Shortly before the release of update 1.1.4 for Destiny 2, Bungie released a new developer video. In it, the Sandbox Design Lead, Josh Hamrick, explains the philosophy behind the March update. And surprise: a little self-irony and a different tone than usual can be felt throughout the video.
There are only a few hours left until the long-awaited update 1.1.4 for Destiny 2 finally arrives. In the run-up to this milestone update, Bungie has now released a video in which the Sandbox Lead of Destiny 2 – Josh Hamrick – explains Bungie’s motivations and philosophy in developing the March update.
Bungie has heard the players’ feedback
At the beginning of the video, Hamrick emphasizes that they have clearly heard the feedback from the guardians. Weapons don’t feel strong enough, guardians don’t feel strong enough – Bungie has recognized these concerns from the community.
As a result, many things were put to the test – the movement speed of the guardians, the charge time of supers and abilities, the performance of the weapons.
Philosophy shift: Outliers are welcome!
Then, a rethink took place. After looking at and analyzing everything calmly, they said to themselves: “Hey, we have some cool weapons here – they feel good and play really well! Maybe too good. Too strong.” Back in the times of Destiny 1, this would have meant that they would nerf the corresponding weapons.
As a visual example for this constellation, Hamrick uses a board with protruding nails. In the past, Bungie would have hammered the nails back into the board until there was a smooth surface. However, for the March update, they chose the opposite.
This time, the developers said: “Hey, these things are really strong right now. Let’s elevate everything to their level!” So, they’ve finally moved away from the previous motto of nerfing everything down to the level of the weakest link.
Everything should get better – the hero moments are back!
This is how Bungie began to elevate everything to a higher level – in PvP and PvE:
- They noticeably improved movement speed
- Struggling supers were strengthened and their regeneration rate drastically increased
- Abilities now charge faster
- Weapons were noticeably strengthened
- The gameplay flow in PvP was significantly improved through numerous changes
- The combination of all these adjustments grants more frequent hero moments again
This will lead to more grandiose plays and many crazy moments – just like in the times of its predecessor – the Sandbox Lead is sure of that.
With a touch of self-irony, Hamrick says: What could possibly go wrong? With the other approach, we also introduced terrible bugs into the game. In addition, there is a montage running over the laser show of the Prometheus Lens.
The direction is right
In conclusion, Hamrick emphasizes that Bungie has really listened to the community. The update is largely based on player feedback, they trust it and feel good about the chosen direction. They want to make Destiny 2 the game that everyone loves.
Here you can watch the developer commentary on the March update yourself:
Whether Destiny 2 actually plays as well after update 1.1.4 as it sounds in the video can soon be judged by everyone for themselves.
Also interesting:
The big March update is coming – All information about time and content
