I had commented this, but maybe its better as a post. I'm about to suggest things that may sound crazy, but if some thought is put in, it might just change PvP for the better.
Metas will always exist, but this game has extra layers of problems with meta. These are my suggestions to balance more, and make metas less oppressive, because they will always exist, so the only option is to work with them.
People are lazy as hell and just want an easy win. The majority will never use anything but meta, no matter what that meta is, because that's what they get out of it. There's always a meta. If it feels good, it feels good. Usually feeling good is only being God, which is a problem.
Another problem here is the customizability. I'm not bashing on it, I love customization, but at this level it is downright bad for PvP.
All armor mods and seasonal artifact perks should be inactive in PvP, with the exception of weapon mods and perks, as they offer nothing really out of the norm for shooters. Perks add extra functionality, but are heavily exaggerated with mods and artifacts. Removing those keeps them more in line. Leave PvE alone.
All PvP kill times should be slightly increased. Split second kills offer no room for interesting gunplay and proper duels, but neither do kill times that take too long. Leave PvE alone.
All aim assist should be minimal. Why do we need so much, anywhere? Just minimize it throughout. Force people to actually utilize skill. I know accessibility can be an issue, so this is flexible.
All players/classes should only be granted ONE guaranteed super per match. No more, no less. Too many supers (Hunters!) detracts from playability, and weapon viability. Especially when perks like Vorpal, specifically designed for supers are so weak in PvP, that every other option is better.
Why have the perk if it doesn't allow kill times within supers that are in line with normal kill times, outside the supers? Its supposed to make using supers a challenge, right? The challenge does not exist.
With minimal customization for PvP side specifically, brought down to very basic levels, that would help balance. Problem though is still crutching meta, but without all the extra perks to enhance that meta, it should be a lot more mild. Metas are so heavily exaggerated with all the options, and its likely nothing can fix that, so maybe its time to just bring it down.
People may play a lot more, but there's also the chance they won't because customization is a beloved mechanic, I agree, but if PvP is balanced a lot better, minus that, it may just even that sacrifice out and bring a lot more people in.
No idea. Nobody can say for sure, not even the devs, but that's what I see that needs to be done, because nothing else has worked. It never gets better.
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Only really agree on TTK. I've been saying it for a while. Ttk needs to be extended across the board. Especially with the special ammo changes over the past few years.
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More customization = More variety. If you cut down on options, then (surprise!) your meta shrinks. "Balance" is subjective. Everyone plays a little differently. Having more options means more playstyles and skills can be recognized and rewarded. Why would Hunters get their supers more than Titans or Warlocks? No one wants a perk like Vorpal weapon to completely shut down supers that take 10 minutes to get. Aim assistance is a big reason why Destiny's gunplay feels so unique and good. I wouldn't mess with Destiny's gunplay. TTKs are already fairly slow compared to a lot of FPS games. Also, primaries have to be balanced against Special Weapons (which instant-kill) and abilities. If you change the TTKs of primaries, then you destroy game balance in favor of special weapons.
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Guardian,Archon Of Light
ErisLoverLivingVicariouslyThroughDrifter - 4/1/2025 4:17:37 AM
They have shown they don't have the ability, from either developer talent, or engine capabilities to separate PvE and PvP completely All those things you want taken away, would get hit in PvE also -
That would be interesting on the super. Everyone starts out fully charged and only gets it once per match. Would force a new dynamic in awareness and battle strategy. we have to choose when to use it. Fist and nade would charge as usual.
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Bungie doesn’t want metas to go away. They just want them to revolve around content that requires people to play the game or spend money on it. It’s why the last column of the artifact will always have busted perks. Without fail even if it’s very obvious it will be broken before it’s even played. It’s why all new subclasses don’t have a semblance of balance. Which is especially comical given that Bungie talks about balance in PVP like they do.
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a ton of players have a preferred weapon and load out, usually because they find it fun or more forgiving as a casual player when the meta is something they don't like to use or face against, they often stop participating because it burns them out quickly
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Edited by Raven: 3/31/2025 1:25:20 PMIt's never going to change.
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Edited by xbroggiex: 3/31/2025 12:38:19 PMThe only way PvP will ever be balanced in D2 is essentially neutering it down to a crappier version of Halo which would lose a lot of the PvP playerbase. The only other solution is for Bungie to rid themselves of the deluded notion that PvP is in anyway competitive and instead focus crucible into more chaotic combat rather than coping that 3v3 will really hit it off and Trials won't need its 50th rework that'll taper off after 3 weekends because all people care about is the loot in trials and not playing elim for the trillionth time. Oh, also adding actual new crucible content would help.
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"People are lazy as hell and just want an easy win." Yeah that's how it goes generally. You want to solve the balancing problems of PvP in one stroke. Scrap using your own gear. An have a PvP specific set that overwrites your loadouts. Doing so would be nice. But you'll upset 90% of players.
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Destiny PvP shouldn’t play like Destiny, it should play as some watered down sad version of itself. 🤦 Y’all act like this is some competitive esport mode and these metas and abilities are just getting in the way of how godly you’d be if they weren’t crutches for the blueberries to kill you with. 🤣🤣🤣🤣
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Edited by Discovery: 3/31/2025 9:44:13 AMI've suggested in some older posts I have written that PVP should be in it's own sandbox. My suggestion was that every player starts the match at the same level. Everyone gets special PVP weapons that are the same for every player. For instance, in a smaller map, every player gets the same handgun, the same shotgun and a sword. In another match in a larger match, you would get a setup of different weapons. The armour and it's perks would be the same for everyone, too. This would allow developers to focus more on making maps than trying to balance the multitude of different weapons, perks, current metas and artifact mods. They have never succeeded with this, understandably as the variations are so many and they can't keep up with it. Of course, when entering a match, you would be matched to others in the same league. If you're not an expert PVP player you should not be matched with them, either. At least a casual player would not be matched against another that have every adapt weapon available with all god-rolls. Supers, I don't know... Maybe one per match. These changes would mean that everyone will meet more on the same terms. It will be easier for the developers and they can concentrate on fun maps, fixing bugs, and making new content - instead of putting band-aids on PVP where things only get worse and worse.
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eliteg
FREELANCE or bust - old
I agree with everything you wrote there.. the problem is you (and us players) put more thought into PVP than they do. I hope it happens but very lil hope remains in PVP land. -
The biggest issue is the special ammo economy. They improved gunplay when you had to EARN special and use it carefully. There was so much diversity in Loadouts when you had to choose between double primary or a special. But Bungie’s best intentions were drowned in tears by PVE and PVP players alike.
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At the whim of Bungie. Will never happen. Looks a bit bleak.
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On the aim assist reduction, this would be good only if the networking improves