How Harmonic Resonance works – Destiny 2

Learn how Harmonic Resonance works, which weapons stack together, and the enemies and bosses that take bonus damage from this Origin trait in Destiny 2.

October 16, 2023 9:15 PMBungie5

Harmonic Resonance is an Origin Trait that has been around since March 2023 with the release of Root of Nightmares. However, it saw an increase in interest in Season of the Deep, and continues to be popular as players face down Lucent Hive and Tormentors. Below is a complete overview of Harmonic Resonance, detailing how the perk works, what damage you can expect, and the weapons to use to hit the best damage numbers.

Harmonic Resonance explained

Harmonic Resonance is an Origin perk that appears on weapons from the Root of Nightmares raid. Though it is not currently listed on the weapon, Conditional Finality is counted as having the perk but it does not receive the damage buff despite receiving the other buffs.

Harmonic Resonance: Equipping multiple weapons from this set grants this weapon increased reload speed and handling. It also increases damage versus Tormentors, Lucent Hive, and Guardians using their Supers.

This perk boosts a weapon’s Handling and Reload Speed based on how many other weapons you have equipped with the perk. Additionally, it deals more damage to Tormentors, Lucent Hive, and Guardians using their Supers.

It’s important to note that Nezarec is classified as a Tormnetor and so he receives more damage and the bosses from the Ghosts of the Deep dungeon are Lucent Hive, so they too take increased damage. With the release of The Final Shape, Bungie is introducing Subjugators, a new enemy type that is from the same family as Tormentors. Whether or not they take extra damage from Harmonic Resonance remains to be seen.

Harmonic Resonance damage numbers & Artifact mods

While better Handling and Reload Speed is great, most players are likely using Harmonic Resonance for the damage increase. A Reddit user called QuantumParsec took some time to knuckle out the exact numbers, and it turns out that having three Harmonic Resonance weapons increases damage by 10 percent against applicable enemies. The damage increase is only 3.33 percent when you have two weapons equipped.

Furthermore, during Season of the Deep, players received an Artifact called NPA Repulsion Regulator. Within this Artifact were two mods, Deeper Origins and Overcharged Armory, which vastly improved the functionality of Harmonic Resonance.

Deeper Origins: Greatly improves the benefits provided by the Unsated Hunger, Nanotech Tracer Rockets, Harmonic Resonance, and Noble Deeds traits.Overcharged Armory: Weapons with the Unsated Hunger, Nanotech Tracer Rockets, Harmonic Resonance, and Noble Deeds traits are always overcharged weapons for you when that modifier is active.

As QuantumParsec worked out, Deeper Origins lifted Harmonic Resonance to a 20 percent damage increase. On top of this, Overcharged Armory yielded another 25 percent damage boost. All of this is before you consider Surge mods, Well of Radiance, and other debuffs to the boss (like Tractor Cannon).

Additionally, a god roll Briar’s Contempt will have either Paracausal Affinity or Focused Fury. Each buffs the damage by 20 percent but the way in which they get there differs. It will be up to personal preference which one you go for.

Should a seasonal Artifact offer a boost to Harmonic Resonance again, it will be worth considering running a full set of these weapons, especially in end-game contend.

Harmonic Resonance available weapons

As for the weapons that feature Harmonic Resonance, they are available on any of the weapons from the Root of Nightmares raid. Keep in mind that Conditional Finality does not state it has the perk and it will not benefit from the damage buff, but it does count toward buffing other weapons’ damage and stats.

Acasia’s Dejection (Trace Rifle)Briar’s Contempt (Linear Fusion Rifle)Koraxis’s Distress (Grenade Launcher)Mykel’s Reverence (Sidearm)Nessa’s Oblation (Shotgun)Rufus’s Fury (Auto Rifle)Epochal Integration (Hand Cannon)Conditional Finality (Exotic Shotgun, not listed)

Your best option when running three of these weapons is going to be Briar’s Contempt for your Power weapon, Acasia’s Dejection for your Energy slot, and likely Rufus’s Fury for your Kinetic. Keep in mind you can always use Conditional Finality and swap in-and-out Arbalest if you’re soloing content like the Ghosts of the Deep dungeon. Unfortunately, Bungie has patched the double-Special Heavy ammo glitch, so you might be starved for ammo.

In the event Bungie buffs Grenade Launchers, or damage phases become really short, Koraxis’s Distress is an awesome ‘launcher. It features quite a few perks that would make it a great boss DPS weapon if the meta shifts.

Harmonic Resonance is an extremely powerful Origin Trait that rewards those who equip three weapons that feature the perk. Keep this one in the back of your mind whenever you’re facing down Lucent Hive or Tormentors, and potentially Subjugators when The Final Shape arrives. Take a look at our Destiny 2 Strategy Guide for more information on perks and other dives into the game’s mechanics.