In Destiny 2, Guardians hold their breath every Tuesday when Bungie rolls out the patch and applies the latest update. Even yesterday, things did not go smoothly. Moreover, fixing a weapon exploit caused some players to see red for 2 seconds.
They stated via Twitter:
“We would like to provide some additional context regarding the weapon swap delay. The shotgun exploit was not the only issue we observed. To reliably address the underlying problem, we had to introduce a global shot delay when swapping weapons through the inventory screen. Due to the network differences between players and environments, we cannot guarantee that the exploit will be fixed with the shortest possible delay.
After carefully observing the current behavior in live play, we have enough information to fine-tune this further and plan to reduce the weapon swap delay shortly after the start of Season 21 this month to about one second.”
This way, the developer is following the demands of the top players, who had already noted that the time window should be reduced to at least 1 second.
What has upset players in Destiny 2? The latest Update 7.0.5.3 of Destiny 2 went live last night. The patch fixed various bugs that blocked progress in the Guardian Games or the issue with the Catalyst of the Guardian Games Exotic “Legitimate Heir”.
After the update, the loot shooter struggled with error codes late into the night and even had to be taken offline again with an emergency maintenance. Yet all this became secondary when the Guardians studied the patch notes and discovered the following change:
- “There is now a two-second window in which a weapon cannot be fired after it has been swapped from the inventory screen.”
With this, Bungie not only ended a known weapon exploit but also upset some streamers and speedrunners.
2-Second Rule Ends the Dreams of the Top Players
Fast weapon swaps no longer work: The so-called “loadout exploits” were extremely popular among players and especially speedrunners. They allowed Guardians to switch their gear in no time to complete specific challenges faster.
The two-second window now means that players are vulnerable for a short time after swapping their gear and cannot shoot immediately.
- The change includes swapping gear through the inventory screen, even if a player’s alternative gear uses identical weapons.
- Furthermore, it affects all equipped weapons, regardless of whether they are primary, special, or heavy weapons.
What sounds harmless at first is a hard blow for the solo heroes and the speedrun community in Destiny 2. This change is game-changing for them.
You can see how this change affects the game in this short video:
Why did Bungie implement this rule? The reason for the adjustment is, among other issues, a recently discovered weapon exploit with the shotgun “The Fourth Horseman”.
If one kept switching back and forth between a regular slug shotgun and the exotic shotgun, it led to absurd damage to enemies.
Actually, a change to the weapon fire delay for the shotgun archetype would have sufficed. However, Bungie applied it to all weapons. Probably because other intrinsic weapon swaps might inadvertently increase damage in the future.
With this solution, the developer ensures that the bug cannot happen again with other weapons.
How the Community Responds to the Change
Many casual players found the change not really dramatic. Also, because it helps make the game fairer.
However, Guardians trying to master dungeons or raids alone now have drastic disadvantages. For them, a large part of the damage relies on fast weapon swaps and an efficient weapon arsenal.
Famous Destiny 2 player Gladd also expressed his frustration on Twitter.
This is actually one of the worst “band-aid solutions” I’ve ever seen in Destiny. […] Bro. Bungie. Listen. I’m going to spare you the stress here. Revert the cooldown. You’re going to get nothing but terrible feedback for this change. Change it at least to 1 second.
wrote Gladd on his Twitter account
In the Destiny subreddit, there are players who agree with him, like AegisTheOnly, who also see a problem in regular raids.
The final bosses of several raid bosses in competitive mode sometimes require switching to a primary or sniper weapon with high damage as soon as the heavy ammo runs out. Imagine having to wait 2 seconds to shoot while Rhulk pummels you with penetrating shots.
describes AegisTheOnly the new situation after the change
Other players understand the objections, even if they themselves do not have any difficulties. RikiToso1337 writes on Twitter: “This is more for those doing speedrun stuff. In all the years I’ve played Destiny, I’ve never switched weapons while running raids or anything, but I understand why speedrunners hate it.”
And Grizlow2.0 gets even more specific when he responds:
This literally affects players like [Saltagreppo] and others who defeat solo raid bosses by using an exploit. The only time I ever switched weapons was during the boss DPS phase when I ran out of ammo and switched to [the pulse rifle Perfected Breakout]. Not switching weapons after every 5 shots…
comments the Guardian Grizlow2.0 via Twitter
Overall, this change certainly affects only a small portion of Destiny 2 players, but those impacted certainly feel directly restricted. However, with Bungie now changing the delay in Season 21 to 1 second, many have shown to be more reconciliatory.
What do you think about the change in Destiny 2 that introduces a two-second window in which a weapon cannot be fired after it has been swapped from the inventory screen? Do you believe this change was necessary to make the game fairer, or do you think it imposes unreasonable restrictions on players? Let us know in the comments.
Other players, however, are already one season ahead and are looking forward to content with depth:
Destiny 2 reveals three important details about Season 21 with a teaser image
