Destiny 2 Thread!

[bigjny88]

Activision and Bungie tried to throw jabs at EA/DICE for the Battlefront 2 microtransaction debacle, but as we've seen in the recent reports about the whole "XP throttle/rigging" scandal........HARDY HAR HAR, HYPOCRITICISM AT ITS FINEST



Way to be classy ACTIVISION, way to be classy.........Bungie should've went to a different AAA company instead of leech off of Activision's greedy asses

 

[bigjny88]

Tomorrow's live stream is cancelled.......to be replaced with a Developer Comments Blog post instead

https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/239336750

#DeyScaredNow

 

[bigjny88]

 

[biggie62]

Damage control at this point

 

[ihust1e]

completely forgot there was a stream scheduled for tomorrow until they cancelled it

 

[RustyShackleford]

Bungie turned into 343, before 343 could turn into Bungie.

 

[Fresh Like Will]

Bungie turned into 343, before 343 could turn into Bungie.

 

[Warmachine85]

So what did they lie about today?

 

[sole vintage]

The State of Destiny 2
0h - Destiny Dev Team
Hey everyone,

With Destiny 2’s console and PC launches behind us, we want to take some time to talk with you about Destiny 2 – specifically where it’s at today, and where it’s going. Our team has been reading feedback and working on updates to improve the game. We’ve also been reading some tough criticism about our lack of communication, and we agree we need to be more open.

Going forward, Destiny 2’s post-launch game systems, features, and updates are being designed specifically to focus on and support players who want Destiny to be their hobby – the game they return to, and a game where friendships are made. We want Destiny to be a game that fits into your life, providing you with reasons to log in and play with your friends, clans, and families. We want Destiny to be a world you want to be a part of.

A month ago, we published a list of improvements on the blog. Today, we’re going to revisit that list and update its status, and share some of the work the team is readying for December, January, and beyond.

We know it’s frustrating when there isn’t enough of a dialog with the development team. You have our commitment that we’re going to do a better job going forward.

- Luke Smith & Chris Barrett


Upcoming Updates Overview

We previously published a list of upcoming Destiny 2 improvements we want to deliver. Some of these updates will be introduced on December 5 and December 12. Others will land in the New Year.

• New systems and rewards to give our most engaged players additional, optional pursuits, including:
  
  • A new Weapon Tier: Masterworks, which will feature stat trackers, random, re-rollable stat bonuses, unique item tooltips, and item details screens (see the December Update Details section below for more info)
  • Improved vendor rewards, adding ways for people to purchase items directly with their Legendary Shards and Tokens (see the December Update Details section below for more info)
  • Adding Armor Ornaments that grant visual permutations of armor as players complete specific Challenges (see the December Update Details section below for more info)
    
• Better incentives for players who complete challenging Prestige activities
  
  • We’re targeting a January update to provide better incentives to complete Prestige activities
    
• Better rewards and replay value for Strikes, Adventures, and Lost Sectors
  
  • In December, we will be introducing a Heroic Strikes playlist and more generous Strike rewards
  • Rewards for Adventures and Lost Sectors are still on our radar, but will not be delivered for our December updates
    
• Private matches for the Crucible
  
  • Still targeting early 2018 and expect to have better insight into exact timing in the New Year
  • We are also moving Ranked PVP to the top of our priority list for next year to support the competitive community
    
• Crucible tuning like adjusted Supremacy scoring and better spawning rules
  
  • In December, we will introduce additional updates and bug-fixes intended to improve these areas of the Crucible
    
• Better incentives for completing Crucible matches (and penalties for quitting competitive games)
  
  • A "Quitter Penalty" system is currently in development, and you can expect an update on the deployment of this system in the New Year
    
• Continued improvements to Iron Banner and Faction Rallies, including uniqueness of rewards
  
  • The next Iron Banner and Faction Rally will introduce improvements in both these areas (see the December Update Details section below for more info)
    
• Changes to make the mod economy more interesting and impactful
  
  • The Gunsmith will have some updates to how Mods are acquired (see the December Update Details section below for more info)
  • We are exploring more updates to this system in the New Year
    
• Ongoing improvements to Exotics, including adjustments to reduce instances of duplication
  
  • We plan to tune under-performing Exotics and will continue to make targeted updates and improvements
  • Duplication protection will be added for Exotics in the New Year
    
• New ways to spend surplus currency and materials (looking at you Legendary Shards)
  
  • Players will be able to spend Tokens and Legendary Shards on Vendor inventory (see the December Update Details section below for more info)
  • Xur will have new items, as well (see the December Update Details section below for more info)
    
• An emote interface that allows players to equip Salty, Spicy Ramen, Six Shooter, and Flip Out all at the same time
  
  • Emote interface improvements are still on the list, and you can expect an update on the development of this system in the New Year

We will continue to revisit and update this list in the weeks and months ahead to keep you up to speed on what we’re working on. Below, you’ll find more specific detail about each of the features and updates you can expect to land in December.


December Update Details

There are four key areas we’re targeting for improvements in December. Some of these updates will arrive with the December 5 update, and some additional updates will be included in a patch that will be deployed the following week on December 12.

Both updates combined include improvements set against the following goals:

• Deepen Rewards for advanced players
  
• Provide More Player Control over obtaining rewards
  
• Make Shards Useful by adding things to use them for
  
• Provide General Quality fixes wherever possible

The following changes are the first steps towards achieving these goals, with more planned for our next release in January. Here is a preview of impending changes to Destiny 2. Each category is marked with a forecast delivery date.

Masterworks

• [DEC 12] Legendary Weapons will drop as or be upgraded to become Masterworks versions
  
  • Masterworks will have a few advantages over the baseline Legendary weapon:
    • Track and display the number of kills with that weapon (with choice between total count or Crucible-only count)
    • Generate orbs for you and your allies on multi-kills
    • Add weapon stat bonuses that are selected randomly from a small pool and are re-rollable
  • Masterworks drop from any source of Legendary weapons for characters above 250 Power
    • Unwanted Masterworks can be dismantled into materials that can upgrade an existing Legendary Weapon into a Masterwork
    • Raid and Trials of the Nine Weapons will have a very high chance to be Masterworks
  • We have future plans to extend Masterworks to other gear and expose your kill counts in more places (e.g. Crucible kill screen)

Armor Ornaments

• [DEC 5] Armor Ornaments will be added to some existing Armor sets for more visual customization without losing your Shaders or Mods
  
  • These ornaments will be unlocked by completing objectives specific to each set, and are permanently unlocked account-wide, just like Exotic Weapon ornaments
  • They will be applied to the base pieces that you may already have collected, and can now unlock on Vendors if not
  • In Season 2, the following sets have ornaments unlocked in their respective activities:
    • Vanguard Faction Armor
    • Crucible Faction Armor
    • Trials of the Nine Armor
    • Iron Banner Armor
    • Dead Orbit Armor
    • Future War Cult Armor
    • New Monarchy Armor
    • Eater of Worlds Raid Lair Armor

• [DEC 12] Faction Armor and Weapons will be unlocked for purchase for Legendary Shards and Faction Tokens on most Faction Vendors
  
  • All five Armor Slots will always be present, and Weapons will rotate weekly on Factions that have them
  • Slots will be unlocked by claiming Reward Engrams from the respective Faction
  • You will get credit for engrams you may have already claimed since launch

• [DEC 12] Xur has some new offerings for players collecting Exotics:
  
  • Every week, you’ll be able to acquire one of the new Fated Engrams using Legendary Shards that will decrypt as Exotics that aren’t already in your collection
  • A simpler Three of Coins that boosts Exotic drop rates from any source for 4 hours
    • No obscure stacking mechanics or need to re-apply before every boss
    • These cost Legendary Shards and you can have as many as you like

General Investment

• [DEC 5] Banshee has some updates on the Weapon and Armor Mod front:
  
  • For players wanting to clear some Mod inventory space, Rare quality Mods will dismantle into Gunsmith Materials and have a chance to produce Legendary quality Mod Components
  • For players chasing specific Legendary Mods (including Legendary Kinetic Mods), Banshee will offer a selection of specific Legendary Mods for direct purchase, with a selection that will rotate daily and cost Legendary Shards and Mod Components

• [DEC 5] For players chasing a world Legendary or looking for Masterworks, Master Rahool will sell some of his rumored hoard of Legendary Engrams for Legendary Shards

• [DEC 12] Commander Zavala and Lord Shaxx will sell Gift consumables for Legendary Shards that can be used during a Strike or Crucible Match that will serve the following functions:
  
  • Grant bonus rewards to everyone in that activity upon completion, friend or foe alike
  • Award anything from Faction Tokens to a round of Exotics for everyone in the match

• [DEC 12] Exploit safeguards on Chests and Resource Nodes are greatly relaxed and players should encounter them less frequently
  
  • Even if they do, drop rates for Tokens is only reduced to 30% instead of 0%, and Glimmer will be unaffected
  • We want to associate a visual indicator with this in a future update, but we weren’t able to pull that off in this update (but we hear you!)

• [DEC 12] Vendors will now beckon you to hand in your Reputation Tokens only when you’re carrying enough to earn a Reward Engram

• [DEC 5] Changes affecting Reputation Tokens:
  
  • Daily Challenges will have Reputation Token awards increased across the board
  • Cayde’s Treasure Chests still offer variable rewards, but now guarantee (at minimum) a payout of destination appropriate Reputation Tokens
  • Strikes will drop a larger number of Vanguard Reputation Tokens
  • Common quality Destination Resource Tokens will have their drop rates increased to 100%, and values per Token increased as well (by 50% for common quality Tokens and 250% for rare quality Tokens)
  • On the balance, Reputation required per Reward Engram will increase for Destination Factions (+37%) and Gunsmith (+50%)
  • Leviathan Raid Tokens will be redeemed at Benedict immediately upon obtaining a Token, instead of requiring a full clear before unlocking

With the launch of Curse of Osiris, and the beginning of Season 2, you can expect to see a full suite of patch notes that will document all of the changes outlined above, as well as additional gameplay and sandbox tuning changes the team is making to improve Destiny 2. We’ll also soon be providing pre-load and launch day details, as well as a roadmap for our Season 2 content, which includes The Dawning in mid-December.


XP Mechanics

Last weekend, we disabled a scaling mechanism that adjusted XP gains up and down without reflecting those adjustments in the UI. Our intention was to keep slower-paced activities as rewarding as high intensity grinding without confusing variations in displayed XP values, but the silent nature of the mechanic betrayed the expectation of transparency that you have for Destiny 2.

We were able to disable the system with a server-side change, but a new solution is now needed to rebalance XP in Destiny 2. We have begun that work, and will continue to provide updates to you about timelines and specifics. The values coded into our website API are being updated today (and may already have been as you read this post) to reflect the removal of this scaling mechanism. In a future update, we intend to link these internal and display-only values together for greater consistency, and to ensure that when changes are made they are accurately reflected everywhere we report them.

We already see that the newly adjusted 160K XP per level value means that leveling is too slow for some activities, and we have begun the process of collecting data and recalibrating XP earn rates to improve them as quickly as possible.

XP boosts, including both consumable items and passive bonuses like the Well Rested 300% bonus, were always applied after this system and never resulted in early slowing of XP. They should be unchanged by the disabling of this system and will continue to provide their stated increase in XP gain.

Expect to see a lot of conversation from our team on this front, as XP rewards are updated and brought back in-line with player expectations.


The Future

Going forward, we plan to continue this dialog as openly and frequently as possible. This will be an ongoing process, but one that we are committed to.

This week we’ll be publishing a new episode of the Bungie Podcast where we will sound off on the current state of Destiny 2, how we think about our communication challenges, and what it takes to update the game in the wild. You’ll be able to listen on both Apple and Android devices.

Thank you for playing, for being passionate about the Destiny 2 experience, and for working with us as we look to continuously improve our game and studio communication.

 

[lyd2z]

Step in the right direction, but a lot of work still needs to be done.

 

[deleted]

Sounds good

Too bad they've shattered all the faith I used to have in them

I guess we'll see how it works out

 

[Teknoman]

I still like Destiny 2. Oh wellz

 

[bigjny88]

Step in the right direction, but a lot of work still needs to be done.

Agreed........and to me, the new "Masterworks" feature appears to be a short-term fix for the lack of variety in weapons.

I believe Bungie will eventually concede within a year or so and bring back random rolled weapons for the next major expansion in September (if we get one), but it'll take a year for Bungie's team to complete revamp the weapon attribute system to return to "random rolls" again.

That being said, the best first step that Bungie made for the upcoming December update is the return of........VENDOR LEGENDARY WEAPONS.

The big issue with the lack of weapon variety in the game was that you weren't able to purchase some of these weapons from the vendors themselves and you were FORCED to do the token/engram system instead........which made the vendors pointless at that point, and the weapon pool for legendaries very ******* stale and boring like we've all *****ed about.

At least now, the vendors have a purpose again BESIDES dumping experience tokens for an engram package........we can legit buy legendary weapons again. And with having vendors selling legendary weapons again, it adds more variety to the weapon pool that is already out there....which will cure the issue with "fixed roll weapons" that people complained about lack of variety.

So I will say, they are taking baby steps..........necessary baby steps at the very least.

 

[bigjny88]

 

[championboyz7]

I haven’t finished the raid all characters at 305
I haven’t felt like touching this game in over a month

 

[Fresh Like Will]

I didn't realize the Main Ingredient was so good in MP. Only problem is you have to grind strikes. Which is cancer in D2. I swear, randoms make love to strikes in D2. They kill every add and take their sweet time. Takes 20 minutes to finish a strike.

Back in D1, you used to hop in and run through them in 5 minutes each with randoms. Everyone knew the checkpoints. No one dilly-daddled on trash mobs. Quick run to the boss and melt him, then get drops. I feel like it's mostly new players and a lot less veteran players.

You don't even get legendary drops in D2 strikes, you get tokens. Only 5 of them. You have to do four 20 minute strikes for ONE legendary. The token system is hot trash. Get rid of it. Have more unique legendary weapons and less reskins, and bring back reforging.

 

[bigjny88]

I haven’t finished the raid all characters at 305
I haven’t felt like touching this game in over a month

I haven't even finished maxing out all my characters to 305, nor have I transferred over my 3rd character from D1 to D2 to join the "D2 grind" as well.

The endgame in its current state is TOO BORING to even consider grinding for max 305 light level..........zero incentive, especially since neither the RAID nor Iron Banner/Trials rewards people for being at max level.

At least in D1, max light level gave you DPS advantage in the raid AND it gave you some small advantage in TTK over lower-light players in both Iron Banner and Trials.

D2 has currently eliminated any level-advantaging in the Crucible endgame and max level barely does jack**** to DPS in the raid. That was the allure of the endgame in D1, so you can stronger and FLEX in the endgame.

Bungie removed the ability to FLEX in D2's endgame......when the whole point of D2 is to FLEX.

 

[championboyz7]

Yup the drops are *** too at this point same loot over and over again
Every exotic I get i already have 4 of them

 

[Nawzlew]

I haven't even finished maxing out all my characters to 305, nor have I transferred over my 3rd character from D1 to D2 to join the "D2 grind" as well.

The endgame in its current state is TOO BORING to even consider grinding for max 305 light level..........zero incentive, especially since neither the RAID nor Iron Banner/Trials rewards people for being at max level.

At least in D1, max light level gave you DPS advantage in the raid AND it gave you some small advantage in TTK over lower-light players in both Iron Banner and Trials.

D2 has currently eliminated any level-advantaging in the Crucible endgame and max level barely does jack**** to DPS in the raid. That was the allure of the endgame in D1, so you can stronger and FLEX in the endgame.

Bungie removed the ability to FLEX in D2's endgame......when the whole point of D2 is to FLEX.

Bungie needs to understand that balancing PVP and PVE separately is necessary.

 

[bigjny88]

I hate to say it, but this guy's kinda right............every person that played Destiny that cries over their saltiness from the original has contributed to the issues that Bungie "attempted to resolve" with D2's current format.

Fixed roles are the result of people "*****ing" about not getting a god roll Hawksaw or Eyasluna, 4v4 Crucible is the result of people "*****ing" about getting pubstomped due to their poor internet connection not handling a 6v6 Crucible match, the eliminations of Special and Heavy for "Energy and Power" weapons are the result of people "*****ing" that they can't avoid a shotgun every 10 seconds in a Crucible match.

Yes Bungie is still at fault, but dammit........unfortunately, so are we (and by "we," I'm referring to the casual n00bs that didn't know how to play the ******* game and just *****ed consistently)

And thanks to "we," Bungie has actually NERFED the ability to FLEX THE ENDGAME........the biggest nerf that they have ever done to Destiny

 

[Fresh Like Will]

Getting rid of random rolls and having uniquely rolled weapons is one of the worst decisions they could've ever made. Now we have the most boring weapon meta of all time. Reforging was the perfect solution. It gave people a reason to farm mats (and keep playing their game). I have several hundred planet tokens and about 250 crucible tokens sitting in my inventory because I've got every drop a million times.

Bring back random rolls and bring back reforging. Rangefinder + shot package or final rounding snipers was the problem. Not the fact that you could roll them. Also, balance the perks and make multiple perks viable, so people can play to their style and not to a meta. In the glory days of COD4 and MW2, you could run a marathon + ninja + cold blooded set-up with a UMP and a Magnum with a tac knife or go bling + stopping power + last stand and tank everything with grenade attachments and heartbeat monitors. In D2, you run into 4 man Mida + Last Hope or Uriel's teams.

 

[Warmachine85]

I don't even use none of the "meta" guns I use whatever mostly hand cannons and swords. I enjoy D2 for what it is. Is it flawed hell yea but I enjoy it.

Alot of you guys played halo, cod, ECT but Destiny was my first shooter (rpg guy). I want them to fix the game but I enjoy it for what it is now. My only true gripes are this trash token system , lack of exotic guns, and no POE type activity.

 

[bigjny88]

I don't even use none of the "meta" guns I use whatever mostly hand cannons and swords. I enjoy D2 for what it is. Is it flawed hell yea but I enjoy it.

Alot of you guys played halo, cod, ECT but Destiny was my first shooter (rpg guy). I want them to fix the game but I enjoy it for what it is now. My only true gripes are this trash token system , lack of exotic guns, and no POE type activity.

And that is essentially the problem.........Bungie is basically deconstructing what Destiny once was. The true allure of Destiny was originally that it was a "Looter RPG shooter" game. But all this balancing ******** they implemented to appease the handful of "n00b-level *****ing" has made even the RPG-side of Destiny 2 stale.

You're an RPG guy, you should know this. The whole point of grinding in a RPG is to get stronger AND you were rewarded for getting stronger. Bungie removed the reward for getting stronger in D2........you just get stronger for the sake of a god damn number next to your name, and multiplayer is nothing more than meaningless ******** because the god damn number next to your name MEANS NOTHING.

The raid has great team mechanics, but the gear you are rewarded from the raid MEANS JACK ******** since it doesn't make you STRONGER.

You grind RPGs to become stronger, and you are rewarded for your STRENGTH in the endgame. Bungie IS NOT rewarding us for being strong in the end game anymore....and that is unacceptable.

D2 no longer aims for us to be strong, they just expect us to treat it like some damn weekly chore "just 'cuz" it says Destiny on the god damn game title.

 

[lyd2z]

And that is essentially the problem.........Bungie is basically deconstructing what Destiny once was. The true allure of Destiny was originally that it was a "Looter RPG shooter" game. But all this balancing bull**** they implemented to appease the handful of "n00b-level *****ing" has made even the RPG-side of Destiny 2 stale.

You're an RPG guy, you should know this. The whole point of grinding in a RPG is to get stronger AND you were rewarded for getting stronger. Bungie removed the reward for getting stronger in D2........you just get stronger for the sake of a god damn number next to your name, and multiplayer is nothing more than meaningless bull**** because the god damn number next to your name MEANS NOTHING.

The raid has great team mechanics, but the gear you are rewarded from the raid MEANS JACK BULL**** since it doesn't make you STRONGER.

You grind RPGs to become stronger, and you are rewarded for your STRENGTH in the endgame. Bungie IS NOT rewarding us for being strong in the end game anymore....and that is unacceptable.

D2 no longer aims for us to be strong, they just expect us to treat it like some damn weekly chore "just 'cuz" it says Destiny on the god damn game title.

Pretty much dead-on

 

[Bad Religion]

Yea, I would have loved a little more RPG elements to character development, and a little more focus on exploration.