Although we may have criticized Bungie for their lack of improvement-focused updates when it comes to Destiny, the fact of the matter is the developer is listening. They know how important the fan base is to the longevity of their game, and therefore have taken considerable strides to meet those players' needs.
However, Bungie has also come under fire for updates that seemingly change Destiny for the negative. More specifically, we are talking about the most recent hot fix, which, among other things, nerfed the Vex Mythoclast in PvP and PvE.
As part of their weekly Bungie update, the developer addressed the most recent Destiny patch, laying it all out on the table. They want to make sure gamers know exactly why they changed the damage ratings of the auto rifle, scout rifle, and shotgun, they want them to know player enjoyment was the main focus of their decision.
With that, though, Bungie also acknowledged their faults with the update. For example, they realize that the 34% damage decrease slammed on the Vex Mythoclast may have been a little too harsh…at least for the PvE environment. As a result, they plan to issue another update that gives back a little oomph to the gun, and that value will be reflected in both PvP and PvE.
As far as when players can expect this update to go live, all Bungie can say at this point is "soon." That's because they apparently have "a more substantive update" making its way through certification. Unfortunately, Bungie wouldn't say what the nature of said update is, but the use of "substantive" suggests some big changes are on the way.
One big change that is going into affect starting next week has to do with Destiny's Vault of Glass Raid and the final boss Atheon. Previously, Atheon would select a group of three Guardians to participate in a sequence independent of the main battle. Without giving too much away, let's just say that those three Guardians were selected based on their proximity to Atheon.
Post patch that dynamic will change, and Atheon will now select three Guardians at random to participate in said sequence. That means it doesn't matter how close or far the player is; everyone is eligible.
The hot fix will also add a few "baby bumpers" to the final fight arena to make sure that players can't knock Atheon off the map. Prior exploits had allowed players to circumvent the fight by forcing him to fall to his death, but that will no longer be the case. Bungie reaffirmed that by saying, "Knocking a boss off a ledge is a bug," and that they will address future exploits like this as soon as possible.
While, for the most part, the hot fix sounds like it will do well to improve the Destiny experience, the addition of random draw to the Atheon fight has been quite contentious to say the least. Some players are welcoming the change of pace that the idea brings, but others feel it undermines the strategy of the Raid's final fight. Some players have already found their specific role in that final fight, but now they will need to learn how to fulfill all jobs in order to succeed.
Personally, it's not the changing of the roles that is the problem, but rather it's the purposeful chaos that it will bring. In that fight in particular organization and communication are key, to the point that if players aren't executing on their role it becomes more difficult to succeed. This randomness, however, will send teams into disarray every time the selection goes into effect. And only those who can quickly jump into new roles will be able to defeat Atheon. In other words, it makes the Raid even more challenging for new fireteams.
Most curious about this decision is Bungie's lack of reasoning for it. They say that the goal is to make sure "every player in your group can perform every job as required," but if that were the goal then why are there different classes in Destiny? The whole point of classes is that each player takes on their role and sticks with it. It's not an apples-to-apples comparison but that's kind of like asking a tank to switch to a healer mid-fight when they have spec-ed for a specific role.
The debates are already raging over the change, especially among regular Raiders, but we won't really know how significantly it affects the experience until the hot fix goes live. Until then, maybe start using the next few days to practice in the Raid for the new dynamic.
How do you feel about Destiny's track record with updates lately? What do you think about this new change to the Atheon fight?
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Source: Bungie