Bungie launched Arms Week yesterday, a concentrated seven-day event that puts Hand Cannons front and center with exclusive weapons and temporary modifications that dramatically alter how the archetype plays. Running through August 5th, this marks Destiny 2's first experiment with archetype-focused seasonal content.
The event centers around Ada-1, who's moved to the new Shooting Range accessible directly from the Tower map. She hands out the initial quest and serves as the hub for all Arms Week activities, which revolve around earning Combat Telemetry by using Hand Cannons in Portal activities.
Phoneutria Fera Breaks New Ground as First Spreadshot Hand Cannon
The headline weapon is Phoneutria Fera, a Solar Hand Cannon that fires multiple projectiles in a Shotgun-style spread pattern while using Primary ammo. This is Destiny 2's first Spread Shot Hand Cannon.
Instead of a single bullet, each trigger pull releases a short-range spread of pellets. This lets the weapon roll with Shotgun perks like One-Two Punch, creating unusual synergy opportunities that don't exist elsewhere in the game.
The weapon essentially functions as a pocket Shotgun that doesn't need Special ammo bricks. Early testing shows it trades raw damage per pellet for the convenience of Primary ammunition, making it useful for sustained close-quarters combat without worrying about ammo economy.
Volatile Mods Provide Temporary Power Boosts
Three exclusive Volatile Weapon Mods can only be equipped during Arms Week and only work on Hand Cannons that meet Edge of Fate requirements (marked with light blue indicators):
- Chaotic Munitions makes precision kills trigger random effects. Players report everything from explosive rounds to healing bursts, though the exact pool of possible effects hasn't been fully documented.
- Cowboy Grip dramatically improves hip-fire accuracy and handling. This could shake up PvP metas during the event week, as Hand Cannons become viable for aggressive rushing tactics typically reserved for SMGs.
- Fragmentation Rounds turns precision kills into cluster bombs, spawning multiple explosive submunitions that seek nearby enemies. This effectively gives Hand Cannons area-of-effect capabilities they've never had before.
These mods disappear when the event ends, making this week the only chance to experience these gameplay alterations.
Community Raises Concerns About Legacy Weapon Implementation
Ada-1's focusing system offers some Hand Cannons, including The Palindrome, Luna's Howl, and Austringer. But players have quickly identified problems with how these legacy rewards work within current game systems.
The focused weapons don't participate in the tier system introduced with Edge of Fate. This means they're objectively weaker than current gear and actually hurt character progression rather than helping it. They also can't use Deepsight Harmonizers, blocking progress toward crafting objectives. Additionally, these legacy weapons can't equip the event's Volatile Mods, making them essentially useless during Arms Week itself.
Community discussions and forum posts describe the legacy focusing as "tone deaf" and question why Bungie included rewards that work against current progression systems. Some players suggest the implementation feels rushed or poorly planned.
Event Structure Demands Consistent Daily Engagement
The Event Track runs to rank 15 with rewards including Event Tokens, Holofoil weapon variants, and the new Ribbontail Strand Trace Rifle. Daily challenges reset every 24 hours, while weekly objectives last the full event duration.
Combat Telemetry serves as the primary currency, earned by completing Portal activities. Portal activities like Solo or Fireteam Ops generate more Telemetry than other content per hour, making them the most efficient farming method.
The Event Shop lets players spend Event Tokens on exclusive weapons and upgrade materials. Token costs appear calibrated to require consistent daily participation rather than allowing casual weekend grinding to unlock everything.
Sharpshooter Title Requires Complete Event Mastery
Arms Week includes its own triumph seal tracking progress across all event activities. Completing every triumph unlocks the permanent Sharpshooter title, which requires more than just basic participation.
The triumph list covers PVP objectives, complete Event Track progression, and challenges that push players into every corner of the event. Early completion attempts suggest the title will require dedicated daily engagement throughout the full week.
Future Events Hinted by Leaked Weapons
Datamined content suggests upcoming Arms Week events will focus on other weapon archetypes. A Stasis Slug Shotgun called Trachinus features a new Rapid Fire Slug Frame running at 90 RPM, pointing toward a future shotgun-focused week.
Synanceia, a Solar Sword with Wave Frame mechanics, indicates that melee weapons will get their own dedicated event. The pattern suggests Bungie plans to rotate through every weapon archetype with similar seven-day focused events.
Event Sets Precedent for Seasonal Content Direction
Arms Week represents Bungie's first attempt at archetype-specific seasonal content in the Fate saga era. The concentrated format contrasts sharply with longer seasonal activities, creating intense but time-limited engagement windows.
The temporary nature of Volatile Mods raises questions about whether future events will follow similar patterns. These modifications offer some of the most significant gameplay changes ever provided through seasonal content, yet they vanish completely when the event ends.
Player reception has been mixed, with praise for the unique weapons and experimental mods balanced against criticism of the legacy weapon implementation and concerns about the sustainability of such intense, short-duration events.
Arms Week Returns in August with Unknown Archetype
Bungie confirmed Arms Week will return sometime in August 2025, though they haven't announced which weapon type will be featured or specific dates. The rotating format suggests players will eventually see dedicated events for Pulse Rifles, Scout Rifles, and every other weapon category in the game.
Each future event will likely follow the same basic structure: exclusive weapons, temporary modifications, and a week-long push for event-specific rewards. Whether Bungie addresses the legacy weapon concerns before the next iteration remains to be seen.
For now, players have until Tuesday's reset to experience Hand Cannons in ways that won't be possible again until these mods potentially return in future events. The Phoneutria Fera and its spreadshot mechanics represent the kind of experimental weapon design that Arms Week seems designed to showcase.
