In Destiny 2, swords are more popular than ever, but PvE and PvP players are debating the blade weapons.
Destiny 2 is a loot shooter and, as such, offers a wide variety of weapons for players to shoot nasty aliens in the face. The range includes wacky sci-fi blasters and repurposed monster body parts, as well as assault rifles and rocket launchers, down to rustic Western revolvers.
One category is particularly popular, but somewhat unusual for shooters: swords. Even though games like Doom also focus on melee weapons, the blades in Destiny work differently – triggering a small faith battle among players.
That’s why swords are so trendy: Swords have been experiencing a renaissance for some time. They have not been as popular as they are now in Season 11 since Destiny 1.
- In spring 2020, Bungie gave swords a complete overhaul – since then, the rule has been: “Take a sword!”
- Season 11 introduced two unique legendary swords whose abilities recall popular exotics from the first part.
All of this leads to many players firmly incorporating swords into their loadout. Yet, while PvE players rejoice over their super weapons, some PvP players would prefer to ban them completely.
A dispute ignites between PvE and PvP players
What’s the problem? In Destiny, swords also require ammunition. If this is missing, you’re just holding a sword handle without a blade. However, even without fuel, they can enable a complete game changer: with a sword in hand, you are not playing a first-person shooter, but you see everything from a third-person perspective – the camera moves behind the player.
This different viewpoint allows you to peek around corners or see a larger area of the world.
In the Crucible, some players deliberately switch to a sword to scout the surroundings. They ensure, for example, that no opponent is lurking in a corridor or relay information from a secure cover to the team.
This is what PvP players demand: This behavior is considered dishonorable or simply unfair by many. Therefore, the Guardians repeatedly demand that the third-person view be removed from PvP.
For many of the frustrated players, it would suffice if Bungie reworked swords so that they cannot be used without ammunition or that the perspective switch could not be executed in such a case.
The peeking from a third person ruins competitive game modes, and that’s garbage.
coltjen via reddit
With this, the user coltjen articulated the feelings of many annoyed PvP players from the Destiny subreddit. However, the demand “boiled over night” quite high. The post currently has over 6,700 upvotes, and in 870 comments, the Guardians are discussing. Because some Guardians from the PvE faction resist the ideas.
That’s why PvE players resist: In PvE, swords are not only a strong alternative for boss damage, but they also serve many players as a navigation aid.
Especially in tricky jumping sections (like in raids or exotic missions), it has become customary to switch to a sword and thus leave the limited view of the first-person shooter. This allows for much more precise jumps and better distance estimation.
Just because the blade has no ammunition, should we now forgo a function that has been standard for years in favor of PvP? That’s roughly how the complaints sound. Additionally, striking with the ammo-less sword handle can shorten many grind-heavy bounty runs.
What do you think? Interestingly, we were able to find parts of the discussion on MeinMMO just a few days ago:
- Takumidoragon (via MeinMMO): “I find it much worse that I hear a sword in every second comp match before I see an opponent.”
- KingK (via MeinMMO): “An empty sword is probably the rediscovered emote. Actually, the 3rd-person should have been removed from the game a long time ago. At least in PvP. In the case of the sword, it might be worth considering staying in the first-person perspective when it’s empty.”
A categorical distinction between the functionality of swords in PvE and PvP seems rather unlikely at the moment. This shows that even if the swords lose their perspective switch, emotes will still serve the same function. Thus, there would be no obstacle to “peeking around corners” with them.
Not all PvP players are complaining about this by any means. Some say that these are legitimate tactics and set an experienced or alert player apart from other Guardians.
What is your stance on the issue? Do swords provide unfair advantages or are only the vocal proponents of two different factions arguing?
