Bungie has officially responded to the growing cheating controversy during Destiny 2’s Desert Perpetual Contest Mode raid, warning that breaking the rules and using cheats could lead to bans.
Destiny 2’s newest raid, Desert Perpetual, launched on July 19, 2025, just four days after the release of the Edge of Fate expansion. Set on Kepler, this six-player all-boss raid features a new system that allows players to choose which encounter to complete first, a departure from the previous linear raids in the game.
For those who managed to complete it, the raid offered a full set of new legendary weapons like the Opaque Hourglass crossbow and Finite Maybe fusion rifle, alongside the sleek new Collective Psyche armor set.
Topping off the loot pool is the new raid exotic, Whirling Ovation, a Strand rocket launcher that was guaranteed to drop for players who completed the raid during Contest mode. Like previous raids, Desert Perpetual launched with Contest Mode active for the first 48 hours, dramatically increasing the difficulty while leveling all players to the same power cap.
Most Top Desert Perpetual Contest Clears Reportedly Involved Cheaters
But the raid’s prestige is now under serious fire. According to a deep dive from Destiny 2 community members and analysts like aquativityy on X, 64 out of the top 100 teams that completed Desert Perpetual during the 48-hour Contest Mode window showed signs of cheating or playing alongside cheaters.
Some of these clears happened in as little as 10 minutes, an extremely suspicious time when compared to the legitimate world’s first clear, which took over 15 hours and 30 minutes. Others showed highly skewed stats, such as one player doing all the damage while their teammates contributed almost nothing, often using characters with low playtime or barely any other raid completions.
The main method appears to be net-limiting: a form of lag manipulation that, when combined with weapons like Duality and Lorentz Driver, allows players to bypass mechanics and deal extreme damage without taking much risk in return.
These clears still rewarded teams with guaranteed exotic drops and the exclusive Contest Mode emblem, which has angered many in the community who pushed through the raid fairly and spent countless hours on difficult bosses.
Bungie Issues Official Response
With pressure mounting, Bungie officially responded to the situation on Friday, confirming that the team is investigating the reports. The studio shared the following statement on the Destiny 2 Team social media accounts:
“We are investigating reports of cheating with fireteams who cleared The Desert Perpetual Contest mode. Breaking our Code of Conduct and/or cheating to complete contest difficulty or other activities is a bannable offense, and players benefiting from cheating can also be subject to punishment.”
So far, Bungie hasn’t announced any direct action against the teams involved, no bans, emblem removals, or raid clear rollbacks.
What do you think? Should Bungie take retroactive action against cheaters who cleared the raid during Contest Mode? Or is the damage already done? Let us know your thoughts.
