Destiny 2 faction unit modifier: how enemy buffs work

Faction unit modifiers sound scary. In practice they just tell you which enemy group got a buff this week.

Read the tag before you load in. The name points at a faction, and that faction will hit harder than the rest.

Faction modifiers at a glance

Modifier shows	What it means	Your move
Fallen boosted	Fallen deal extra damage	Bring Arc or Void clear
Hive boosted	Hive hit harder	Lean on add control
Cabal boosted	Cabal gain health	Use burst, not DoT
Vex boosted	Vex move faster	Prioritize slows

Pick your loadout by faction

Match your element to the boosted group’s weakness. The free damage edge beats a generic “best” weapon here.

Add clear matters most. A faction buff turns a minor add into a run-ender if you let it live too long.

When to skip the fight

Some modifiers stack into a wall. If the buff pairs with Difficult, consider a different activity that day, because the combined pressure spikes the time-to-clear and the death risk together.

How faction buffs combine

A faction buff rarely shows up alone. Pair it with a matching Threat element and you turn a hard fight into a manageable one; pair it with Difficult and the same fight can become a wall. Read the full modifier list before you launch, because the combination, not the single tag, decides whether the activity is worth your time that day.

Reading the full stack first

Do not react to a single tag. Open the activity modifiers screen and read the whole stack before you launch, because a faction buff next to a threat mismatch is the real trap. Our modifiers guide walks through every modifier type and its effect.

Where these show up most

Nightfalls use these often. Our Nightfalls guide shows how to build around the weekly combo. For daily runs, Strikes guide covers loadouts that survive faction pressure with little effort.