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Report: Lategame Destiny 2 Strikes Will Have Locked Weapon Loadouts, Timers
The original Destiny was shaped by its community as well as its developer. Players created their own guilds, communities, and matchmaking services in order to improve the experience of running endgame content. They also found a number of exploits, which made bosses easier but less fun to defeat. With Destiny 2, the developer is hoping to cut down on the exploits, as well as emphasize planning and strategy over attrition.
This month's issue of Edge reports that the some endgame strikes and other activities will lock players' loadouts, preventing them from equipping different weapons and subclasses throughout a mission. Additionally, Nightfall strikes (the hardest non-raid activity in Destiny) will now be timed. Both changes, the magazine says, are to encourage players to enter activities with a plan they think will work. Crouching next to a safe spot and popping up on occasion to fire a few shots won't work anymore.
Another change: When an elemental shield is destroyed by the correct element, it will explode and deal damage in an area, making matching affinities a more central part of combat.
[Source: Edge Magazine via Eurogamer]
Our Take
The timers I can get behind, as long as strike encounters aren't impossibly difficult to regularly complete without exploits (which often felt like the case in Destiny). I understand the loadout-locking, but I imagine there will be plenty of scenarios where players simply choose the wrong weapons before heading into combat or forget to swap weapons between strikes, which could lead to a lot of do-overs. Strikes felt like more of a pickup activity than a serious endeavor, so hopefully these limits are reserved for activities that deserve this level of planning.
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