‘Destiny 2’ Is Nerfing The Most Powerful Enemy In The Game

Yesterday, Destiny 2 posted another lengthy article about changes coming to the game for Lightfall, which are adding up to be some of the most significant we’ve seen in the history of the game.

But while some cooldowns are changing and supers are being buffed, there was one part of this article that jumped out to me. Bungie is now nerfing one of the most powerful enemies in the game after nearly a decade haunting both Destiny 1 and 2:

Physics. Or in Destiny terms, the “Architects.”

The Architects is what the game calls it when you are killed by environmental physics or something the game can’t quite even place. Sometimes this is sliding down a ramp and hitting your head on a ceiling. Other times it’s being whacked by a Cabal shield and even flying just two feet away will insta-kill you on a wall. Sometimes it’s literally stepping on a rock the wrong way and some physics glitch will nuke you.

No more. Bungie is now nerfing these kinds of kinetic deaths so that at the very least, anything that would have previously killed you will now leave you with 1 HP so there’s a chance you recover if you’re not actively being shot. It’s being applied to physics deaths now, but later, also to fall damage, meaning you will no longer die falling from great heights, but instead just be left near-death.

My guess is there are three main reasons this is happening now:

1) Strand – This subclass is all about new kinds of motion using the grapple feature, which hooks not only onto the sky so you zip around like Spider-Man, but you can hook it to ships, sparrows, other Guardians, and you can imagine how that creates some…interesting physics situations. And also soaring through the air and missing your next grapple means a lot of fall damage, I’m guessing.

2) I mean this has just been baseline annoying for eons. Instant deaths from Cabal shield taps or the rogue rock on the ground have ruined many a flawless run and never feel fair or fun.

3) Teammate sword griefing. Yep, this is probably a big factor. Right now you can Eager Edge sword dash your teammates into walls to insta-kill them, which can be fun for trolling friends, but less fun if you’re doing it to random blueberries you don’t know and you’re just trying to be a jerk. So while you can still knock people off edges like this, I assume, you can’t just slam them into geometry anymore.

So, this is actually kind of a big deal. It’s something that has literally been a part of this series forever, but this is the most significant change I’ve seen to these kinds of rogue kills we’ve ever seen from Bungie. Looking forward to using Strand free from the fear of accidental insta-kills.

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