Destiny 2 Guide: Attrition and Other Nightfall Strike Modifiers Explained

If you’ve played Destiny 2 for any length of time, you know that the weekly Nightfall is not only harder than the missions typically found in the Strikes Playlist, but that it also has modifiers that make your mission much more strenuous than normal. These “random” modifiers change every Tuesday during the weekly reset (when a new Nightfall Strike is introduced) and they greatly inform what weapons and gear you’ll need to take into the Strike. 

These Nightfall modifiers have various effects, with some making you more powerful and others requiring you extend the Nightfall timer. Regardless of their effects, knowing what each modifier does greatly informs your Nightfall strategy. 

To make sure you’re as prepared as you can be, here’s a quick rundown of each of the Nightfall Strike modifiers currently in Destiny 2 — and what they mean for the mission ahead. 

What Each Nightfall Strike Modifier Does in Destiny 2

• Attrition: Your health and shield generation is greatly reduced. Some enemies will drop wells (or hourglasses) of light that will replenish your health and shields. 
• Timewarp (Killing Time): The Nightfall begins with a 10-minute timer (some Nightfall timers begin at about 15 minutes). Killing any and all enemies will extend the timer.
• Timewarp (Anomalies): The Nightfall begins with a 10-minute timer. The timer may be extended by 30 seconds for each blue anomaly destroyed throughout the mission. 
• Timewarp (Rings): The Nightfall Strike begins with a 10-minute timer. The timer may be extended by 30 seconds each time a fireteam member jumps through one of the many rings found throughout the mission. 
• Arc Burn: Arc damage from weapons, grenades, and supers is greatly increased. 
• Solar Burn: Solar damage from weapons, grenades, and supers is greatly increased. 
• Void Burn: Void damage from weapons, grenades, and supers is greatly increased. 
• Prism: Burns (Arc, Solar, and Void) will rotate every 30 seconds.
• Angry: Enemies won’t stagger when shot or hit. It does not matter how much impact your equipped weapon provides. 
• Heroic: Enemies appear in greater numbers and attack more aggressively. 
• Epic: Enemies are more belligerent, employ advanced tactics, have shields, and appear in greater numbers. 
• Juggler: Ammo for your currently-equipped weapon does not drop until you switch to and kill enemies with another weapon. 
• Lightswitch: Enemy melee attacks are more powerful. 

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Those are all of the Nightfall Strike modifiers for now. Bungie may add more modifiers in the future, but knowing what each of these current modifiers means will give you the upper hand against Destiny 2‘s Agents of Darkness. 

Looking for more Destiny 2 tips and tricks? Make sure to check out our Destiny 2 guides! Here are a few to get you started: 

• How to Get Destiny 2 for Free
• Destiny 2 Location Guide: Where is Xur? 
• How to get Hermaion Blossoms in the Curse of Osiris
• Destiny 2 Exotics and How to Get Them
• Destiny 2 Beginner’s Guide
• How to Replay Story Missions
• Destiny 2 Clan Guide
• How to Unlock Challenges
• Activating Heroic Public Events
• How to Get the Kill Tracker Ghost
• What to Do at Max Level