Recently, Bungie explained that they may have overdone the difficulty of the Escalation Protocol in Destiny 2. The studio is now easing the PvE event and aims to make it more accessible.
Just recently, Bungie stated in response to numerous fan inquiries that the Escalation Protocol was designed for a team of three max-level Guardians. The up to six additional players are purely optional – the event can and should be tackled by a fully leveled three-man team. This is how the developers intended it.
The community disagreed. Even a team of three top players at max level 385 only managed to complete the event after more than eight hours.
In response, the studio already backtracked and admitted: they probably overdid it with the difficulty of the Escalation Protocol – fearing that the event would otherwise be too easy.
Now a response in the game followed. The developers quickly eased the Escalation Protocol.
The Escalation Protocol has been adjusted – Here’s what’s changed
Enemies nerfed: To make the Escalation Protocol more accessible, the level of the event enemies in waves 4-7 has been reduced. Waves 1-3, however, remained untouched. All mechanics, timers, and enemy behavior remain otherwise unchanged.
The update has been active since the early hours of June 1, 2018. The change was made server-side, so you do not need to download or install anything.
Old power level values of enemies:
- Wave 1: 370
- Wave 2: 370
- Wave 3: 370
- Wave 4: 385
- Wave 5: 385
- Wave 6: 400
- Wave 7: 400
New power level values of enemies:
- Wave 1: 370
- Wave 2: 370
- Wave 3: 370
- Wave 4: 380
- Wave 5: 380
- Wave 6: 385
- Wave 7: 385
Reasons for the change: Bungie realized that most Guardians do not participate in the event as intended with a three-man fire team. Waves six and seven are too difficult for that. Some players would try to use a trick to secure more teammates for the Escalation Protocol. Others would be completely discouraged.
After reducing the power levels of the last waves, they now hope that the Escalation Protocol will seem less intimidating to potential participants. People who want to tackle this activity at 385 with a three-man fire team with the help of other Guardians should have a better chance of successfully completing the event.
It will also still be possible to bring in more people and complete the event with a total of up to nine players. However, teams at or near max level should no longer rely on help to the same extent as they have in the past.
If anyone is concerned that Bungie is nerfing the Escalation Protocol into the ground, they need not worry according to the studio’s words – the activity will still be challenging enough and will continue to demand the maximum of players’ abilities.
What do you think of these changes? Are they reasonable, or did Bungie misjudge the wrong audience?
