Another Character

In Year 1 and 2 of Destiny, one thing became abundantly clear – if you wanted to get the best loot out of raids, you’d better make multiple characters of the same class. Given how bad the drop rates were for Vault of Glass and Crota’s End (especially when it came to helms), many players resorted to creating the same class and completing the game numerous times for chances at more loot.

Bungie’s Destiny had a new hotfix go live yesterday, bringing a few changes and fixes for Crucible, Eververse and other miscellaneous issues. The patch notes for the same can be viewed below.

Hotfix 2.6.0.2 fixes a critical issue that caused the timer in Elimination to stop completely, thus making rounds last forever. This was particularly irritating for Trials of Osiris players as they had no means to escape without taking a loss.

Other issues like previous Flawless runs in Trials of Osiris not being counted in the Record Book if they took place before Rise of Iron’s release and invisible physics for players trying to get outside the intended playable space on Rusted Lands have been fixed.

Though Bungie continues to support Destiny, all eyes are on the developer for its upcoming gameplay reveal of Destiny 2 on May 18th. The sequel is currently set to release on September 8th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Full patch notes for hotfix 2.6.0.2 are as follows:

Raids

• Fixed a crash when respawning with Knuckles of Eao active

Crucible

• Fixed an issue where the Elimination round timer was stopping indefinitely when a Guardian was killed immediately after being revived in high-latency matches
• Fixed an issue where some Flawless Trials of Osiris runs prior to the Rise of Iron Release were not being counted in the Record Book
• Added invisible physics to prevent players from standing outside the intended playable space on Rusted Lands

Eververse

• Fixed an issue where Treasures of Ages earned from completing Activities each week were previously not stacking
• Fixed an issue causing some Sterling Treasures to not drop Desolate Armor
• Added change that prevents duplicate rewards of the new Ships in the Treasure of Ages

Vendors

• Fixed an issue where Eris was not selling Runes for Court of Oryx

Quests

• Fixed an issue where the Weekly Heroic Story Playlist was not progressing the Pushing Back the Darkness quest step of the “A Tale of Two Guardians” quest

Miscellaneous

• Fixed an issue where viewing characters on Bungie.net or in 3rd party tools could cause some Record Book objectives to change state incorrectly, often resulting in a notification

This week’s update from Bungie didn’t contain much information about Destiny 2, aside from hyping up the gameplay we’d be seeing on May 18th, but it did announce the return of Iron Banner. The game mode this time is Control.

Iron Banner will start on April 11th, 10 AM PST and end on April 18th, 2 AM PST. Items that will be sold through the vendor Lady Efrideet include The Unbent Tree auto rifle, The Proud Spire shotgun, Iron Banner gloves and class items.

Iron Banner is the end-game, 6v6 PvP component of Destiny where Light level matters. It’s also a great way to earn max Light gear thanks to the generous post-match drops and bounties.

The overall competitive nature of Iron Banner means that victories are pretty much necessary to rank up (though Medallions do drop with each loss, allowing you to cash them in for even more rep with the next win). What are your thoughts on it, especially with the next Age of Triumph raid coming on Tuesday? Let us know below.

Bungie will continue hyping up Destiny’s final live event Age of Triumph by hosting a third Twitch stream on March 21st. A recent teaser showcased the new Raid ornaments, returning weapons (including Elemental primaries) and much more.

However, there could be something else coming as well. According to Christopher Barrett, who was game director on the Rise of Iron expansion, on Twitter: “I might or might not be sharing a little something fun after the stream Wednesday.”

The immediate assumption is that something related to Destiny 2 will be showcased tomorrow. Given that Luke Smith is the director for the sequel (last we checked), it does seem odd for Barrett to be present instead. It’s likely something else completely different like, say, a tribute to Destiny fans. Take everything you hear with a grain of salt regardless.

Age of Triumph will go live on March 28th. Are you looking forward to it? Let us know in the comments below.

The Iron Banner returns to Destiny. You’ll need Rise of Iron to access it, especially since the new vendor Lady Efrideet can only be found at the Iron Temple. Iron Banner has been live since 12 PM PST, February 28th and will come to a close on March 7th, 1 AM PST.

Iron Banner this time around is Supremacy and has changed pretty significantly since Year Two. The Tempered Buff is now gone and there four weekly bounties to complete. Rewards include 750 Iron Banner Reputation, an item not sold at the vendor and a chance at an Artifact or Vanity Item. Each victory in Iron Banner awards 250 Reputation and if you lose and gain Medallions, they can be redeemed for 150 Reputation a piece.

As for the weapons this week, Lingering Song (Legendary handcannon) comes with Reinforced Barrel/Hand-Laid Stock, Lightweight/Explosive Rounds and Third Eye/Firefly.

The Laughing Heart (Legendary sniper rifle) comes with Hand-Laid Stock/Oiled Frame, Speed Reload/Single Point Single and Firefly/Army of One. Overall, not all that great for PvP but these rolls may have use in PvE.

Destiny’s Iron Banner, the end-game PvP activity where Light level matters, will be returning on February 28th at 10 AM PST and lasting until March 7th, 1 AM PST. The game mode this time will be Supremacy, a mode skin to Call of Duty’s Kill Confirmed where players must kill each other and claim opposing Crests to win.

Items on offer this time around include the Iron Banner sniper rifle and handcannon along with armour for your respective class. It’s possible to obtain high Light level drops, up to Light level 400, from playing Iron Banner matches.

It should be noted that Supremacy suffered due to rampant shotgun usage when Rise of Iron launched. With the recent emphasis on sidearms and the Special Ammo economy is a whole in Crucible, that could change. We’ll find out for ourselves when Iron Banner goes live.

What are your thoughts on Iron Banner Supremacy making a return? Let us know in the comments below.

Bungie’s many changes to Destiny with the upcoming hotfix 2.5.0.2 have angered and excited hardcore fans in equal measure. With more patch notes coming on February 14th, one highly requested issue was ignored – that of Skorri’s Harmony, which allows neighbouring Guardians to build their Super faster. In raids, it’s highly recommended. In PvP, it can lead to some serious camping.

It may not be tuned in the upcoming hotfix however. Bungie said in its weekly update that, “Weapons and abilities were the focus of this work. The post-show dialogue has observed the absence of changes to Artifacts – namely Skorri’s.

“You haven’t heard the last from the Live Team, and the Sandbox is always an important part of their exploration of where the game should go next. With 2.5.0.2 almost off the workbench, our design team is looking at another future release as a potential vehicle for some tuning on artifacts as well. Time will tell, and you’re always a part of the conversation.”

What are your thoughts on the changes to Skorri’s Harmony coming later? Let us know in the comments.

Bungie showcased some of the major changes that would be coming to Destiny with next week’s hotfix on Twitch recently. While there are still more details to be shared in the patch notes, there are some pretty major changes incoming.

For instance, high rate of fire (ROF) Pulse Rifles have had their ROF reduced by 7.7 percent. Braced Frame, a perk necessary for max stability, now reduces the magazine size by quite a bit as well, thus bringing guns like Clever Dragon and Grasp of Malok in line with other weapons. Low ROF Pulse Rifles like Spare Change have seen a slight increase to their ROF with in-air accuracy for all Pulse Rifles buffed.

Handcannons have had their first bullet accuracy restored to Year One levels and damage drop-off after 5 meters is less severe than before. Auto Rifles have seen the biggest buff with an increased critical multiplier (1.25 to 1.3), better in-air accuracy and higher base damage for low ROF weapons like Shadow Price, SUROS Regime and Genesis Chain.

High caliber rounds also saw a fix at last. On Pulse Rifles, their effect has been reduced but they now correctly apply to other weapons like Scout Rifles correctly.

We’ll have more information on other changes but till then, you can check out all the major changes for yourself here.

The weekly reset has come and gone for Bungie’s Destiny, which means the same activities but with different modifiers. That’s apparently enough to satisfy people these days so why not?

The Nightfall this week is Winter’s Run with the modifiers being Epic, Berserk (enemies don’t flinch), Small Arms (Primary damage increased), Chaff (no radar) and Match Game (enemies are resistant to unmatched elemental damage). Then there’s the SIVA Crisis Heroic playlist with Heroic, Small Arms, Chaff and Airborne (damage increased while jumping).

Then there’s the challenge mode for Rise of Iron’s Wrath of the Machine raid which consists of Aksis. There are new bounties, material exchange changes for factions and new Crucible playlists.

You can find more information on the bounties and material exchanges here. Bungie does have a weapon balance patch planned for mid-February so stay tuned for a live-stream on that sometime soon.

What are your thoughts on this week’s activities for Destiny: Rise of Iron? Let us know in the comments.

The weekly reset has come and gone for Bungie’s Destiny, instilling some new activities that players can complete for rewards like a Year 3 Icebreaker.

This week’s Nightfall is The Blighted Chalice, a strike introduced in the April 2016 update that has players battling Hive prince Malok. Modifiers include Epic, Void Burn, Juggler, Grounded and Catapult. Given Malok’s annoying Axion Bolts, which are Void, you’re going to want to equip armour to reduce the burn damage.

The SIVA Crisis Heroic playlist isn’t much more inviting with Heroic, Arc Burn, Exposure and Catapult as modifiers. Stormcallers, Strikers and Bladedancers with Skip Grenades should have a decent time clearing through all challenges.

As for raiders, the latest Challenge Mode for Wrath of the Machine is Vosik. Beating the challenge on Heroic will reward guaranteed 400 Light loot and Ornaments for raid armour. For more information on bounties, material exchange with factions and much more, head here.