Destiny 2 has been rolled out with update 9.1.5.4 along with the November 4th weekly reset, catching most Guardians completely off-guard. While the community focuses on the upcoming Renegades expansion, Bungie quietly deployed critical fixes to Festival of the Lost issues, scoring adjustments for Fireteam Operations, and—most surprisingly—temporarily disabled the Liminality Strike. Here’s your complete breakdown of what changed and why it matters.
Table of Contents
Destiny 2: Major Changes at a Glance
| Category | Key Changes | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Festival Events | Haunted Altars fixed, Sweet Tooth tracking corrected | High |
| Portal Activities | Liminality Strike temporarily disabled | Critical |
| Scoring System | 8 activities adjusted for easier 10k scores | Medium-High |
| Weapons | Hushed Whisper damage restored | Medium |
| Cosmetics | Festival armor visual glitches fixed | Low |
Festival of the Lost: Critical Bug Squashing
Haunted Altars of Sorrow Gets Major Fixes
The headlining Festival fix addresses a frustrating progression blocker where clearing two altars in rapid succession failed to register both completions. Speedrunners and efficient farmers rejoice—your efforts now properly count toward objectives.
Additionally, Bungie corrected grade projection issues that displayed lower-than-actual performance ratings. If you thought your runs were mediocre, you might’ve been crushing it all along.
Sweet Tooth Challenge Finally Tracks
Players grinding the Sweet Tooth daily challenge can finally breathe easy. The tracking bug that prevented progress recognition has been eliminated, making Festival triumph completion significantly less painful.
Red Rum(ble) Scoreboard Fixed
Headless One kills now properly appear on post-match scoreboards in this Crucible variant. No more invisible contribution—your zombie-slaying prowess gets the recognition it deserves.
Portal System Overhaul: The Liminality Situation
The most dramatic change? Liminality Strike has been temporarily disabled while Bungie investigates scoring issues. This marks a rare complete activity shutdown, suggesting more serious problems than typical balance adjustments.
Other Portal Improvements:
- Fixed orbit-kick interaction bugs preventing Portal access
- Corrected Expedition reward distribution after final boss defeats
- Resolved progression blocks in Reclaim: Fallen Bunker’s second area
For Guardians pushing Destiny 2’s endgame content, these Portal fixes remove significant friction from the seasonal grind.
Scoring Revolution: Hitting 10k Just Got Easier
Bungie made substantial scoring adjustments across eight activities to make the coveted 10,000 in-activity score more achievable. This change fundamentally impacts how players approach these activities for seasonal challenges and triumphs.
Activities with Adjusted Scoring:
- Insight Terminus Strike
- Devil’s Lair Strike
- The Inverted Spire Strike
- Battleground: Oracle
- Battleground: Behemoth
- Battleground: Conduit
- Battleground: Foothold
- Onslaught: Midtown (also fixed Wave 25 exit bug)
These adjustments respond directly to community feedback about artificially difficult score thresholds. Expect more Guardians completing high-score triumphs and earning associated rewards without frustrating grinding sessions.
Weapon Balance: Hushed Whisper Redemption
The Festival of the Lost reward bow Hushed Whisper was underperforming due to unintended damage reduction. This patch restores its proper damage values, making it viable for both PvE and PvP content.
Bungie’s cheeky patch note—”Now we wait for Hynra’s montage”—references content creator Hynra, famous for devastating bow gameplay. Expect incredible highlight reels showcasing Hushed Whisper’s true potential.
Cosmetic Polish: Festival Armor Visual Glitches
The exotic ornament sets (Veiled Haunting for Hunters, Masked Milliner for Titans, and Formal Shadow for Warlocks) experienced first-person perspective bugs where held items unexpectedly appeared during combat. While purely visual, these glitches broke immersion during intense firefights.
Title Trouble Fixed: Ghost Writer Equippable
Players who earned the Ghost Writer Title couldn’t actually equip it—a frustrating bug for achievement hunters. This hotfix enables proper title display, letting you showcase your Festival mastery.
What This Means for Pre-Renegades Preparation
With Renegades expansion approaching December 2nd, this patch positions Destiny 2 for a smooth transition. By addressing lingering Festival issues and rebalancing scoring systems, Bungie ensures players can efficiently complete current seasonal content before diving into the Star Wars-inspired western adventure.
The official Bungie site provides additional technical details for players experiencing specific issues.
Community Reaction and Next Steps
The Liminality Strike disable caught the community off-guard since most players weren’t aware of significant scoring problems. This suggests Bungie discovered internal metrics showing widespread issues rather than responding to public complaints.
For dedicated Guardians maintaining engagement through cross-platform play, these quality-of-life improvements reduce friction across all aspects of gameplay—from seasonal events to endgame scoring pursuits.
Pro Tips for Post-Patch Grinding
Focus on the Eight Adjusted Activities: The easier 10k scoring makes these prime targets for triumph completion and seasonal challenges.
Complete Festival Content Now: With major bugs squashed, Festival grinding is more efficient than ever. Don’t wait until the event ends.
Test Hushed Whisper: The damage correction potentially makes this a meta PvP bow—experiment in Crucible before everyone catches on.
Monitor Liminality Updates: Follow Bungie’s official channels for Strike re-enablement announcements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: When will the Liminality Strike be re-enabled in Destiny 2?
Bungie hasn’t provided a specific timeline for Liminality Strike’s return. Based on past temporary disables, expect anywhere from a few days to a full week depending on issue complexity. The scoring problems that triggered the disable suggest more than simple number tweaking—there may be underlying mechanical issues requiring deeper investigation. Monitor Bungie’s official help Twitter account (@BungieHelp) and the weekly TWAB (This Week at Bungie) posts for re-enablement announcements. In the meantime, focus on the eight activities with improved scoring or grind Festival of the Lost challenges while they’re bug-free.
Q: Will the easier 10k scoring for Fireteam Operations stay permanent or is this temporary?
These scoring adjustments are permanent balance changes, not temporary event modifications. Bungie explicitly designed these changes to make 10,000 in-activity scores more accessible based on community feedback about unreasonably difficult thresholds. The eight adjusted activities (including Insight Terminus, Devil’s Lair, and various Battlegrounds) will maintain these new scoring parameters through Renegades expansion and beyond. This represents Bungie’s commitment to making triumph completion less frustrating while maintaining meaningful achievement standards. Players who struggled with high-score requirements can now tackle these challenges with realistic expectations.
