On YouTube, one of the most well-known Guardians, “Aztecross”, has finally sat down and spoken clearly about the current state of Destiny 2. It’s not just about the lack of transparency, obfuscation, and broken exotics, but also about Bungie’s poor decisions.
Who is Aztecross? The Destiny YouTuber Aztecross is a veteran of the loot shooter. He has accompanied Destiny 1 and 2 for several years and thus knows many issues and problems that Bungie has already struggled with.
His videos on YouTube primarily focus on the loot shooter, associated class builds, and informational videos where he describes what is currently happening and going wrong in Destiny.
This time, the YouTuber has looked at a major problem faced by the development team, which he believes exists. It concerns the communication between Bungie and its community and many questionable decisions.
Lack of communication and obfuscation are the problem
Aztecross begins his video by making it clear that the community and Bungie have a problem. This is primarily about:
- Lack of transparency
- Poor decisions
- Obfuscation
- Broken exotics
The problem begins with the flow of information between the community and the developers. In the past, Bungie excelled at announcing all upcoming changes and updates through TWaB posts, community managers, and interviews.
Here is his video about the issues surrounding Bungie that are currently concerning Aztecross:
The Guardians have not been left in the dark. However, for some time now, the tide has turned. According to Aztecross, the team is withholding a lot of information. Issues in the game are hardly mentioned or only in passing, which, however, have a significant impact on the players.
This includes, for example, the new exotics from Season 18. Three out of five specimens were deactivated. One of them was returned in such a way that no Titan would ever touch it again, and that was only because Bungie had to nerf it to the ground. This concerns the gauntlets “Point Contact Cannon Stat.”>
Bungie gives the impression that they prioritize the wrong issues, fixing things that are fun, and exotics are preferred to be nerfed to the ground instead of being repaired to useful status.
In the case of broken exotics, no new information or updates are communicated to the community. They are kept in the dark, even though they need answers.
Nerfs are sold as buffs: When changes are eventually announced, they are presented in a way that sounds good on paper, but in practice turn out to be nerfs. Aztecross cites the Exotic scout rifle “Tale of a Dead Man” as an example.
The rifle was a very solid choice in PvP for players who could handle it. On August 11, however, Bungie took a closer look at the rifle, as the developers stated: “[…] the fantasy of the ‘cowboy rifle from the hip’ did not come across as well as we had hoped. Therefore, we overhauled it to lean more towards hip-fire rapid-fire.”
What sounds good at first quickly reveals itself in the game as a significant nerf. When Bungie was done with the rifle, most Guardians couldn’t do anything with it anymore and put it straight into the vault.
Aztecross does not understand why Bungie markets changes this way and thus causes much dissatisfaction in the community. Bad news is often received bitterly, but getting the community excited about a positive change that turns out to be a nerf is even more bitter.
Aztecross claims to know the reasons for the problems: According to the YouTuber, the core of the problem lies primarily in one thing and that is the deal between Sony and Bungie.
The studio has been bought by the large console corporation from Japan and is now working under their auspices. The focus at Bungie seems to be on attracting many new players. With skill-based matchmaking and the simultaneous cooperation with Epic Games, more new lights should be able to find their footing in the Destiny universe, both in PvE and PvP.
The core players are not planned for this type of “project” and thus these players are also suffering. Modes are adjusted in favor of casual players so that they have it easier to settle in and have fun. However, Aztecross believes this may become detrimental to Bungie sooner or later.
This downfall occurred at the release of Destiny 2 when all players rebelled against Bungie. There was a lack of communication, the game was completely polished for casuals, and PvP resembled chaos.
Only after the Destiny 2 community gradually disappeared did Bungie realize what they should have done. Now it remains to be seen whether Bungie will rebuild closer contact with the community or keep keeping their distance.
What do you think of the current mood in Destiny 2 and everything related to Bungie? Do you also think Aztecross is right? Let us know in the comments!
Tonight there will also be an update in Destiny 2; you can find all the important information in our overview:
