Since its release, players have suspected that a hidden Juggler mechanic comes into play in Destiny 2. While Bungie still hasn’t commented on the hypothesis, a player took matters into his own hands and conducted a test series. And indeed: It seems that Bungie wants to turn Guardians in Destiny into weapon jugglers.
Ever since the release of Destiny 2, some Guardians believe that noticeably less ammunition drops for the currently equipped weapon in activities. They refer to a hidden Juggler mechanic.
Juggler was known in Destiny 1 as a modifier for story missions and strikes.
While players openly criticized the possibility of this hidden mechanic, Bungie remained silent. Players are still waiting for an official response as to whether this is their own distorted perception, a bug, or an actual mechanic.
A player has now conducted a test series to investigate the speculations.
What is Juggler anyway?
In Destiny 1, Juggler was one of the less popular modifiers, which ensured that no ammunition for the currently equipped weapon dropped from defeated enemies. As a result, players had to pay more attention to their remaining ammunition and switch more frequently between primary, special, and heavy weapons.
The modifier was used in story missions and strikes.
In Destiny 2, a similar, but hidden modifier is supposed to be in effect in all activities. While it is not the case that no ammunition drops for the currently equipped weapon, according to numerous players, the ammunition supply has noticeably decreased.
Player conducts Juggler test in the Lost Sector
The Reddit user diaryofadragonborn had enough of hypotheses and theories and conducted his own test series in the Lost Sector Widow’s Walk in the EDZ. He fought 500 enemies with kinetic, energy, and power weapons each and compared the dropped ammunition.
For the test, he chose Midnight Coup, Imset HC4, and Perfect Paradox. After each 500 kills, he reached the following results:
Dropped ammunition while using the kinetic weapon:
Kinetic ammunition: 30 (26.09%)
Energy ammunition: 74 (64.35%)
Power ammunition: 11 (9.57%)
Dropped ammunition while using the energy weapon:
Kinetic ammunition: 69 (65.09%)
Energy ammunition: 29 (27.36%)
Power ammunition: 8 (7.55%)
Dropped ammunition while using the power weapon:
Kinetic ammunition: 67 (54.03%)
Energy ammunition: 50 (40.32%)
Power ammunition: 7 (5.65%)
The test revealed that ammunition for the currently equipped kinetic or energy weapon drops only about 25 percent of the time, while the other weapon had a drop rate of about 65 percent.
diaryofadragonborn encourages players to conduct further tests themselves. He also finds it interesting to find out whether other weapons have an influence on the respective drop chance. He himself wants to continue investigating the drop rate of power ammunition.
What Players Say
On Reddit, players feel confirmed in their suspicion of the hidden mechanic. User crypticfreak wouldn’t have a problem with the system if the game actively encouraged weapon switching.
Currently, however, the mechanic feels as if Destiny 2 is just forcing players to switch.
Another player counters that it is actually intended for Guardians to switch their weapons in combat depending on the situation. After all, enemy shields are more vulnerable to energy weapons, while opponents without shields are more susceptible to kinetic weapons.
The question would only be whether the current system recognizes which weapon dealt the most damage and not just which one achieved the kill. Because if that were the case, this hidden mechanic would punish Guardians just for playing the game “correctly.”
And don’t forget: The April Iron Banner is just around the corner – in the 6vs6 format!
