So, I played the beta on PS4, and I got to check out the beta on PC last night. The game runs incredibly well on PC, it seems very well optimized, at least on my rig it is. But I'm not here to talk about PC vs. Console or anything like that. They both have their merits. I'm here to talk about the balancing changes that bungie expressed were present in this build. Some things are noticeable, some things a bit less so.
[b]Super Recharge[/b] - It is noticeably faster to charge your super, if still a tad slow, I feel like it could be a bit faster, overall it seems to be a decent balance, unlike grenade recharge...
[b]Grenade Recharge[/b] - Still god awful slow... The time it takes to charge your grenade is NOT worth the payoff. They mentioned that the grenades were stronger, but they aren't noticeably any stronger than last beta or even D1 really, which makes the recharge time even worse. Grenades should be far more frequent. I've gotten so used to my charge times in D1 that I often try to use my grenade at a specific time only to find out it's not even halfway charged yet. That's way too long for so little payoff!
[b]Damage to Enemies[/b] - This has noticeably improved, some enemies still feel like bullet sponges, or some weapons are just bad and don't feel like they do anything. Overall though I found that dispatching enemies was quicker, not necessarily easier, but my guardian just felt that much stronger than the original beta.
[b]Movement Speed[/b] - Overall movement speed feels ok, it doesn't seem to have changed much if at all. I think at this point I'm just used to it, but warlock initial burst jump doesn't feel like it does anything at all.
[b]Power Ammo[/b] - This still doesn't drop frequently enough, not enough to make this weapon system a viable replacement for the D1 system... Speaking of...
[b]D2 Weapon System[/b] - This is the hot topic, I still don't see the benefit for PvE players in this system. The energy shield explosion looks like it's implemented in this beta, and it's just not worth it. I don't see the utility in having a kinetic AND energy weapon when they both do exactly the same thing except one takes down a shielded enemy faster, which we rarely see, especially in the element we have equipped. Bungie needs to give this one way more thought, because it just feels so pointless and doesn't provide enough combat variety in our arsenal.
So in summary...
- Super recharge is better
- Grenade recharge is too slow, the payoff isn't noticeable, we want to use abilities more, it's more fun
- Damage to enemies has improved, my guardian feels a bit stronger
- Movement speed doesn't seem changed much, warlock burst jump still sucks
- Power Ammo drops more, but not enough to make D2 Weapon system a viable replacement for D1
- D2 system with energy weapons doesn't have the utility D1 had, feels pointless to have an energy weapon for such rare occasions when kinetic does the exact same thing the majority of the time...
Those are my thoughts, has anyone else had a chance to try the PC Beta? How are you finding it?
EDIT: Some people seem to think that I'm just looking to s**t on the game, but I'm really not. I do really like the beta (PS4 and PC) and I'm very much looking forward to the game. Everything I've written is my feedback, doesn't mean i dislike the game, it just means I think it can improve.
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I know for myself, I didn't play any of the console betas, but I can agree that I really wish Grenade Timer was faster and honestly-- that there was no grenade timer at all, but an actual number. I found it really annoying when I wanted to throw a grenade... But I had to wait for the timer to actually get done-- and it got to the point where I took the attitude of "Screw grenades. Not worth." Which is not the mentality anyone should have. I also agree that Power Ammo needs to drop more often. Maybe not by much more, but just a bit more. I felt like I could never use my sniper rifle and when I did go to use it-- I then wish I hadn't used it when I did and saved it for another moment, because I had no ammo at that time when it would have been far more useful. I suppose once you get to know a Strike map, you will know when to save and not to save, but for those early runs, it gets annoying.