Destiny 2 players have recently been reporting an issue where unstoppable hand cannon mods don’t seem to be working properly against unstoppable champions. This can be incredibly frustrating, especially if you’ve built your whole loadout around stunning these challenging enemies. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover all the potential reasons your unstoppable hand cannon shots aren’t landing and what you can do to fix the problem.
Unstoppable champions are among the most formidable foes in Destiny 2. These enemies have a damage resistance buff that rotates between their head and body, making them extremely difficult to take down. The only way to remove this buff is by stunning them with an unstoppable mod. Equipping the seasonal anti-champion mod to your hand cannon should make it capable of piercing the champion’s defenses, but many players have found that their unstoppable rounds are inexplicably not working.
This issue appears to be affecting all types of hand cannons across Destiny 2, including exotic weapons like Hawkmoon, Ace of Spades, and The Last Word. While Bungie has not yet acknowledged the problem, there are a few steps players can take to troubleshoot the issue on their end. We’ll go over the most likely culprits and proven solutions so you can get back to reliably stunning champions with your trusty hand cannon.
Possible Reasons Why Unstoppable Hand Cannon Isn’t Working
Before we get into fixes, let’s first go over what might be causing the issue in the first place. There are a few key things that can prevent your unstoppable rounds from properly stunning champions:
- Wrong Unstoppable Mod Equipped – Each season’s artifact provides different anti-champion mods. Make sure you have the correct current season unstoppable mod socketed.
- Unequipped Mod – Double check that you have the unstoppable mod actually equipped on your gauntlets. It needs to be actively socketed for the perk to work.
- Incorrect Damage Type – Unstoppable mods only work on the weapon damage type they specify. If you put an unstoppable hand cannon mod on a pulse rifle, it won’t work.
- Too Much Distance – You need to be within reasonable range for the stun to connect. Shooting from across the map likely won’t cut it.
- Missing Crit Shots – Unstoppable rounds need to hit critical spots like the head or weak point. Bad aim can cause the stun to fail.
- Champion Has Shields Up – The stun won’t apply if the champion has its rotating immunity shield active. Wait for its shield to switch positions.
- Lag Issues – Latency and connection problems could also fail to register your shots as unstoppable.
How To Fix an Unstoppable Hand Cannon Not Working
If you’ve verified all the issues above and your unstoppable hand cannon is still not working, then your problem is likely due to a bug. Here are all the fixes you can try to resolve the issue:
- Reload The Area – Sometimes simply reloading the activity or area can correct glitched champion abilities. Wipe and retry the encounter.
- Unequip Then Re-equip The Mod – Removing the mod and adding it back can reset the perk. Make sure you don’t have another unstoppable mod on another weapon.
- Log Out And Back In – Fully restarting the game can potentially fix bugs related to mods not applying effects properly. Relaunch Destiny 2 and try again.
- Switch Characters – If the problem persists on one character, try equipping the mod on another character and see if it works properly for them.
- Close Application and Reopen – On console, close the Destiny 2 app and restart it. PC players can reboot the game from the Battle.net launcher.
- Verify Game Files – On PC, run a scan and repair through the Battle.net app to fix any corrupted files that could be causing issues.
- Update Drivers – Make sure your system has the latest graphics card drivers installed. Update them if available.
- Change Date and Time – As a last resort, change your system’s date and time settings forward or back by a day, then revert the settings and relaunch Destiny 2.
- Wait For Bungie Patch – If all else fails, submit a bug report to Bungie and wait for a patch to address the issue. Monitor Bungie’s social channels for updates.
Using these troubleshooting steps should help you get your unstoppable hand cannon working again. The problem likely stems from a bug and not any issue with your setup or gameplay.
Frequently Asked Questions About Why Your Unstoppable Hand Cannon Mod Isn’t Working in Destiny 2:
Many Guardians likely have the same questions about troubleshooting their unstoppable hand cannon issues in Destiny 2. Here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions:
1. Which seasonal artifact mods cause this issue?
This problem seems to occur with all unstoppable hand cannon mods, including Oppressive Darkness (Season of the Worthy), Anti-Barrier Hand Cannon (Season of Arrivals), Unstoppable Hand Cannon (Season of the Chosen), and Unstoppable Sidearm (Season of the Haunted).
2. Do I need to aim for critical hits for the unstoppable stun to work?
Yes, you need to land precision shots on the champion’s head or other critical weak points for the unstoppable effect to trigger. Bad aim can cause your stun shots to fail.
3. Why does my Unstoppable Hand Cannon stun work sometimes but not others?
Inconsistent behavior where the stun works occasionally but not reliably is likely due to some of the issues mentioned above like too much distance, the champion shield being up, or lag. Make sure you are within reasonable stunning range and their shield is down when you shoot your unstoppable rounds.
4. What power level do I need for unstoppable rounds to work properly?
Power level does not affect the unstoppable perk. Only equipping the correct seasonal mod matters, not your gear’s power level. Higher power gear will let you kill champions faster in higher level content, but isn’t required for the stun itself.
5. Do I need to earn champion mod unlocks on each character?
No, once you unlock an anti-champion mod on your artifact it is available for all characters on your account to use. You only need to unlock it once.
6. Can this issue happen in lower tier activities like playlist strikes?
Yes, unfortunately this issue appears to affect unstoppable hand cannon functionality across all activities. It is not just isolated to higher difficulty content.
7. Does stunning a champion with another weapon fix my hand cannon?
No, stunning a champion with something like an unstoppable grenade launcher or another mod does not resolve the issue. The problem appears isolated to the hand cannon mods specifically.
8. Is this a platform specific issue or does it affect all equally?
The unstoppable hand cannon problem seems to be equally prevalent on all platforms including PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. It is not limited to just one version of the game.
9. Do I need to be using a 120 or 140 RPM hand cannon for unstoppable to work properly?
No, the issue appears tied to the seasonal anti-champion mods only. Slower or faster firing hand cannons do not matter, and perk activation is not dependent on a certain RPM archetype.
10. Does the hand cannon need to be fully masterworked for unstoppable rounds to function?
No, only equipping the correct seasonal artifact mod is required to make unstoppable hand cannon rounds work. The masterwork level of the weapon does not affect functionality.
11. Can Unstoppable Force fix this issue if it activates from another weapon?
The seasonal mod perks must be directly socketed into your hand cannon. Perks like Unstoppable Force that trigger on kill from other weapons do not resolve the issue of hand cannon anti-champion rounds not working.
12. Will stunning the champion with a grenade fix the hand cannon functionality?
No, stunning a champion with your grenade ability will not fix the issue of hand cannon unstoppable rounds failing. The problem appears isolated to the mod itself, not the stunned status of the champion.
Conclusion
Having an unstoppable hand cannon fail to stun champions can completely derail your strategy, but hopefully this guide has given you plenty of troubleshooting tips to get it working again. While the root cause stems from a bug that Bungie will need to patch, you have several options as a player to attempt fixing it on your end.
The key takeaways are to verify you have the correct seasonal mod equipped, try reloading the area or activity, switch characters, and force close and relaunch the Destiny 2 application. Also submit a bug report to Bungie’s help forum so they prioritize a permanent fix.
Unstoppable champions are among the toughest enemies you’ll face in Destiny 2. Having a way to pierce their rotating immunity shields is essential for completing higher tier Nightfalls and seasonal activities. Once Bungie patches the issue fully, you can rely on stunning these deadly champions with your trusty hand cannon once again.
Equip the right mods, aim for critical hits, and use the troubleshooting steps in this guide to take down unstoppable champions reliably again. Let us know in the comments if you discovered any other fixes so we can update this guide to help all Guardians master the seasonal artifact champion mods and their quirks. Together we can overcome any bugs the Darkness throws our way until the Light returns.
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