Another week another TWID from Bungie, but this time the developer is focusing its attention towards Destiny 2‘s notorious PVP modes. Whether you love it or hate it, there’s no arguing that PVP in Destiny 2 has just not been that great a time for a long while so seeing the developer focus on it is a welcome sight.
To get things started, the PVP Strike Team has already implemented some changes to the Crucible which encompass a quality of life pass for the initial spawning on each map as well as addressing some spawn traps for the maps Altar of Flame, Cauldron, Endless Vale, Midtown, and Meltdown.
There is additionally an update slated for March 5 with the following changes:
- Additional map spawning quality of life pass.
- Addressing spawn traps for Eternity and Fortress.
- Removing all backfield spawns for non-Rift modes: The Citadel, Cathedral of Dusk, Disjunction, and Convergence.
- This will effectively make these maps play 30-50% smaller than they do currently and reduce the amount of time spent running back to combat after spawning.
- Major tuning of the initial spawning, Heavy ammo crate, and tiebreaker zone locations for all maps.
In addition to these proposed changes, the PVP Strike Team will be adding some new locales and maps to the game in May:
- Eventide Labs (Europa)
- Cirrus Plaza (Neomuna)
- Dissonance (Terraformed Pyramid Ship)
Updated Rewards
Artifice armour, which was previously exclusive to the Master difficulty versions of the game’s dungeons, will be added as a potential reward for the Crucible. There is a caveat, however, as artifice armour will be exclusive to Competitive Crucible, so those who don’t enjoy that side of Destiny 2 PVP will be forced to continue trudging through Master Dungeon farms.
The possible artifice armour drops are as follows:
Hunter:
- Head – Swordflight 4.1
- Arms – Swordflight 4.1
- Chest – Swordflight 4.1
- Legs – Swordflight 4.1
- Class – Binary Phoenix Cloak
Titan
- Head – Phoenix Strife Type 0
- Arms – Phoenix Strife Type 0
- Chest – Phoenix Strife Type 0
- Legs – Phoenix Strife Type 0
- Class – Binary Phoenix Mark
Warlock
- Head – Ankaa Seeker IV
- Arms – Ankaa Seeker IV
- Chest – Ankaa Seeker IV
- Legs – Ankaa Seeker IV
- Class – Binary Phoenix Bond
On top of the addition of artifice armour in the Crucible, the drop rate for Exotic weapon catalysts will be increased on victories. There are more changes to the Crucible which you can read here.
Accessibility and Console UI Updates
The following additions are coming, some for consoles and some for every platform:
- Added the Reticle Location settings to consoles (Center or Below Center)
- Added controller Dead Zone settings
- Added the ability to adjust the opacity of the radar background
Prophecy Dungeon Weapon Update
Bungie is taking a look at the loot for the game’s second dungeon, Prophecy, and updating it to meet the game’s modern power standards. There is a downside, however, as Prophecy is losing the following weapons:
- A Swift Verdict Sidearm
- The Long Walk Sniper Rifle
- The Last Breath Auto Rifle
Not everything is bad, though, as there are some additions in the forms of new weapons and a new Origin Trait as well as old (not removed) weapons being updated. These new weapons were last seen in the base game’s Trials of the Nine.
- NEW Origin Trait – Crossing Over
- These weapons have increased range and handling for the top half of the magazine, while rounds from the bottom half of the magazine deal increased damage.
- NEW Prosecutor Auto Rifle
- Precision Frame
- Arc
- Drops from Phalanx Echo encounter
- NEW Adjudicator Submachine Gun
- Precision Frame
- Kinetic
- Drops from The Cube
- NEW Relentless Pulse Rifle
- High-Impact Frame
- Damage changed from Kinetic to Strand
- Drops from Phalanx Echo encounter
- Judgement Hand Cannon
- Adaptive Frame
- Damage changed from Kinetic to Stasis
- Drops from Kell Echo
- Darkest Before Pulse Rifle
- Rapid-Fire Frame
- Damage changed from Arc to Stasis
- Drops from Kell Echo
- A Sudden Death Shotgun
- Aggressive Frame
- Damage changed from Arc to Void
- Drops from The Cube
Destiny 2 is currently in its sixth year of life, with the year beginning with the mass-maligned Lightfall expansion. The studio has struggled as it laid off close to 100 developers less than two years after it was acquired by Sony for a whopping US$3.6 billion, with Sony providing an additional US$1.2 billion to ensure staff retention. The studio is preparing for the release of its Final Shape expansion on June 5, 2024. The expansion aims to cap off the series’ story which started with the first release of Destiny back in 2014.
