Those who play the loot shooter Destiny 2 with good hardware and high FPS should prepare to die faster because there is an annoying FPS bug in Season 19. It causes players with good hardware to die much faster from laser defense towers in the Exo mission “Operation: Seraph’s Shield.” MeinMMO conducted the test.
What FPS bug is plaguing Destiny 2? In 2021, Destiny 2 punished players with high-performance PCs or consoles with extra damage. At that time, it specifically affected the Vanguard strike “Checkpoint”. There, Cabal projectiles dealt more damage at higher frame rates because they were registered more frequently.
The well-known Destiny 2 streamer Aztecross demonstrated in one of his videos that a difference of just 24 frames significantly affects the damage a Guardian can take in Destiny 2.
- At 144 frames per second, he could not withstand a hostile shot.
- However, when he reduced his frame rate to 120, it was no longer a problem.
Now this bug is back or may have never really been gone. If you play the mission “Operation: Seraph’s Shield” in Season 19 with 100 FPS or more, you may be able to react faster. However, you also die faster from the laser defense towers and have much less time to take cover.
FPS stands for “Frames per second”. The FPS value indicates how many frames appear per second on a screen and thus, how smoothly the image runs. It is often referred to as the “Framerate”. It depends on your hardware whether you can play a game smoothly or not. In the gaming sector, achieving a high FPS count is often crucial.
With a low frame rate, you can escape the deadly and obviously FPS-sensitive lasers from Season 19 much better and longer. Thus, you can still reach the next safe cover with 30 FPS.
What sounds like a bad joke is not: In Destiny 2, it seems that the times when game physics and mechanics are tied to the frame rate are obviously not over yet. Playing with low FPS or artificially lowering your refresh rate in the Destiny 2 settings menu actually makes you survive longer.
What this looks like is also shown in a video by the player SnipingG1337, which was shared by Destiny Bulletin on Twitter. It makes clear how considerable technical issues continue to affect the five-year-old game.
MeinMMO tried it out in the game for you and could confirm the results.
How did the test go? We set different frame rates and then let ourselves be shot repeatedly by the Seraph lasers to determine the average kill times of the lasers with different FPS values in Destiny 2.
The result after our tests:
- With 30 FPS, you die in Season 19 after a relaxed 16.6 seconds.
- 60 FPS sends you to the eternal hunting grounds after 12.7 seconds.
- And at 120 FPS, your Guardian gets fried after just 9.4 seconds.
These tests illustrate what some players in Destiny 2 have known for a long time and actively use. Your personal frame rate affects how good you can be – regardless of your skill.
Does not work in PvP: However, if you are already mentally one foot in the next PvP match, then stop. The differences seem to be generally limited to PvE activities such as the laser defense towers in seasonal activities, some Nightfall strikes, and raids. You will not have an advantage in PvP.
Where does this problem come from? At that time, it was suspected that the Tiger engine from Bungie might be to blame for this issue. It was originally developed for a game that was limited to 30 FPS on last-gen consoles. With the PC port in the Forsaken DLC in 2018 and the new consoles, the FPS bug gradually became a problem that is likely very deeply rooted in Destiny 2’s foundation.
Will Bungie fix the bug? Currently, nothing official is known about this. But it should not be forgotten that Bungie may already have taken the time to make its engine more future-proof and eliminate this source of error soon. Accordingly, frame rate corrections from Bungie could already be integrated into the game with the new DLC “Lightfall” in February 2023 or with the subsequent DLC “The Final Shape” in 2024.
What do you think? Does it bother you that you take more damage at high frame rates? Or are you already using the trick by actively lowering your frames, reacting more slowly, but being able to take more hits? Feel free to let us know in the comments what frame rate you currently play Destiny 2 at.
If that’s too much, we recommend calming yourself by petting the naked pink man in Destiny 2:
Players love to pet a Robo-dog in Destiny 2 – But the animation behind it is disturbing
