Bungie addressed suggestions relating to Future 2’s removing of weapon crafting for seasonal weapons in Episode Revenant and the studio’s feedback did little to assuage frustrations.
Launched with 2022’s The Witch Queen enlargement, weapon crafting permits Guardians to bypass the unreliable nature of farming weapons with randomly-rolled perks, providing a deterministic different as soon as a weapon Sample has been unlocked.
Till Episode Revenant, the place the power to craft all related weapons was eliminated, gamers had been in a position to unlock Patterns for all seasonal weapons, eliminating the reliance on RNG completely.
Altering the foundations
Explaining the reasoning for its choice earlier than Revenant’s launch, Bungie expressed its want to have crafting “help the weapon chase, and never change it,” repurposing its position right into a “catch-up mechanism for rolls you weren’t in a position to nab from the unique sources.”
With Revenant not attributable to finish till February 2025, the place it’ll get replaced with Heretic, it’s nonetheless not clear how Bungie intends to have crafting function a “catch-up” function, however the basic expectation for now’s that Revenant’s weapons will probably be made craftable solely after the Episode concludes.
Both manner, the change in route was instantly met with frustration and solely compounded additional when Tonics – craftable drop price boosters launched in Revenant – failed, by Bungie’s admittance, to show themselves an enough alternative.
“Revenant Tonics had been meant to offer loot company in-lieu of crafting and offer you a recent option to chase gear,” Future 2 assistant sport director Robbie Stevens acknowledged within the studio’s end-of-year replace.
“We all know we missed the mark with the Tonic timers and never guaranteeing a weapon from the energetic Tonic,” he continued earlier than outlining enhancements supposed to handle criticisms coming in a December 17 patch.
Random isn’t enjoyable
Taking away an choice wholesale or proposing different phrases, particularly for one thing seen favorably by the bulk, is rarely a simple promote.
Disquiet among the many neighborhood relating to Bungie’s choice had already been loud and clear earlier than Stevens’ assertion, however his insistence that “Weapon crafting eliminated the enjoyment of incomes a random weapon, that feeling that any drop may matter,” has solely additional incited gamers to accuse the studio of ignoring prevailing neighborhood sentiment.
Notably on Future 2’s millions-strong subreddit, response to the assertion was overwhelmingly damaging.
“Such a tone-deaf assertion given how a lot suggestions they’ve gotten on crafting being shoved in a closet,” got here one reply, including “It’s by no means been enjoyable to grind an exercise to the purpose of resenting it, however having made no progress in the direction of incomes what you wished.
Related opinions had been echoed all through the thread. “My eyes glazed over whereas studying this, it simply feels so out of contact. Doubling down on a weapon chase is simply baffling.”
“Their incapability to ever learn the room is beautiful,” got here one other, adopted by “Bungie, the enjoyment for regular gamers comes from utilizing their weapons, not playing on whether or not the following one will matter.”
BungieRevenant’s seasonal weapons are the primary to not be craftable at launch for the reason that function was launched.
Whereas Stevens’ feedback recommend Bungie has no plans to roll again its new imaginative and prescient for crafting, fierce criticism from the participant base has resulted within the former relenting up to now, most notably with the entire scrapping of sunsetting.
There’s no assure an identical course correction will occur right here, after all, and there’s nonetheless an opportunity the proposed enhancements to Tonics coming earlier than the tip of 2024 would be the sought-after treatment they had been supposed to be.
We’ll have all of the patch notes as and after they drop on December 17 however within the meantime, take a look at our information breaking down all one of the best craftable weapons out there in Future 2.
