In Destiny, the April update is now available. According to Community Manager DeeJ, this update is a testament to the evolution that Bungie’s live team has undergone in recent months.
Looking back at Year 1 of Destiny, a lot has changed regarding updates and fresh content. For the DLCs “The Dark Below” and “House of Wolves,” players had to reach deep into their pockets if they wanted to play the new content.
This changed significantly with the “The Taken King” expansion: Since September, we have been served fresh content for free.
This content has thus far been offered in time-limited “events,” such as the Sparrow Racing or the Scharlach Week, for which no additional money needed to be spent. Now Bungie’s live team has released the free April update. The way Destiny has developed was not foreseeable back in Autumn 2014.
Changes at Bungie as “Natural Evolution”
Destiny continues to evolve, just like the team behind the MMO shooter. Community Manager DeeJ comments on these changes in an interview with vg247. According to him, regarding the current April update from the live team, it is about a “natural evolution”:
The April update is an opportunity for the live team to do what they do. It is essentially an extension of their mission, which is to continuously entertain Destiny players between major releases.
DeeJ emphasizes that it is the live team’s job to keep the daily happenings in Destiny lively and interesting. The April update now represents a change in the scope of their efforts, but no change in what they do.
This is how the live team was presented in December:
In Year 1, this team particularly focused on fixing bugs and improving the player experience of the Guardians. This year, the live team is advancing in their capabilities, creating and programming events, and providing more variety in the Destiny universe. While these events are content that comes and goes, the April update is content that can and should be played repeatedly.
The Challenge of the Elders, the new strike, or the revamped “Winter’s Run” strike are activities that will not randomly disappear from the scene; they will remain (for now) permanent.
Live Team Ensures a Dynamic Game World
As the community manager reveals, the live team now not only supports current gameplay, but also advances it and provides players with new things to do. That is what the live team is here for: not just to improve things that are already in the game but also to create new things. DeeJ on this:
We are fulfilling the promise that Destiny is a world that evolves over time.
Furthermore, the community manager states:
We have always wanted to design a game that is dynamic, that evolves the way players play it. The live team is the key instrument to achieve this goal.
Thus, the task of the live team is to keep the game fresh, to fix emerging bugs as quickly as possible, and to address various community needs. Meaningful changes can be made every two to three weeks, every two to three months, that improve the player experience.
Early in the history of the MMO shooter, Bungie admitted that players would spend much more time in the game than they could anticipate. Although this is more a category of “luxury problem,” it remains a problem that cannot be easily solved.
The expanded tasks of the live team are Bungie’s push to deliver to players what they really want. This also includes balance adjustments in the crucible.
Balance Adjustments Consider PvP and PvE
The sandbox rebalance of the April update will disrupt the crucible. As DeeJ states, the goal is to design a competitive ecosystem that caters to as many types of players as possible. Every type should feel welcome in the crucible. Therefore, updates and changes will occur here more frequently. DeeJ:
As soon as we notice that there is only one logical choice in the crucible if you want to win, that’s definitely something we’ll pursue.
An example can be given with the legendary sniper rifle Empty Look, which is a very commonly used special weapon in the crucible.
When one sees that a weapon is the only choice for many guardians, the intent is not to ruin it – after all, it is very popular for certain reasons – but to give players reasons to try out other weapons, according to community manager DeeJ.
Bungie studies player data in both PvE and PvP before changes are made. This will not change in the future. They want guardians who have certain “favorite weapons” to be able to use them in both PvE and PvP. Once accustomed to a weapon, it should feel familiar everywhere. DeeJ on this:
This weapon has no surprises for you. It works against a raid boss the same way it works against a thinking, breathing person you encounter through matchmaking.
Find out here which 14 exotics in the April update of Destiny are newly upgraded.
