Destiny 2 Reveals HUD Change for The Final Shape

Bungie has revealed significant HUD changes coming in Destiny 2's The Final Shape update that focus on providing more information about active buffs and debuffs. Currently, only four buffs can be displayed on a Destiny 2 player's screen at once, sometimes leading to significant confusion when important ones are pushed off the HUD.

Destiny 2's The Final Shape expansion launches on June 4 and introduces the Prismatic subclass, new exotic combinations, and much more. For the first time in years, the update also adds a brand-new enemy faction called The Dread, some of which have wings and can suppress players by screeching at them. The faction is controlled by Destiny 2's supervillain The Witness, who is expected to be the expansion's main raid boss. While Bungie has previously shared plenty of gameplay changes and new content coming in June, it recently revealed substantial HUD changes as well.

The Final Shape's HUD adjustments increase the number of buffs that can be shown on the screen at once and also change which buffs are prioritized and displayed. The first change is done through two new «buff channels,» one at the top center of the screen that displays important buffs related to wipe mechanics and roles, and another on the left side of the screen above the Super meter that displays weapon-related buffs. Both of the new channels can display up to two buffs at once, and the original channel higher up on the left side of the screen still remains and displays additional buffs. The second HUD change, buff prioritization, categorizes buffs into four groups that descend in importance: activity information, second-to-second gameplay choices, short-to-medium-term gameplay choices, and passive buffs that are «useful for learning or confirming intuition.»

The higher-priority buffs push lower-priority ones off the HUD, which should allow players to receive important buff information more consistently. The Final Shape update also improves the readability of buffs by