Destiny 2 has a new version of the ever-popular Breach and Clear mod. This new reprisal of Breach and Clear is called Weakened Clear and it comes with a few notable changes. It’s been integrated into the Void 3.0 subclass rework, for one. This has hampered its effectiveness, and by extension, decreased the impact it’s going to have on the Destiny 2 META this season.
Weakened Clear is still going to be a mod worth debating until we settle on the current Destiny 2 META, though. That’s why I’m going to walk you through the difference between Breach and Clear / Weakened Clear. I’ll also explain how you can unlock Weakened Clear for yourself.
Destiny 2 Weakened Clear Explained
The new version of Breach and Clear – Weakened Clear, is quite a bit different from its predecessor. The mod explains that damaging a boss, champion, or breaking a target’s shield will apply Weaken to them. That’s an important distinction from Breach and Clear, as instead of applying a unique debuff, it borrows the Weaken keyword from the Void 3.0 rework.
The mod still functions the same, though. Hit something big with a grenade launcher, and you’re going to do more damage to that target. How much more damage, though?
Breach and Clear used to be a 30% debuff, and that was massive. As we know, though, the Weaken debuff makes targets take 15% more damage. That means that Weakened Clear is effectively half as effective as Breach and Clear.
So, will Weakened Clear be used? Probably. With the recent nerfs to Divinity effectively slashing its effectiveness, we’re going to be transitioning into a Hunter Tether META for DPS. Debuffs don’t stack, which hurts it compared to Tether’s 30% debuff. You don’t want to be Tethering a Champion or an annoying yellow bar, though, which is where Weakened Clear comes in.
That being said, it’s still powerful enough to run at least one of on your Fireteam for every activity – especially combined with Witherhoard. It won’t break the game anytime soon, but it’s still great – especially combined with Solo Operative.
How to Unlock Breach and Clear / Weakened Clear in Destiny 2
Unlocking Weakened Clear in Destiny 2 is super simple. It’s an artifact mod, meaning we only have access to it during Season of the Seraph. Once the season is over, the mod is gone.
It’s a tier-five mod, which is the highest tier of mod in the seasonal artifact. This means ranking up your artifact around 10 times – no easy feat, but it is something you should be able to get done over the first two or three weeks of the season.
Weakened Clear itself is a class item mod. It has no elemental requirement, but it does cost five energy. That’s a little steep for an armor slot that’s already really competitive in terms of mod availability – but the cost is generally worth it.
All the same, we should see a lot of this mod in general activities this season. It’s not optimal, but it’s handy, convenient, and consistent. It’s no Particle Deconstruction, though. Don’t go planning on bringing it into a Master Raid.
I can still see it being used. It being half as effective as the bonkers Breach and Clear (30% was just way too much) is no reason to not use it. In fact, it’s a dumb reason. At least one or two people are usually packin’ Witherhoard on a raid team, or even a dungeon fireteam, so when there’s either not a Hunter present, which happens, or a Hunter doesn’t have Tether 100% of the time (when you use your Super, its gone for a lil bit, believe it or not), this would easily fill that gap, and it only requires one person to dedicate one of their three weapon slots to buff 2-5 teammates, including themselves, with a weapon that appears in all 3 slots.
Again, only reason BaC was meta was due to a combination of Witherhoard and/or Anarchy, and the absurd 30% damage buff. Meta due to being broken, essentially.
You’re absolutely right – I actually updated the article to reflect my new thoughts on it. I was considering it from a “no debuff stacking” point of view, rather than a purely convenient one. Focusing on min-maxing rather than practicality.