus.
Action point:
- Revisit crafted fusions or linears with enhanced Controlled Burst and confirm they feel better in sustained windows like boss burn phases or Champions with health gates.
Abilities
Titan Prismatic
- Shiver Strike refunds ability energy when it misses. The refund is 80 percent in PvE and 40 percent in PvP, matching the intended values. Missed melees feel less punishing, yet PvP retains counterplay.
Hunter Solar
On Your Mark Aspect tuning for PvE:
- No cooldown on building stacks.
- Precision Hand Cannon hits grant two stacks.
- At ten stacks, precision hits and final blows refresh the buff.
Takeaway: precision primaries, especially Hand Cannons, can keep uptime rolling in ad-clear loops.
Warlock Void
- Vortex Grenade now pulls larger enemies correctly. If you were watching Ogres drift the wrong direction, that weirdness is gone. Your grouping tech is reliable again.
Activities and matchmade quality
Portal playlist
Matchmaking no longer applies a laundry list of challenge modifiers. Removed modifiers include Elemental Hungers, Volatile Shields, Match Game, Lightning Crystals, Cosmic Super Conductors, Ashes to Ashes, Slow and Small, Energy Drain, Haste, and Antisurge. The result is fewer hard-stops in random groups and more consistent clears.
Other activity fixes:
- Heliostat Pinnacle Op correctly signals Barrier Champions at higher tiers.
- Breaking Vex crystals in Heliostat now grants Wolfsbane intrinsics to every member of the fireteam.
- Dungeon Lairs resolve odd cases with multiple limited revive token skull options.
- Contest of Elders loot no longer beams straight to the Postmaster.
The Desert Perpetual
- Network Technician Triumph now reflects Atlas and Almanac progress accurately.
- Timing edge cases that could cause multiple bosses to target a team with Variable Elimination have been prevented.
General changes
- Bright Dust refunds are available through Special Deliveries for players who overpaid on one or two Bright Dust armor ornaments in Week 1 of Ash and Iron. If you purchased three or more, there is an additional refund that goes directly to your Bright Dust balance.
- The competitive emblem for reaching Ascendant III now appears in Collections.
- Featherfine shader visuals were corrected so it no longer mirrors Iron Valus.
- The Rewards Pass ship name is updated across supported languages.
What to do today
- Infuse your main loadouts without fear of hidden costs. Lock in raid and GM sets.
- If you are a Titan sword enjoyer, test Stronghold with Ergo Sum in high-end content.
- Audit crafted weapons with enhanced Controlled Burst and move them up your rotation.
- Hunters running Solar should grab a precision primary and keep On Your Mark stacked during mid to high density fights.
- Hit Portal with friends again. The modifier purge makes LFG clears much less swingy.
- Visit Special Deliveries if you bought Bright Dust ornaments during Ash and Iron Week 1.
Build notes to try
- Titan Prismatic guard tank
Stronghold plus Ergo Sum with guard mods. Add a Fragment package for melee or Orbs to keep ability loops humming. Great for holding plates and protecting revives. - Hunter Solar precision engine
On Your Mark, a Hand Cannon with Explosive Payload or Frenzy, and a reload mod. Chain headshots to live at ten stacks and refresh the buff on precision final blows. - Warlock Void crowd control
Vortex Grenade plus Contraverse Hold or a discipline-heavy armor set. Pull enemies into grenade zones and feed Devour uptime for sustain.
