As is customary with every yearly expansion in Destiny 2, the release of The Witch Queen came with plenty of changes to existing features and the addition of some long-requested new ones. An example is that players now have a solid option for obtaining the best rolls on a handful of guns thanks to a weapon crafting system. Another major change that was made with the expansion concerns the way Orbs of Power can be generated, something that was previously tied to Masterwork weapons.
Masterwork weapons don't automatically generate Orbs of Power on multikills anymore, so players have to rely on specific mods, which removes some power these weapons held prior to the change. As a result, Bungie is now more able to toy with additional perks for some weapons, and that's being done with the debut of Origin Traits: perks that roll on weapons made by a specific foundry, or that come from a selection of activities. All playlist activities in Destiny 2 have their own Origin Traits, and Iron Banner weapons got a perk called Skulking Wolf, which has the downside of only being active during Iron Banner matches with strict activation requirements.
Why The Iron Banner Origin Trait Needs Help
Not all Origin Traits in Destiny 2 are equally powerful, with Veist Stinger being considered the best overall because of its increased DPS potential, but Skulking Wolf is likely the least interesting. The problem is that Skulking Wolf only works within Iron Banner matches, a Crucible game mode that's available once a month, and it only triggers if players score a kill with that weapon while The Hunt is on. The Hunt only happens in Iron Banner when a given team captures all three zones, and it only lasts for a few seconds, offering a very slim window to get a kill with their Skulking Wolf weapon to trigger the perk.
The activation criteria are limiting and especially harsh for players who are not particularly accustomed to PvP in general, not to mention Iron Banner itself. On top of that, older Iron Banner weapons that are out of rotation, or those that players obtained prior to Season of the Risen, won't have the perk to begin with. Players can only take advantage of it if they get those same guns again after the release of The Witch Queen.
It's also worth mentioning that some new weapons introduced with the expansion or Season of the Risen feature multiple Origin Traits to choose from, including the various guns available from regular Crucible, Gambit, and Strikes. This is important because they make those weapons more valuable through flexibility, which is lacking in the new Iron Banner guns only using the Skulking Wolf perk. Having a Gambit-exclusive weapon with only the Gambit Origin Trait would make it useless in any other game mode, and that's precisely the case for Skulking Wolf.
As such, Destiny 2's upcoming Iron Banner weapons from Season 17 onwards should, at the very least, come with the Skulking Wolf perk and a general Crucible perk in order to provide players with options. Overall, Iron Banner guns would benefit from having multiple Origin Traits that could be a mix of foundry perks and playlist perks, especially with the activity getting a rework next Season. Ultimately, Origin Traits are only good if they can be used often, and Skulking Wolf strays from that logic heavily.
Destiny 2 is now available on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
