Bungie has detailed the changes coming to all three Titan subclasses next week in Destiny's December update, nerfing Sunbreakers while buffing Strikers and Defenders.

Since launch, Destiny has been constantly tweaked and rebalanced. In a game where the player can take weapons back and forth from PvE to PvP, balancing for both has led to numerous adjustments. With the launch of The Taken King, it became clear that one subclass in particular was favored by many players, the new Titan Sunbreaker, which became a powerful force in the Crucible. But it appears that the reign of the Sunbreaker may be coming to an end.

Bungie has officially detailed the changes coming to all the Titan subclass. First up is a change to Titans across the board: Bungie is increasing their melee range, making it possible to hit enemies a little farther out than before.

Looking at the data, Bungie admitted that Sunbreakers as a class currently have a much higher Kill/Death ratio in PvP than other classes at a 1.06. The nerfs coming in the December update are designed to bring Sunbreakers in line with the other subclasses in the game, and to give players a fighting chance against the Hammer of Sol super. Here are the details:

• Melee
  • Titan Melee: Extend Titan Melee range (+12.5%)
  • Sunstrike: Decrease DOT Time (6.5s ->5.5s)
• Super
  • Hammer of Sol: Reduce Damage Resistance during Super (-9.09%)
  • Hammer of Sol: Slow Hammer travel speed by (-1.32%)
• Passives
  • Forgemaster: Reduce Splash damage detonation radius multiplier (-20%)
  • Flameseeker: Turn down Hammer tracking bonus (-25%)
  • Flameseeker: Remove +1 Recovery, and +1 Agility stat bonuses
  • Fleetfire: Added +1 Agility stat
  • Firekeeper: Added +1 Recovery stat
  • Cauterize: Added cooldown  (0s -> 3s)
• Movement
  • Catapult Lift: Faster Initial velocity (+5%)

Many players whose main character is a Titan have said that the Sunbreaker was finally a good subclass option, complaining that the Striker and Defender classes were underpowered in Year One compared to the other Hunter and Warlock classes. Bungie is buffing both, saying that they are okay with Defenders having a lower K/D since they are technically a support class, but they want to get the offensive Striker Titans out of the negative K/D average they currently hold. Here are the changes to Strikers and Defenders:

Striker

Defender

The initial reaction from the Destiny community appears mostly positive, but it's hard to know exactly how the newly tuned Titan subclasses will feel until the December update drops next week. It could be that Titans lose viability or that the nerf doesn't actually curb any of the Sunbreaker effectiveness. After all, this December update will also feature a second major shotgun nerf, after the first one did almost nothing to decrease their effectiveness.

What do you think of the new nerf and buffs to Titans in Destiny?

Source: Bungie