This evening, there will be the big stream from Bungie about the combat in Destiny 2 from Forsaken. Here with us, you can follow the live stream on MAX starting at 7:00 PM. We are also tweeting in German at Mein MMO.
What will happen this evening?? Destiny is launching the “Year 2 Combat Reveal Stream.” Cynically one might say: It is the illustrated announcement of exactly how the gameplay changes with Forsaken.
More kindly put: The stream is expected to present the changes in PvP and PvE that are planned for Destiny 2 starting from the expansion “Forsaken”.
What can we expect? The big questions for PvP players will be:
- how fast the new combat in the crucible will be:
- to what value will the TTK drop?
- will PvP be as fast as in Destiny 1?
It is already clear that the “time to kill” will drop and therefore the speed in combat will increase. The question is: How far will it go down?
Perhaps we will also see some new weapons or catch a glimpse of one or the other surprise. Bungie has had a long “reveal marathon” in which they have revealed a lot about Forsaken through the magazine “Game Informer”. Perhaps they still have something left for their own stream.
Where can you watch it? The stream starts today, on August 7th, at 7 PM. You can follow the stream here:
Live ticker: We will traditionally accompany the stream on Mein MMO with a live ticker in German. There, you can read along during the stream or later find out what exactly was shown. And you can also see in the comments what other readers think of what is being shown.
The big live ticker for the stream on Mein MMO
5:00 PM: If you’d like to get in the mood, here is the announcement clip. It starts at 7 PM.
6:30 PM: Even though “Forsaken” is often mentioned ahead of the stream, everyone will receive those combat updates being presented today. This is regardless of whether someone buys Forsaken or not. The changes will come with the big update that will be released for free and for everyone.
What’s next for Destiny 2?
6:34: On August 28, already in 3 weeks, the big “pre-Forsaken” patch will be released. This will already bring the changes to the weapon slots. That should ultimately be the “new combat” that Bungie will present today.
One week later, on September 4, the Forsaken patch will come with random rolls on weapons and the new mod system.
6:36 PM: So we already know most of the details before today’s reveal. It will now be about clarifying some detail questions.
6:47: Those who thought, “Well, Bungie must rethink after Destiny 2 and become a little less commercial,” will probably be disappointed. It did look a bit like it was going in that direction, after hearing self-critical tones.
Some even wished that Bungie would give away Forsaken for free “out of remorse.” But the trailers and actions are still running at full throttle and head in a completely different direction.
6:50: I know many people want to let themselves be hyped in peace and not hear any dissonances ahead of Forsaken, but … I would have wished for different signals from Bungie than “Pre-order and get back Pik-Ass. Avenge Cayde-6 by pre-ordering now.”
6:53: Hopefully, this doesn’t cause any trouble. Greetings to the Destiny Defense Force.
6:55: In connection with this evening. Present will be:
- DeeJ: he has been promoted and is now “Communications Director”
- Josh Hamrick: he is the “hat guy” from back then, now Sandbox Design Lead – so still the one who nerfs Hunters
- Greg Peng: Senior Sandbox Designer
- Claude Jerome: Senior Gameplay Designer
By the way, I need a cooler title myself. I should promote myself somehow. Major or something.
6:58: A bit strange that nothing is happening yet. Normally, there should have been a sound check by now, but the stream is still offline.
6:59: Ah, now things are moving. They say it starts at 7:10 PM.
7:02: Bungie tweeted an image from the studio. Hat guy Josh Hamrick is the one in the hat in the middle. DeeJ is on the right, Greg Peng is probably on the left.
The live stream for the combat reveal in Destiny 2 begins
7:13: Topics today
- Weapon balance
- Skill balance
- New features
Bungie wants to give us enough information today so that we can think about how we want to play starting September.
Star players should shine again
7:14: Goals in year 2 are,
- to give players more options. Those who want to play offensively and quickly should be able to do so. Those who want to play slower and more defensively should be able to tailor their character accordingly.
- make loot more interesting so players stay with Destiny 2 longer
- the meta should not remain static, but change and stay fresh longer
- want to bring more heroic moments into the game by increasing the skill gap. In the “right hands,” Destiny should be insane and give the best players the chance to shine.
7:16: 9 new supers will provide variety and give everyone a new way to play. They have adjusted all sorts of things they found to be too weak.
How the weapon slots are changing
7:19: There are three new icons for weapons indicating ammo “Primary, Special and Heavy.” In the first 2 slots (Primary and Energy), you can have weapons that use Primary and Special. In the 3rd slot only “Heavy.”
7:20: Bows are “Primary” weapons. Some grenade launchers can run on “Special” ammo.
7:21: The idea is that there are more options, but not an outrageous amount. It is possible to play with 3 grenade launchers or 3 shotguns if you want, because there are “Heavy” and “Special” versions of those weapon types.
7:23: The aggro playstyle will probably be Special/Special/Heavy. At least that’s what’s expected by Bungie.
How the random rolls work
7:25: Each time a weapon drops, its complete perk set is re-rolled.
7:26: You can upgrade the weapons to 10 using a “tier” system. Masterwork cores and legendary shards will be consumed. At tier 10, a legendary weapon will then be a masterwork with kill tracker and a stat boost.
How the new mod system works
7:27: Mods no longer give “+5”, but now have a variety of properties that affect the weapon.
7:28: When you dismantle a weapon, you receive the mod of the weapon and can reuse it.
7:30: For those who find it too fast, there is no need to worry. We currently have diligent Destiny 2 authors at Mein MMO who will summarize and explain the essentials in detailed articles tomorrow.
7:33: By the way, around 85,000 viewers are watching.
Everything is going to be a little deadlier in Destiny 2
7:34: Bungie’s big balance goal is that players always have options and can react to everything. One change has made a lot of difference. Guardians die from:
- 2 melee hits
- and 3 headshots
- Shoulder attacks from Titans and similar skills kill again instantly
The combat has become faster, say the designers. Since switching from the “3-melee” to a “2-melee” meta, they also had to increase other damage sources.
7:37: They have adjusted the supers and played around with balance. Golden Gun should last longer (2 seconds). Other supers like Tether should be more reliable. At the end of the stream, there will be a live demonstration of the changed game in the crucible.
7:41: We switch live to the Mein MMO editorial staff. Our Destiny expert Sven is currently murmuring: “TTK is noticeably shorter,” while Micha agrees and comments on a super in the stream with “OMG.” Thanks for that. Back to me.
7:44: Bow action in the stream. I’m sure some Guardians at home are indulging in “Hawkeye” power fantasies. Or “Arrow”, if you prefer DC.
7:46: The demonstration takes place in private matches and they have practically set the respawn timer to 0.
7:48: Important bonus info. Armor also has random rolls and its own mod system. That sounds very good.
7:50: New Hunter super “Blade Barrage” – For those who like Golden Gun but don’t feel like aiming. That was pretty good.
7:51: Exotic weapons can’t use either random rolls or mods. They are fixed.
Relaxed atmosphere in the stream – changes seem to be well received
7:52: The player has to listen to some remarks from the guys sitting in their chairs saying things like “I would have sunk that one too” or “I could have seen that one coming”.
7:55: The sandbox designers promise that some old exotic armor pieces will have great synergies with the new meta. It’s a relaxed atmosphere in the stream compared to previous designers. Surprisingly little speaking time for DeeJ and a lot of time for designers who seem to have a good understanding of what they are talking about.
7:57: DeeJ says the people in the chat are satisfied with what they see. In the next round, community manager Cosmo plays with 3 shotguns.
8:01: It seems that the atmosphere at Bungie is a kind of “big boys have fun” club. Hamrick just noted that the pistol from the Twitch overlay is aimed directly at Claude Jerome’s private parts. He then crossed his legs and moved aside. They seem to be in a good mood and are confident that the changes will be well received.
Clear roles in PvP with matching loadouts
8:05 Especially in Gambit, there should be clear roles in PvP that can be better fulfilled with special loadouts than with others. Players can then specialize in a specific task, like Cosmo now with 3 shotguns, going full melee.
8:07: I think I need the super with the giant hammer for my Titan. Sven has fallen in love with the bow. While Micha struggles to accept that DeeJ doesn’t know what a luck pants is (Hunter Exotic).
8:08: Grenades serve as “openers” for fights in Destiny 2. They are not one-shot kills.
End of August, the systems will come – with Forsaken the content
8:14: At the end of August, a lot of what we are seeing now will come. The changes to the Year 1 weapons and the weapon slots. It will be a strange time when the new systems are there but the content that fits them isn’t yet.
8:15: The stream is slowly winding down after a little over an hour. You can tell that the intensity is decreasing as the second match approaches its end. We will prepare the information that has been provided here on Mein MMO in precise articles.
It definitely looks like Bungie is relaxed and confident that the changes will convince the players. They have implemented much of the feedback from the players and seem to have focused on the desires of the Destiny 1 players and streamers.
Destiny 2 Forsaken feels significantly “more thought-out” and “rounded” than Destiny
8:22: The changes to the weapon slots, the mods, also upgrading and the random rolls feel significantly more thought-out and reasonable than the systems with which Destiny 2 launched in September 2017. Back then, it was noticeable that much of it simply wasn’t finished and looked like a quick fix.
There is nothing extremely innovative about the new systems, but they seem like solid and well-rounded changes. Critics will first want to play it for a final judgment.
That’s it from us at Mein MMO. We’ll be back tomorrow with our coverage of Destiny 2.
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