Destiny 2: Lightfall

[K]

7 minutes ago, Uncle Mike said:

Is it FWC for Sunshot? I assume next Rally is a few Dead Orbit stragglers and a new frontline of FWC for sure. God knows how K and Thor will get it wrong. They'll somehow pledge to Benedict.

 

I was going to pledge to Failsafe. 

[Uncle Mike]

Could be worse, could be Asher.

[K]

Ha, this week’s flashpoint is in the EDZ. Excellent trolling by Bungie. 

[Gorf King]

Embargo's up for the summiteers. Here's the highlights of what Mtashed had to say about it earlier this evening, including useful details (which many guessed) about the weapon slot system and ammo economy.

 

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Gambit is insanely fun:

Many of us believe Gambit is stellar. And when I say that, this is coming from a very PVP oriented guy. Datto ALSO thinks it is stellar. It is a game mode that has something for everyone, and the mass majority of people WILL enjoy this game mode. It has crazy come back moments, crazy clutch wins, and honestly, it may be so big it rivals early trials of osiris for community engagement with content. It may be one of the biggest game modes for the series yet, and I am already craving playing it again. I am excited for everyone to try it, because whether you like shooting dregs or grinding PVP, it will most likely be enjoyable for you!

 

There will be 100 different ways to win, and I doubt any "meta" will form any time soon. It is too diverse in potential tactics.

 

Weapon Slot Changes:

Do you like Destiny 1's weapon system? Good! Use it.

 

Do you like Destiny 2's weapon system? Good! Use it.

 

There is a way to build your character load-out for everyone going into forsaken. I think literally everyone will enjoy this change, and it brings a lot of outplay potential to the crucible. Having access to a shotgun or sniper frequently leads to a lot of cool moments. I honestly believe this shift will instantly make PVP more fun. There may need to be some tweaks soon after launch to get everything running smoothly, but as of now, playing with this new weapon system felt really nice.

 

I think it will take some time to figure out the best way to balance the sandbox, but even if primary weapons retain their TTK, the game "should" speed up due to players having more power in their other weapon slot. I believe players won't group up as much and will be aggressive because they feel more confident with the weapons they have equipped.

 

The Bow is as fun if not more fun than NLB

I don't know how "good" the bows are for PVE and PVP, but they may be the most fun weapon I have ever used in Destiny. Being able to pull back the string behind cover, pop out, and absolutely destroy enemies felt AMAZING.

One of the highest fun factor weapons to ever release. I'm serious. I am craving playing with it haha

 

AMMO SYSTEM

Not fully disclosed, but in the Gambit build, "Primary weapons" like hand cannons and scouts use white ammo, and "special weapons" like shotguns used green. If you try to run a kinetic and energy shotgun, they will both share this green ammo and you may starve yourself of ammo very quickly.

 

This system may change / adapt as the summer goes on, so we can't focus on it too much. But it appears to be a similar ammoo economy as Destiny 1. I think it played nicely overall. And if you want to snipe, shotgun, or use the bow a bunch, you will have a lot more uptime than current Destiny 2 "Power ammo"

 

Supers are DOPE AS HELL:

While I haven't got to play a few of them, the new supers add some wicked fun to Destiny. Death from above Heatseeking titans, HEALER warlocks, Void Dancing hunters. I think these new supers have a lot of fun factor built into them, and they have some pretty cool niche strengths.

 

Destiny 2 has felt very similar to D1 for a long time, and supers have honestly gotten pretty stale to me. However, being able to lazer beam enemies on the stormcaller is going to stay fun for a very long time.

 

I think these added supers are going too feel as good if not better than adding the subclasses in the Taken King because of how diverse they are. You are in for a treat.

 

 

[Mr Ben]

Just been doing some milestones on my 380 natural Titan (doing the EDZ to start) and noticed something about blue drops. Seems when you get to 380, blues randomly drop between 375 and 380, as I got a pair of 380 boots, a 379 chest and a few other high level blues.

 

Just thought I'd clarify that, as someone on reddit was reporting that you had to rely on milestones/powerful gear drops to infuse up all your alternative guns/armour.

[Gorf King]

Christopher Barrett and Scott Taylor interview in PC Gamer.

 

On random rolls and Y1 weapons 

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If a Better Devils drops in year two, will it now have random perks? Or will it be like it was in Year 1? And we can bring the power up through infusion?

 

Taylor: The random rolls are gonna be focused on the Year 2 weapons, but you can infuse the Year 1 weapons and bring them with you. If you love Better Devils, by all means bring it, but you won't be getting those random perks.

 

Will those Year 1 weapons no longer be dropping?

 

Taylor: They will still drop, but they won't have those random perks.

 

And you'll be able to mod the Year 1 guns?

 

Taylor: I don't have a specific answer for you on that. 

 

 

On bigger fireteams and the awkwardness of Escalation parties

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Being able to play with a nine-person group in Escalation Protocol, albeit with some finicky matchmaking arrangements, has been great. Is that something you're cognisant of and want to take into stuff further ahead?

 

Barrett: We've heard that. Destiny is awesome when it's a bunch of people playing together, you're having a good time shooting monsters, you're just chatting. And when the game is challenging at the same time, it's cooperative, so absolutely, we want to bring more of those experiences—hopefully, in the future, without doing weird matchmaking things to get people in there. 

 

 

On raid bosses and loot

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In past Destiny expansions, the big bad usually ends up in a raid. Would you consider a raid possible with that kind of character [Uldren, a human-sized entity] rather than some enormous creature?

 

Taylor: I'll tell you something about the raid. I'll tell you that the raid is connected story-wise to all of this. The raid is directly related to the story of Forsaken. It's not a side thing. It is an ultimate culmination of everything that you've learned, but that doesn't mean the obvious thing.

 

Can you talk to me about what you've learned about raid loot? I love the second raid lair, but going through for a sidearm and a fusion rifle doesn't feel like the hottest thing ever. 

[...]

 

Barrett: I think it's very valid. They're some of the hardest activities in the game, they take the most time, they take the most coordination, they should have the best rewards. If we're not living up to that in certain cases, that's great feedback, and we need to improve that, for sure. 

 

 

On a really bad decision because what's the point of Eris coming back now when you think about it man you guys just hate fun

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If you're going to do a revenge story, you've got to have something worthy of revenge. 

 

Barrett: Absolutely. We knew originally that we wanted to make this about going back to the Reef, that was a really exciting story that we can continue. What happened there after the Taken King? What happened to all these characters that sort of disappeared? The promise of the Reef was always this lawless frontier, so with the idea of Forsaken and the world we're building, a revenge story made a lot of sense. We've got those Western vibes, anything can happen out on the Reef, so like you said, having that kick off with a bang with someone you care about made that revenge story really work. 

 

And you can't put it out there only to take it back.

 

Taylor: He's dead. He is dead. I will 100 percent confirm Cayde's dead. We want people to understand the stakes here. You should really hate the people who did this.  

 

 

We already do, Bungie. We already do.

[Mr Ben]

Meanwhile, outside E3:

[Gorf King]

TWAB has a few more details about the new weapon slot system:

 

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Josh: Hey everybody, I wanted to stop by for a second and provide just a bit of information regarding the new weapon slot system. We know many of you want the D1-style system back. Many of you have also asked us to keep the D2 model. We want to deliver something you all want, but we also want to surprise and delight you while moving the game forward. Ultimately, we want to give you something better than anything you’ve seen yet.

 

More Choice and Deeper Customization

The top two slots (quick slots) have more freedom than ever, allowing you to carry unique sets of Primary & Special Weapons. When paired with the appropriate Exotic, crazy load outs like the 3 Shotty build I mentioned in the ViDoc are possible… and freaking awesome.

 

Balanced with Ammo

Uptime for your weapons is balanced by how often you can get your hands on the right ammo. Tuned to be very similar to D1, uptime works out as follows: (most to least) Primary (White) then Special (Green) and then finally, Heavy (Purple). Primary Ammo is useless while running the 3 Shotty loadout, which takes a combination of Special and Heavy ammo —and finding yourself completely dry means it’s time to get your hands dirty. Godspeed, space puncher.

 

Perfect for Roles

Whether it be for raids, trials and comp, or the brand new, incredibly awesome, and (in my opinion) pinnacle Destiny sandbox activity, Gambit, the new weapon system shines at allowing incredible flexibility and customization so you and your team can strategize and build your way to greatness. Momma always said, “Loadout for the job you want.”

 

I promise you’re going to get more, very specific details soon(tm) alongside a TON of additional Forsaken information.

 

 

[my emphasis]

 

Bungie say that Game Informer have more details on the system for infusing Y1 weapons up to Y2 levels (hmm... what about armour?). But all they've got is:

 

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We asked Steve Cotton, the creative director on Forsaken, what players can expect. “Our goals include reinforcing the hobby for our most hardcore players,” Cotton says. “That means making sure that their favorite gear isn’t left behind. In Destiny 2: Forsaken, players will be able to take all their favorite year one weapons and armor and bring them up to the new power cap.  Forsaken is required to obtain new power.”

 

In following up with Activision and Bungie, we also confirmed that the ability to level up your gear applies to legendary (purple) and exotic (gold) armor and weapons.

 

 

We knew that already, didn't we?

 

GI also recount their experiences with the new bow class and talk to Bungie's Greg Peng about its design.

 

The biggest news in this week's TWAB is about the just-concluded faction rally. Obviously, Graviton rules all, but the results appear to have been closer than I'd have thought, with a shock second place (first graph is % of pledged players; second is % of total faction ranks earned):

 

 

@K and @Thor, rejoice! You are part of a growing body of people who eschew all reason and sense of self-improvement to pledge dogmatically to a faction whose success could only bring you the worst of all possible options. Like shy Tories, you might not talk much about your allegiances in the campaign itself but you put in an unexpectedly bold showing at the crunch - so keep the faith, keep this momentum going, and who knows? You could end up next faction rally nicking victory against all the so-called experts' predictions - just like those Leave people did, with a similarly bright future awaiting you in the aftermath.

 

It's just a pity you seem to do less work for your faction than everyone else. (Though I suspect that a few NM supporters quietly disembowelled themselves, like Thor, the day after pledging, having only then bothered to read what the rewards actually are for hitting rank 50 - shades of Brexit again there. Still, it's a nice flag innit. God save the Queen/King/shitty catalyst.)

[Thor]

[Scruff]

12 minutes ago, Gorf King said:

 

@K and @Thor, rejoice! You are part of a growing body of people who eschew all reason and sense of self-improvement to pledge dogmatically to a faction whose success could only bring you the worst of all possible options. Like shy Tories, you might not talk much about your allegiances in the campaign itself but you put in an unexpectedly bold showing at the crunch - so keep the faith, keep this momentum going, and who knows? You could end up next faction rally nicking victory against all the so-called experts' predictions - just like those Leave people did, with a similarly bright future awaiting you in the aftermath.

 

It's just a pity you seem to do less work for your faction than everyone else. (Though I suspect that a few NM supporters quietly disembowelled themselves, like Thor, the day after pledging, having only then bothered to read what the rewards actually are for hitting rank 50 - shades of Brexit again there. Still, it's a nice flag innit. God save the Queen/King/shitty catalyst.)

 

Brutal.

 

[Gorf King]

[Uncle Mike]

4 hours ago, Gorf King said:

The biggest news in this week's TWAB is about the just-concluded faction rally. Obviously, Graviton rules all, but the results appear to have been closer than I'd have thought, with a shock second place (first graph is % of pledged players; second is % of total faction ranks earned):

 

 

 

This rather suggests a significant portion of players don't know what they're doing, doesn't it? The hardcore Graviton catalyst grinders should have flattened the other two in contribution and pledges, yet here we are.

[Mr Ben]

Xûr, Agent of the Nine

 

Location:

Winding Cove, EDZ

 

Exotic Gear:

Name	Type	Cost
Tractor Cannon	Heavy Shotgun	29 Legendary Shards
Sealed Ahamkara Grasps	Hunter Gauntlets	23 Legendary Shards
Actium War Rig	Titan Chest Armor	23 Legendary Shards
The Stag	Warlock Helmet	23 Legendary Shards

 

If you havent got Tractor Cannon yet, get it now. Voidwalker Warlocks will love you for it, and makes your pitiful void weapons hit like a truck.

[Thor]

Boo, nothing for me to buy. Not even sure I should buy a fated engram. I think I have everything for my Warlock. 

[Mr Ben]

I only needed the Stag and Ophidian Aspect, so bought Stag, got Aspect from the engram. Really wanted those arms too.

 

Didnt have the Sealed Ahamkara Grasps on my Hunter either, so only exotic I dont have now are those shitty Aeon Swift gauntlets for the Hunter, which I can live without.

 

Nice one Xur, for once.

[Janski]

Finally got Crimson from the Fated Engram!

[Thor]

1 hour ago, Janski said:

Finally got Crimson from the Fated Engram!

Wait til you get the catalyst for it. Once completed the extra range makes it super tasty. I'm currently doing heroic strikes, and it's doing more DPS at range than my arc scout (Conspirator).

 

edit: Make that medium range. Long range, scouts are still better. 

[Mr Ben]

7x Rat King's (apparently anymore than 7 and it bugs out in some way) vs Escalation Protocol

 

[Mafro]

11 hours ago, Thor said:

Wait til you get the catalyst for it. Once completed the extra range makes it super tasty. I'm currently doing heroic strikes, and it's doing more DPS at range than my arc scout (Conspirator).

 

edit: Make that medium range. Long range, scouts are still better. 

 

Where does the catalyst drop from? The only ones I have from drops are the Borealis and DARCI ones I got a few days after Warmind was out. Had bugger all since then.

[Thor]

I think they're random. I can't remember where mine dropped. 

[Janski]

Previewing the weapon catalyst slot  usually hints as to how to get them.

 

I think for Crimson it just says about defeating  enemies so must just be random from kills.

 

 

[Uncle Mike]

Crimson is just random, yeah. Dropped for me just during a normal strike from a random Thrall.

 

This morning, I went collecting the Mars lost memory things. Following a guide, obvs. I now have 44/45 memories, and Worldline Zero. ANNOYING.

[Ghost Pirate 101]

I did the same! Can't be bothered to figure out which one I missed... 

[HarryBizzle]

On 12/06/2018 at 09:32, Harsin said:

He's an annoying zany monkey cheese twat. I hope they kill him and then Zavala brings out a signed affidavit to confirm he'll never come back.

 

From the limited perspective of someone who has only played Destiny 2 - he’s the only character in the game who, ironically, doesn’t come across as a moronic robot. The problem is he’s just constantly spitting out idiotic one liners. There’s a bit when you do the Hunter memory but where he reads one of the grimoire’s from the first game, and it’s genuinely great. 

 

But now Nu-Bungie’s obvious bone headed approach is to just kill him rather than tinker with his writing. There’s something quite sadistic about leaving you with the personality vacuums that are vuvuzela and whatshername. 

 

They’ve said that he’s dead, not superhero dead, and that the second mission won’t be resurrecting him. Of course, this means he’ll definitely be back as Cayde-7 before the end of Forsaken. 

[Phelan]

That percentage graphic annoyed me due to the way they did it. 

Cropped it. 

 

[JDubYes]

On ‎12‎/‎06‎/‎2018 at 09:32, Harsin said:

He's an annoying zany monkey cheese twat. I hope they kill him and then Zavala brings out a signed affidavit to confirm he'll never come back.

 

He's also just about the only character that made any sort of impression in the first game (as well as being the only Vanguard that seemed even remotely proactive/useful)*, which is why they leant into it a bit too much in the second one and pretty much ruined him. Either way, they're only killing him now because they know he's the only character anyone gives a shit about, and they're desperately flailing around looking for ways to keep people interested. It's pretty much thinly-veiled clickbait masquerading as story, as far as I'm concerned.

 

I suppose it'll be interesting to see if it all works like they hope though (and I'm mildly curious as to who becomes the Hunter Vanguard), but I still haven't played D2 since getting bored halfway through the first DLC, and while I still occasionally consider downloading it again I'm not sure killing off my favourite character and making Year 2 more expensive is a very effective way of getting me back when I still haven't bothered to play through what I've already paid for.

 

(I do realize that this post makes me sound quite bitter (or possibly mad), by the way.)

 

 

* yes, I am (or was, when I still played) a Hunter main.

[Mafro]

There was some people on reddit speculating that Cayde in Forsaken isn't voiced by Fillion, but Nolan North (who basically built his career on doing his best Nathan Fillion impression anyway) and Deej wouldn't give a simple yes or no answer when asked about it at E3. Apparently a few people that played the first mission didn't think it sounded like he'd changed, but Byf does.

[Mr Ben]

Nathan Fillion isnt following Bungie anymore either. Not sure if this is a simple marketing ploy or if Fillion really is a bit pissed with bungie.

 

This guy (Blessious) also went to E3 and played the first mission of Forsaken, and says Cayde was not voiced by Nathan Fillion:

 

If this is true, then maybe Fillion is actually a bit annoyed with Bungie.

[Lyrical Donut]

I think it's pretty obvious why they binned off Cayde. Hunters - deep down everyone knows what they are - rubbish.

[Mr Do 71]

13 minutes ago, Lyrical Donut said:

I think it's pretty obvious why they binned off Cayde. Hunters - deep down everyone knows what they are - rubbish.