Destiny 2 is all about satisfying your power fantasy through build crafting. With so much to tweak on your character, you can expect to create some interesting playstyles. Amongst these tweaks are the Armor Mods which if used correctly can result in some devastating combinations.
But what if you are interested in just a single mod? Can you use multiples of the same mod and get double the effectiveness? Essentially, do Armor Mods stack in Destiny 2? Let’s find out.
Armor Mods DO stack in Destiny 2. Mods that do not stack will have a disclaimer saying that in their description. However, these mods DO NOT DOUBLE STACK but rather have diminishing returns if more than one copy of the mod is equipped. You can expect halved returns/effectiveness from subsequent additional similar mods.
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Armor Mods in Destiny 2
Armor Mods are an item type that can be applied to various armors in Destiny 2. These can give various new effects to a piece of gear or boost existing ones. These can range from lowering cooldown times to improving your weapons’ behavior in the field.
Most armor mods are obtained from:
- Gunsmith Engrams: These are rewarded for increasing your reputation with the Gunsmith Faction.
- Bright Engrams: which can be bought with Silver or earned for every 120k experience accumulated past the Level cap.
- Mod purchases within Banshee-44’s shop.
- Three identical Rare mods can be traded into Banshee-44 for a single Legendary mod of the same type.
Armor Mods Stacking
Some armor mods’ effects in Destiny 2 are very much in line with your play style. They provide such a perfect synergy for you that you will be somewhat forced to use these types of mods.
You can either opt for complimentary mods or even use copies of the same mod to get more of the same benefit. This is called Stacking, where mods with similar effects are utilized to enhance the underlying benefit even further.
However, some mods will explicitly state in their description that they are not stackable hence a single copy will have to suffice. Other armor mods do have the option to equip multiple copies of the same mod.
These mods will have stacking potential although you will only gain a fraction of the effect from the first one you already equipped. The general rule is, you will lose approximately 50% effectiveness from the second copy of the same mod.
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Stacking Example
To get the point across, we will take the Pump Action armor mod. It provides bonus Super energy on Shotgun Kills. Essentially it lowers the cooldown time of the Super with each Shotgun kill.
Multiple copies of this mod can be equipped on your armor with stacking potential. Below we will share some stats to make you understand the way it works:
- With Tier 0 Intellect and no Armor Mods equipped: 1 Shotgun Kill will reduce Super cooldown by approximately 13 seconds.
- With Tier 0 Intellect and 1 Pump Action Armor Mod equipped: 1 Shotgun Kill will reduce Super cooldown by approximately 26 seconds.
- 1 Pump Action Mod will double the reduction in cooldown time compared to no Mods.
- With Tier 0 Intellect and 2, Pump Action Armor Mods equipped: 1 Shotgun Kill will reduce Super cooldown by approximately 32.5 seconds.
- 2 Pump Action Mods further reduce the cooldown time but not at the same rate as the single mod did.
As you can see above, the additional same mod does provide extra benefits and hence can be considered stackable. However, the second mod only provided half of the effect as opposed to the first one providing a double effect to the Super cooldown time.
This means that, although the mods do provide stackability benefits, there are diminishing returns. Do not assume to cramp a bunch of the same mod and expect each one to give the same or double result.
Conclusion
With mods being able to stack in Destiny 2, it opens up a lot of potential in terms of creating builds. Just be aware that mods do not stack additively but rather multiplicatively. Even at that, some mods do benefit from multiple copies, and it’s very much dependent on your playstyle. If your playstyle can make the most utility out of stacking then by all means go for it.