Since Destiny 1, players have been demanding that Bungie “patches correctly.” That was 7 years ago, and Destiny 2 finally shows what that should look like.
Bungie has spent years building a reputation for nerfing everything that is too strong. It is frustrating that weapons and skills across the game are equally flattened under the patch hammer. In other words: if a weapon is too dominant in PvP, it is weakened or even completely useless in the Crucible after its update.
However – and this is a big however – the weapon was usually also completely useless in PvE, even though it was not a problem here. This has been the case throughout the Destiny story since 2014. If something is OP in just one game mode, it is trimmed in both modes, PvE and PvP, after the nerf.
This is what Guardians wish for: Time and again, Guardians want Bungie to view PvE and PvP separately and patch them distinctly. They are tired of having to stash their favorite guns or even all archetypes of a category due to one game mode they might hardly play.
And thanks to the Traveler, the Destiny developer is now showing that it is indeed possible to update PvP and PvE separately.
Such reactions were guaranteed: Whenever we talked about fixes or nerfs to popular weapons, abilities, or other things on MeinMMO, “critical” remarks towards Bungie were pre-programmed. Here’s a little overview that shows your reactions over the years:
- In October 2020, Direwolf wrote: “And once again, PvP has a massive impact on PvE. I’m about to puke.” (via MeinMMO)
- In January 2019, reptile demanded, “Nerf, Nerf, Nerf […] Just finally separate this damn PvP from PvE.” (via MeinMMO)
- On MeinMMO, we titled in 2017: “Is Bungie sacrificing PvE to make PvP better?” And a large part of the readers did not want to make that sacrifice for the sake of PvP.
- As early as September 2014, kekelala asked the question: “It’s going to be very, very hard to balance the game. […] Why the hell are they mixing PvE and PvP items together?” (via MeinMMO)
Of course, some nerfs were also justified and necessary in both game modes, no question. But the lack of separation really rubbed the community the wrong way.
Good examples of how popular weapons were nerfed to death and never recovered, or whole categories became useless after a patch, can be found here:
Bungie can indeed nerf correctly
This is the current reason: On March 23, 2021, a patch is coming that PvP-oriented Guardians have been waiting for a long time. The nasty Stasis abilities from Beyond Light are getting hit with 9 nerfs. In the preview of the partly drastic changes, the addition “only in PvP” or “unchanged in PvE” can be seen almost everywhere.
This is great because using the Ice abilities is really fun: First freezing an enemy, watching the cold spread across the entire enemy team, and then satisfyingly shattering them. However, if you are on the other side, then Stasis is a real nightmare: you are basically taken out of the game and must watch helplessly as the match unfolds. Often in PvP, if you are frozen, you are also dead.
So the new update allows Guardians to enjoy the frosty fun in PvE, but adjusts the necessary dials in PvP. Because many Guardians have been complaining since the end of 2020 that Stasis turned the Crucible into a nightmare.
Bungie has been able to do it for a long time: We must be fair here because a closer look shows that the Destiny developer has been walking the right patch path for a while now.
- In May 2020, MeinMMO reported that Bungie is absolutely right in handling the Exotic Hard Light. The auto rifle was clearly too strong in PvP and turned every Crucible match into a laser show. The removal of the PvP tyrant happened largely separate from PvE.
- And even in the months after Beyond Light, many smaller adjustments show that Bungie is visibly trying to tweak where it hurts and is needed. The extensive Stasis adjustments now finally cement that Bungie is willing to patch PvE and PvP separately.
The opposite of a nerf is a buff. A buffed item is stronger after the patch. This derives from the English word “to buff,” meaning “to polish something.”
What should the balance look like in the future for Destiny 2?
A complete separation of PvP and PvE will be difficult and quite a challenge for Bungie. Whether there will ever really be 2 sandboxes is rather unlikely. Here, a general problem also shows: No matter how much you patch, you can never please all players.
- Many demand “outstanding nails,” meaning weapons that are clearly too strong, causing chaos, but which they also want to grind.
- Other Guardians want a balanced balance as much as possible.
This is coming soon: For those who feel that the Stasis nerfs do not go far enough – Bungie has already announced that it will next make adjustments to freezing itself. Additionally, the stalled Light classes are set to be improved with updates to keep pace with the Darkness.
By the way, it is considered quite certain that we will see further Darkness classes in the ongoing expansions. It is assumed that after the upcoming expansions “Witch Queen” (early 2022) and “Light Fall,” the 3 Light classes will also face 3 Darkness classes. How they will look and whether they will disrupt the balance again remains to be seen.
What plans Bungie has for this year have been summarized for you here: Destiny 2 talks about the future: 9 important changes for 2021
