Bungie nerfs Destiny Auto Rifles, Vex Mythoclast, Rocket Yard
Buffs Scout Rifles, tackles Vault of Glass sniper platforms.
Bungie will today issue a hotfix (1.0.2.2) for online first-person shooter Destiny that tweaks weapon balance.
The headline changes include lowering Auto Rifle effectiveness and increasing Scout Rifle damage output.
Auto Rifles had been considered the go-to weapon for many players, particularly for use in the competitive multiplayer portion of the game, because of their high rate of fire and, as a result, high damage per second.
The hotfix reduces Auto Rifle base damage by two per cent, reduces the precision damage multiplier from 1.50 → 1.25, and decreases stability by four per cent to 17 per cent, depending on the stat value.
The nerf to Auto Rifles comes alongside a buff to Scout Rifles, which is an attempt on Bungie's part to encourage more players to try the underused primary weapon class.
Scout Rifles see damage increased by six per cent. Damage versus combatants has been increased by six per cent to 25 per cent, based on tier. And Scout Rifles have improved target acquisition, as well as additional recoil tuning. In short, they should be much more effective.
Shotguns have also been tweaked. Base damage at maximum range has been decreased by 20 per cent, which is sure to go down well with those who feel they are overpowered in the Crucible.
Meanwhile, Bungie has nerfed the Vex Mythoclast, the weapon many consider to be the most overpowered in the game.
We wrote about the Vex Mythoclast last month. The Exotic is unusual in that it is a high damage Fusion Rifle that acts like a primary weapon. Its base damage has been decreased by a whopping 34 per cent, which is a lot, but it has an increased precision damage multiplier to compensate. It will be interesting to see if players stick with the VM following the hotfix.
On Exotics, the popular Pocket Infinity has been tweaked so the Enhanced Battery Perk has been replaced with the Speed Reload Perk.
Moving onto Vault of Glass, Destiny's high-level Raid encounter, Bungie has added kill volume to sniper platforms, which players had camped on during the Templar Encounter. This enabled them to destroy enemies from a safe position. No more, it seems.
And finally, Bungie has nerfed the Rocket Yard so it is no longer viable for mindless loot farming. Players had been using a room in the Rocket Yard area of Old Russia, Earth, as an alternative to the nerfed magic loot farming cave.
The patch notes in full are over at Bungie.net.
Bungie said it was still working on a larger update which will address under-performing Exotics and overall class balance.
