Recently, Bungie released a lot of information about the sandbox adjustments as part of the upcoming update 1.1.4 for Destiny 2. On Twitter, the developers additionally addressed questions from the community.
With the next big update 1.1.4 coming on March 27, many changes are on the way in Destiny 2. The PvP is being fundamentally revised. The sandbox is also being extensively adjusted – that is, the balance of classes and weapons. Recently, Bungie detailed these changes.
Additionally, Josh Hamrick, the sandbox design lead of Destiny 2, answered more questions from the community on Twitter regarding the upcoming sandbox adjustments.
We summarize the most interesting questions and answers for you.
These details about sandbox tuning should not be missed
The community raised some interesting questions, covering many areas of the upcoming sandbox update. And the developers responded surprisingly openly. The first questions focused on upcoming changes to weapons:
Question: I noticed the damage increase for pulse rifles, scouts, etc. in PvE – but not in PvP. Is the reduction of the time to kill intended to be achieved through the buff of our abilities and the more frequent spawning of power ammunition?
Answer: The base damage and precision damage will be raised for both PvE and PvP. In PvE, you will also receive additional bonus damage.
Question: It looks like a lot of weapons are getting a damage boost in PvE. Is this generally 10 percent across the board, or will each weapon type be adjusted individually? Can you provide a rough guideline?
Answer: Each weapon will be adjusted individually. The average buff is currently about 15 percent.
Question: This looks like fun, but I think we need 4 weapon slots. There are just too many weapons in the power slot, don’t you think?
Answer: Try it out when it’s live. As I said, we are far from done. We will continue to work on it.
Question: Sniper rifles and shotguns will always lose out to a one-hit-kill rocket launcher. Always. That’s a very simple decision. What do you think?
Answer: I don’t want to claim I can see into the future, but I can tell you that, in combination with the changes to power ammunition, many fewer rockets have been fired during tests.
Question: Why were there no changes to fusion rifles? Do you think they are good as they are? In PvP, they feel good, but in PvE they seem too weak compared to other weapons.
Answer: We buffed linear fusion rifles and made them a lot better. The regular fusion rifles remain unchanged for now.
Question: The Mida will still be good in the Trials of the Nine. A very good weapon – but without an exotic perk. Doesn’t that make it a normal – albeit solid – weapon?
Answer: In Quickplay, the Mida will still be the old one.
Question: As seen in the video, do you need to briefly stop to pick up power ammunition from defeated enemies?
Answer: Yup. If you want the ammunition, you now need to actively collect it.
Fans were also very interested in the nerf of the Nightstalker and some Hunter exotics. Here’s what they wanted to know from the developers:
Question: Since the Hunter’s invisibility has now been extended by one second, it will certainly be used more regularly and not just as a means of escape. Will the Hunter helm Graviton Forfeit further increase the duration?
Answer: Yes, the Graviton Forfeit remains unchanged.
Question: It looks like the changes are going to hit the Nightstalker focus of the Hunter hard. The Weakness Radar and the Twin Narren no longer matter in competitive modes and in the Trials of the Nine. Aim assist during invisibility is a thing of the past, and smoke grenades are going to be less effective in competitive modes and in the Trials of the Nine as they no longer disrupt the radar. Will the Nightstalker be buffed in any way to compensate for these nerfs?
Answer: No, not at the moment. I must say, though, that I played the Nightstalker in 90% of the tests – even in competitive modes – and I must say, it still plays very effectively. But you should try other exotics in competitive games. For example, I had a lot of fun with the Enemy Finder.
Question: Is the Weakness Radar now useless in competitive modes since there is no radar?
Answer: Yup, I recommend switching to the Enemy Seeker. However, the Weakness Radar will still be good in Quickplay.
Question: The nerf on aim assist when dodging is really harsh. Especially considering the strong class abilities of the Titan and Warlock. What do you think about that?
Answer: To clarify again – dodging remains unchanged. Only the invisibility was nerfed.
Various questions about general gameplay mechanics, such as cooldowns or time to kill, were also on the agenda:
Question: Will the call-outs in PvP still be displayed? Now that there is no radar, it would be helpful to know where on the map the enemy is located.
Answer: Yup.
Question: Why did you just shorten the super recharge time instead of granting more super energy per kill? That would encourage skill. That’s why I preferred the super system from the predecessor.
Answer: It was an overarching change for PvE and PvP. For us, it felt too long overall. And now that you mention it – we did both. So we shortened the recharge time and now grant a bit more super energy on kills. Good thing you mentioned it, I still need to add it to the patch notes.
Question: The cooldowns for abilities are now up to 2x faster and can stack up to 3x? Did I get that right?
Answer: A three-stack gives you double charge speed. 1 stack 1.33x, 2 stacks 1.67x, and 3 stacks 2x.
Question: Will there be a passive cooldown buff in the background? Or is this completely tied to the mods?
Answer: Maybe. However, nothing is currently planned.
Question: To clarify: Is the time to kill remaining the same while the movement speed increases? That wasn’t entirely clear from the update.
Answer: Some weapons will be buffed to make them more competitive and more prominent. We are working on an ideal time to kill that is roughly equivalent to the TTK of precision auto rifles. Currently, the time to kill and game speed is largely defined by weapons, as the gameplay lacks variety. This leads to a more or less static time to kill that is relatively high. We now want to actively counteract this. Ammunition, ability mods, and perks that increase movement speed and weapons will be adjusted to ensure that the gameplay flow becomes fast and snappy – as we believe players expect from Destiny.
Question: But if you don’t align the time to kill with the adjusted movement speed, it will lead to people simply fleeing from combat, as it still takes too long to take them out, even though they will be much faster. What do you think about that?
Answer: The tests went really well – something definitely happened. There are many gears that come into play here. And as I already said – we are not claiming that we are done. As it is now, it felt right to us and gives you the opportunity to evaluate it together with us.
Question: If the time to kill doesn’t get lowered, many people, including myself, will not return – you know that, right?
Answer: I think you should play the new update 1.1.4 a bit and then talk to us again about how the changes feel. I don’t necessarily want to say that you will change your mind – just that you will have a better picture in mind then.
Did this Q&A round answer some burning questions? Or was there nothing enlightening for you?
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