The balance in Destiny in PvP has always been a controversial topic. This has not changed with Destiny 2. Bungie has previously hammered down outstanding nails to ensure a smooth and polished experience. Now, they deliberately want some nails to stick out. Good, says our author Sven.
The eternal discussion: The often heated debate about the perfect balance of weapons and armor pieces has been ongoing since the launch of Destiny 1. Particularly strong exotic weapons like the Thorn, the SUROS Regime, or now the Graviton Lance and the Wings of Vigilance are often the focus of this controversy. They were considered, or still are by parts of the community, overpowered (OP).
Perfect balance takes its toll: The desire of many players for more balance in PvP has already cost the existence of certain pieces of gear. In the past, Bungie has repeatedly tried to maintain balance in the Crucible – usually by nerfing particularly strong outliers. Most of the time, these attempts ended with the respective gear becoming unusable and disappearing from the game, even in PvE.
A change in thinking at Bungie – nail board instead of smooth surface: With the Warmind expansion for Destiny 2, a change in thinking has occurred at Bungie. Previously, they always hammered down outstanding nails to ensure a smooth PvP gaming experience. With Warmind, they have transitioned to letting such nails deliberately stick out.
Even though many guardians are now again increasingly calling for nerfs of certain weapons or armor pieces, I believe that this new approach is exactly the right way to bring back Space Magic to a certain extent.
Perfect balance does not automatically mean fun
Perfect balance is boring: As a long-time Counter-Strike, Call of Duty, and Battlefield player, I have had to realize this personally with the release of Destiny 1. Since then, it is exactly these outstanding nails, these unevennesses and peculiarities, that I love about the Destiny series and that make the game unique for me.
The Thorn made me a PvP player
With or against OP weapons – both are fun for me: Let’s take the hand cannon Thorn in its original form before the nerf as an example. This weapon alone made me take the first steps into the bizarre-looking Destiny PvP. The Thorn also turned me into a complete PvP fanatic and is still one of my absolute favorites in the entire Destiny arsenal.
I loved this weapon and enjoyed playing it for its strength and unique mechanics – but just as much enjoyed playing against it. Because even though the weapon was undoubtedly dominant and powerful and caused a lot of chaos in the Crucible – hardly anything has given me as much joy as facing a Thorn player with my own Thorn in a direct duel or even defeating them with a seemingly inferior weapon.
That brought me more joy than any kill in the perfectly polished Counter Strike or Call of Duty. And even with the currently most powerful weapons like the Graviton Lance or the Wings of Vigilance, I feel the same way. I enjoy playing both, but even more so against them. This is my greatest personal motivation even in times of a seemingly one-sided meta.
OP Helmet: Lindwurm Crown?
Even armor can be OP: In the case of armor pieces, it is very similar. Currently, there is much discussion about the Hunter helmet Lindwurm Crown. Many fans believe the helmet is OP and other classes lack corresponding alternatives. Here too, the first calls for a nerf are being heard.
Since I first started Destiny, I have been a proud Hunter main. I currently enjoy playing the helmet myself. And I often encounter players or entire Hunter groups using the helmet in PvP. Yet, I personally find its overwhelming power neither bad nor annoying. Because in this case, it pleases me much more when the opposing Hunter twists and turns in a direct duel only to end up losing despite the helmet. Even if I often bite the dust myself.
I personally have much more joy from such triumphs than from a smoothly polished PvP, where it often doesn’t matter which weapon I play once I am familiar with it.
Polishing frenzy has destroyed a lot
Perfect balance almost cost Destiny 2 its soul: Because Destiny 2 lost a lot of its appeal and famous Space Magic due to this focus on perfect balance during its reorientation. For a long time, it was almost indifferent which weapon you played. The PvP in Destiny 2 resembled that of any generic PvP shooter. But since the change in thinking, the game is, in my view, back on the right path thanks to numerous changes and not least because of these outstanding nails.
The direction is right: Now, at least in parts, the Destiny feeling with weapons and gear is returning. And that is exactly what I have always loved about Destiny. It makes it special for me and sets it apart from the crowd. It is the special, powerful, sometimes even overpowered gear. Something that can cause chaos in the Crucible and is so sought after that everyone wants it, and everyone knows its name, its character, and sometimes even its story.
Over all the years with Destiny, I have been able to ascertain that chaos, outstanding nails, and special outliers bring me more joy in Guardian duels than any perfect balance. Therefore, I welcome Bungie’s decision not to hammer down nails like the Graviton Lance or the Lindwurm Crown in favor of a smooth board any longer.
More of this, please, Bungie: What I do wish for are even more such desirable outliers. And since the hunt for this gear represents another special incentive, it ought to be as difficult to obtain as possible in my view.
Because the overpowering Gjallarhorn has never dropped for me in Destiny 1, for example. I bought it from Xur – two weeks before it became obsolete. Yet, the hunt for it motivated me all that time and kept me playing. I have never regretted all the “wasted” time. On the contrary: afterward, I simply sought out the next rare carrot and happily went hunting again. I hope for more of that in the future of Destiny 2. For every class and every weapon type.
What do you think about Bungie now consciously adopting the nail board principle and no longer nerfing outliers into the ground? Do you think it’s good for PvP? Or does supposedly OP gear rob you of the last joy in the Crucible?
