Excitement is rising at the prospect ofTrials of Osiris' returntoDestiny 2, and to that end, Bungie’s “This Week at Bungie” post offered a summary of the many tweaks and adjustments that the developer is making to prepare for the new season. That includes making changes in the subclasses and their various paths, nerfing subclass abilities that have proven to be too powerful while giving the weaker ones some extra juice.
Bungie’s weekly roundup also contains a developer insight video about the upcoming arrival of Trials. TheDestiny 2team has already needed to reverse a few decisions over game mechanics in Trials of Osiris following outraged players' demands that artifact power levels be disabled in the trials themselves.
RELATED:Destiny 2: Bungie Changes Mind, Will Disable Artifact for Trials
Bungie’s many changes begin with each ofDestiny 2’s classes; noting that warlocks are at a disadvantage in melee battles compared to Titans and Hunters, Warlocks' basic melee range is being extended out 1 meter to a total of 5.5 meters. Warlocks' recovery time will still be slightly longer than the other two classes, but the extra range is designed to balance that out. Titans' barriers, which have the ability to resurrect fallen teammates, are getting a couple of extra pros and cons: barricades will be getting more health, going from 500hp to 600hp, but will also take extra damage from special-ammo weapons, anti-barrier weapons, and certain heavy weapons.
When it comes tospecial one-shot abilities, the development team preceded its list of changes by warning that while the adjustments might seem like overly extreme nerfs, each ability should still have the same overall feel when used. The Titan’s three Shoulder Charge abilities now have a reduced auto-targeting angle by 50%, while both targeted and untargeted lunges have a distance of 5.5 meters. The Hunter’s Weighted Knife has “significantly” reduced tracking, along with new tracking tech designed to make the knife fly closer to its initial throw trajectory. Finally, the Warlock’s Handheld Supernova has a whole list of adjustments: increased activation time, reduced hold time, reduced range, and reduced bolt explosion radius while bolts now also do self-damage.
Many subclass paths have been fine-tuned too, with some that were proven to be OP being brought “closer to the middle of the pack” and others that were underperforming given more strength, so as to bringeveryDestiny 2subclass pathto the same footing. Players may be indignant at the nerfs to their favorite weapons and abilities, but Bungie insists that every change is made with the goal of makingDestiny 2as “fun and as healthy as possible.”
Hopefully, players will agree with Bungie’s promise that adjusted abilities still feel the same when they embark ontheir Trials of Osirisnext week. The full patch notes will also be made available then, so players can see the full extent of the game’s fine-tuning.
Destiny 2is out now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
MORE:Destiny 2 Has Big Changes Planned for Legendary Weapons in Year 4
