Is Destiny a PvE or PvP game? Bungie can’t decide
Bungie has struggled since the launch of Destiny 2 to maintain a balance between PvE/PvP communities. Both camps debated for years whether Destiny should be considered a PvE or competitive game. Every player has been left behind. Every time Bungie tries to make a new addition to the cooperative game, it’s hamstrung by multiplayer balancing — and vice versa.
Bungie’s dedication to the Destiny coin from both sides has led to an identity crisis. Likely, the studio will never separate its PvP Crucible and its PvE cooperative activities. However, the current attempts to achieve harmony are not working.
The clash’s history
The original destiny‘s PvP system was a mess. Players abused various one-shot kill weapons, such as shotguns, rather than primary weapons like hand cannons or auto rifles. A small group of players loved it. Many players who completed all of the destiny‘s PvE content understood the Crucible was a way to prolong their game time. Many of Destiny 2‘s most prolific content writers learned their craft from the original game’s multiplayer. They’ve brought that experience and knowledge into the sequel.
There were many changes made to the Destiny 2 game. Bungie made some major changes to Destiny2 to reduce frustrations in PvP. The studio decided to eliminate the secondary weapon from the series instead of continuing with the traditional weapon slots: one primary weapon with almost unlimited ammo and one secondary weapon with limited ammo.
Two primary weapons were now available to players — one that dealt elemental damage and one that was heavy. Special weapons such as shotguns or the series-unique Fusion rifle were included in the limited-ammo heavy weapons pool. They are the same as rocket launchers or swords. The Destiny2 “double primary” time period resulted in some truly enjoyable PvP. Because they couldn’t kill each other as fast as before, opponents could develop a more cat-and-mouse game. Despite all the excitement in PvP, Destiny’s PvE gameplay suffered. Bungie made the Crucible less accessible by making one-shot weapons, but these weapons were still essential for taking down high-level enemies in PvE.
The Forsaken expansion was next and brought with it its own modifications to Destiny 2’s loadout system. Players could still use double primary weapons, as was the case with Destiny 2. They could customize their loadouts by adding two special weapons to it — for example, a shotgun and sniper. Or a combination of both primary and special weapons, as in the original Destiny. PvE players had more freedom to create their own loadouts. However, PvP was also relegated to the same one-shot hellscape as it was in the original.
Bungie is now ping-ponging its balance improvements, having reacted to those frustrations. In a recent interview on the Firing Range podcast, run by some of Destiny’s top PvP enthusiasts, Bungie developers doubled down on Destiny’s philosophy of a shared “sandbox” (a term used to describe the game’s current balance environment). For Bungie, it’s key to the Destiny experience that players can pick up a new gun from a raid, bring it into the Crucible for a spin, and have a similar experience with the weapon in both modes. Players shouldn’t practice an ability against Fallen Dregs in the Cosmodrome to react differently to actual enemies.
The latest attempt at symbiosis was in Destiny 2, with the Stasis subclasses to the Beyond Light expansion. These classes were strong in PvE content, where they found that freezing enemies with ice power was a satisfying mechanic.
The Stasis classes were so strong in PvP, Bungie quickly nerfed their abilities. Although this nerf helped smoothen PvP, even though Stasis was still overpowered for many months, it significantly impacted the viability and viability of subclasses against AI foes. Bungie recently announced plans to roll back some of the nerfs to help Stasis return to viability in PvE.
Maybe you are starting to see a pattern. The same changes that will increase Stasis viability for PvE gamers could also have ripple effects on the PvP community. The Pendulum keeps swinging. The problem isn’t with how weapons and abilities behave from mode to mode, but rather on a season by season basis throughout the game.
