In Destiny 2, the boss Riven in the raid “Last Wish” sometimes dies in seconds due to a specific strategy. Even the raid lead, Joe Blackburn, is unsure whether this is okay or an exploit.
What’s going on? The final boss Riven in the Forsaken raid “Last Wish” is actually quite tough. But with a very specific tactic, he goes down in a matter of moments.
The key here are various Guardian abilities that increase damage, along with rocket launchers with “cluster bombs.”
This combination takes Riven down quickly. We have the exact details for the quick Riven kill presented here.
Exploit or clever? The Riven tactic
Players have been discussing this tactic ever since. There are two interpretations:
- it’s an exploit that wasn’t intended and should not be used
- it’s a clever use of game mechanics, and therefore absolutely fine. It distinguishes good players to use something cleverly.
This is what Bungie says: In an interview about this mechanic, it becomes clear that even the person responsible at Bungie doesn’t know if this is a bug or okay.
Raid lead Joe Blackburn says that the team is monitoring the situation and paying attention to the community’s reaction. They are considering how to handle the boss encounter.
They want to “find what is right for the encounter.”
Raids should take 20 hours at first, later 20 minutes
What’s behind it: In the interview (via Gamesradar), Blackburn advocates the idea that a raid must take 20 hours the first time. After that, players want to complete it in 20 minutes. This corresponds to the players’ wishes.
Blackburn considers this important advice for game designers. You can see its implementation in games like Super Mario or Dark Souls.
The goal is to,
- make a level seem so challenging at the beginning that players think they can never achieve it
- but the mechanics remain predictable enough that players can learn and reliably master them when they are capable
What is an exploit and what is clever in a raid?
This is okay: Blackburn sees no problem in players defeating the boss “Morgeth” in a short time by shooting the IKELO shotgun at the back of one leg. Anyone who has the IKELOS weapon has invested time in Destiny and earned it.
This is connected to the “20 hours – 20 minutes” design idea, Blackburn explains. However, one must find a middle ground.
If players have earned weapons like the Whisper of the Worm, the IKELOS shotgun, or the Thousand Voices, then the Guardians should also feel successful with them without the content becoming boring.
This is not okay: In contrast, it is a bug that players equip the 100k Nightfall emblem and then suffer no damage in a specific phase of Shuro Chi. This is a bug that will be fixed.
How it ends with Riven, we will probably experience in one of the next patches. There are two updates for Destiny 2 coming in October.
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Read more about the raid “Last Wish” here:
