Destiny’s Hunter PvP Nerfs Explained, Became “Default Choice” for Crucible

Bungie’s Destiny made some very welcome changes last week to Hunters when it increased the PvE damage caused by supers like Golden Gun and Bladedancer. However, it also brought about some PvP nerfs as well. Throwing knife damage was nerfed on Gunslingers and it was no longer possible to stick players with Tripmines (which also received a damage nerf).

In its recent weekly update, Bungie justified these changes by including a graph that outlined the dominance of Bladedancer and Gunslingers in Crucible, who had 10 percent higher K/D ratios than other classes since May.

Sandbox designer Grant Mackay noted that, “When one class becomes the default choice for anyone who wants to do well in the Crucible, we see that as a problem. We chose to bring the Hunters down from their position of dominance because it is our hope that every variety of Guardian will have a fighting chance.”

It’s not hard to argue with that logic but then again, numbers may not always tell the true story behind a class’s strengths and weaknesses. For instance, despite Sunbreakers being so overpowered at one point, Gunslingers and Bladedancers were still ahead in K/D ratios. Time will tell how these nerfs work out for PvP Hunters in the meantime so stay tuned.