Destiny 2 targeting "discrepancies" between PC and console weapons ahead of crossplay
While the next season looks to address FOMO.
Destiny 2 will be making changes to certain weapon stats ahead of crossplay support later this year.
In the game's weekly update, at present the Recoil stat on several weapon types is reduced by 40 per cent when using mouse and keyboard compared to a controller, leading to players "able to largely ignore the stability weapon stat", Bungie has said.
This has created "unintended discrepancies in weapon performance between controllers and mouse and keyboard", and so the difference in recoil will be halved - to around a 20 per cent reduction - across several weapon types, including auto, scout and pulse rifles, submachine guns, machine guns and hand cannons.
At the same time, pulse rifles, submachine guns and machine guns will see additional buffs to stop them "kicking as much" regardless of control method. For example, in the case of submachine guns, camera movement will be reduced as much as 24 per cent.
These plans have led to concern by players as to how exactly crossplay matchmaking in activities will be handled - which Bungie has yet to specify - and what it could expose them to. Some games, such as Apex Legends, keep console and PC separate by default unless a player from the other system is on your party, while others such as Call of Duty: Warzone, do not - which led to its players turning it off at launch to escape PC cheaters.
Destiny 2 crossplay is still a little while off. It has a 2021 release date, but won't debut for another season at least, giving the studio some time to outline exactly how things will work.
Elsewhere, weapon types will see a number of balance changes, including a 15 per cent damage nerf to swords (bad news for Falling Guillotine) which are "extremely dominant" in encounters at present, a damage buff to rocket launchers by 30 per cent (good news for Bad Omens), and to address the "very low usage" of breech grenade launchers by the community, with their rounds now detonating on impact to make them easier to use.
Beyond weapon changes, Bungie continues to outline its next season of Destiny, which is due a full reveal next week ahead of its debut in mid-February.
Following recent news to keep this season's story missions, activity Wrathborn Hunts and the exotic quest for Hawkmoon around for the rest of the year, Bungie continues to address the "FOMO" (Fear of Missing Out) which players suffered from last year by replacing weekly vendor bounties with new Seasonal Challenges.
Players can either complete these as they are released week by week, or tick them all off at the end of the season, rewarding players with XP and Bright Dust as weekly bounties currently do, as well as additional seasonal rewards.
Bungie has also confirmed Crimson Days, the Valentine's Day event which has been an annual tradition since the original Destiny, and its associated Crimson Doubles mode, will not be returning this year in order to focus on other activities: "While we'll miss the event, this move will allow us to maintain focus for alternate Seasonal offerings, ranging from quests to activities and more.
"We have quite a bit planned for Season of the [REDACTED] and our hope is that we've maintained, or even improved, the quality you've come to expect from this upcoming release. "
Bungie added the mode "may return" from the content vault in the future. Fingers crossed it'll bring Sparrow Racing League along with it.
Finally, perhaps the most exciting news of all, is the tease of a third much-needed landing zone for Beyond Light's Europa destination - hopefully saving players a lengthy journey to some of the more distant regions.