This Week At Bungie - 5/14/2020

This week at Bungie, a new quest was discovered.

Guardian Games has come to a close. Hunters won the first day, but Titans showed up in force to completely dominate the rest of the event. Warlocks took home the silver, and Hunters still look frabjous.

The final Iron Banner of the Season is also live this week and, along with it, players have discovered a new quest. The community has been tasked with helping Rasputin by completing Seraph Tower events and are currently working to complete the objectives on EDZ, the Moon, and Io.

We've seen feedback that the Tower events are too difficult and that it's hard to wrangle up enough people to join the cause. We have made some server-side changes to lower the difficulty of the event to help alleviate frustrations and increase your success rate.

We made an error when we calculated how many completions were required, so yesterday we introduced bonus multipliers to help the community's progress and get you all on your way to the next step. You can read more details on the changes we made here.

Max Power Level

Back in February, Luke spoke about upcoming plans for Legendary gear infusion. The Destiny Dev Team has more details on how this system is going to work.

Destiny Dev Team: Today we're going to talk about changes to the Infusion system that are coming to Destiny 2. These changes are going to be visible starting in Season 11 but won't start impacting your arsenal until Season 12. More on that in a bit.

We want the sandbox to feel interesting, exciting, and dynamic, and to evolve in compelling ways over time in the same way that the game evolves. Our weapons are the primary way that players interact with the world, and Season over Season we want players to discover new weapons that feel powerful, have interesting new perks to explore, and power the builds that players craft in new and unexpected ways.

The changes to the Infusion system we're talking about today are designed to promote the following:

• We want you to more frequently earn and enjoy more powerful and standout gear.
  • Right now, if a new Legendary weapon isn't better than the current best-in-class, there is no reason to replace your existing weapon with it.
  • If a new Legendary weapon is better than the current best-in-class, we risk power creep, removing challenge from the game, or making the item mandatory/the only option for challenging activities.
  • Both above points apply equally to new mods and perks, as well.
• Powerful weapons can be era-defining, but eventually those eras need to end so that new eras can begin.
  • We want strong weapons to have their time in the sun, and whenever possible we want you to expect and prepare for powerful gear to cycle out of the endgame meta.
  • We can't solve this by just making weapons that are always "better" than the previous ones. This will steadily lower time-to-kill in both PvP and PvE, until the combat sandbox is neither fun nor tactical.
• We also want to foster a gradually evolving meta that regularly promotes experimentation and debate.
  • We believe Destiny is at its best when you have new desirable things to pursue and when you have active debates with your clanmates about which of those new things to bring into the new raid, or which is going to be hot in Trials next Season.

With those goals stated, let's break down how the changes will work:

• Each Legendary weapon and piece of armor will have a Max Power Level it can reach through infusion.
  • Exotics will not have a Max Power Level.
• The Max Power Level for these items will be set at the player Power Cap attainable 3 Seasons after its release Season (4 Seasons total).
  • This means all Legendary gear has a one-year span of time during which it can be used in activities where being at or near the player Power Cap is important (difficult and Power-enabled activities).
• The Max Power Level for these items will be visible in game in Season 11, but no items will be at their Max Power Level at the start Season 11.
  • This means all your gear will be relevant in all activities during Season 11.
  • You'll be able to see what the Max Power Level is for all your gear, and plan accordingly.
• At the start of Season 12, weapons and armor released in Seasons 1-8 will have a Max Power Level at the Season 11 player Power Cap
• Gear from Seasons 9, 10, 11, and 12 will all be infusible to new player Power Caps for 1 year after their release.
• Weapons and armor from the Last Wish and Garden of Salvation raids, will be granted exceptions and will have a higher Max Power Level"

Example of how Max Power Levels will be displayed in Season 11

Those are the basics. But you may have additional questions, such as:

• Can I still use gear that has reached its Max Power Level?
  • Yes. You will always be able to equip and use any piece of gear.
  • Reaching the player Power Cap is beneficial, but not strictly required, for most activities in Destiny. You can continue to equip and use all gear in these activities.
• This applies to armor as well as weapons?
  • Yes - all Legendary gear that provides Power will have a Max Power Level.
  • Starting in Season 12, armor will no longer have a Seasonally rotating fourth mod slot. Instead, there will be a mod slot that accepts mods introduced into the game throughout a full year. We recognize that the current need to replace your armor every two to three Seasons, and hoard armor from past Seasons, is undesirable.
  • Transmogrification, which we talked about in the TWAB last week, will give you the ability to keep your favorite looks and apply them to new armor pieces with higher Max Power Levels.
• When gear drops after its debut Season, what will its Max Power Level be?
  • It will have the same Max Power Level as it did in its initial release Season.
  • Note, this is different than gear that is re-issued. See next question.
• Will gear ever have its Max Power Level updated?
  • Not directly, but gear can be re-issued in future Seasons.
  • These re-issued versions will have a new Max Power Level based on the Season in which it is re-issued.
  • We're going to experiment with how and when gear is re-issued into the game throughout Year 4. Let us know what you think of the different methods as you experience them.

We're sure you'll have more questions that aren't covered above, so please let us know!

We're committed to Destiny 2 continuing to grow and evolve for years to come, and a part of that continued evolution is the curation of an interesting, exciting, and dynamic player sandbox. The introduction of Max Power Level will allow us to create exciting new gear more frequently without significant concerns of permanent power creep, which is unsustainable in any game. This also should open up creative and experimental builds, season over season, while letting you anticipate and prepare for how the sandbox will change over time.

Please continue to share your thoughts and feelings about these changes as you get your hands on them.

[REDACTED] Engrams

We spoke a lot about rewards last week, but still have some more juicy nuggets to share with you on some additional plans we have for next Season. Here's Creative Lead Robbie Stevens with the details.

Robbie Stevens: Hey everyone,

In Season 11 we're trying something new with how and where you can earn Seasonal rewards.

So far, every Season in Year 3 has followed a formula where the Seasonal activity (Vex Offensive, Sundial, Bunkers/Seraph Tower) asks for a significant amount of playtime to earn new rewards. While we believe that new content should be one of the best places to earn new rewards, we also realize that Destiny 2 is a big game and it can be frustrating to have so much of your playtime dictated by and focused solely on Seasonal activities.

So, in Season 11 Seasonal rewards will drop from completing core activities (Strikes, Crucible, Gambit) as well as basically every other activity in the game, (see the full list detailed below). We want to make engaging with the entire game feel rewarding, and for every play session to give you a chance at earning Seasonal loot. In addition to new rewards, Season 11 also features two returning weapons each from Season of the Undying, Season of Dawn, and Season of the Worthy, for a total of six weapons that are free for all players.

Okay, we've talked about some of the places where you'll earn rewards in Season 11, now let's talk about how you can influence those rewards to chase god rolls and high-stat armor.

Over the last few Seasons we've introduced Weapon Bounties that give you agency to chase specific rewards. While addressing bounty fatigue will be an effort that extends beyond Year 3, for the upcoming Season we've moved away from Weapon Bounties as part of that effort. Instead, we're introducing a new type of [REDACTED] Engram that contains the majority of the Season 11 rewards, and by spending Seasonal currency you can influence the contents of this [REDACTED] Engram.

To clear up any confusion let's imagine if we launched this [REDACTED] Engram in Season of the Worthy. Imagine this engram contained all the Season of the Worthy weapons and armor. Now imagine you could take this engram to a Seraph Bunker and spend Seasonal currency to Focus the contents of this engram so it only contains the Seventh Seraph SMG and Shotgun. By focusing [REDACTED] Engrams in Season 11 you can choose your rewards, this includes the ability (once you've earned it) to Focus engrams so they only contain Season 11 armor with high-stat packages.

All free players and Season Pass owners will receive [REDACTED] Engrams while playing Season 11, however only Season Pass owners can access the full suite of Focusing categories in Season 11.

Here is preview of the [REDACTED] Engram focusing categories that all players can access after completing the Season 11 opening quest:

• Season 11 Armor Focusing reduces the number of rewards in the engram so it only contains Season 11 armor.
• Previous Season Weapon Focusing converts the rewards in the engram so it only contains the six weapons that are returning from Season of the Undying, Dawn, and Worthy.

When Season 11 launches, all players will get three focusing categories and Season Pass owners will have access to an additional 15

List of Activities that Reward [REDACTED] Engrams in Season 11:

• [REDACTED]
• [REDACTED]
• Public Events
• Strikes
• Gambit
• Crucible
• Dungeons
• Raids
• Adventures
• Nightmare Hunts
• Forges
• Reckoning
• Menagerie
• Escalation Protocol
• Blind Well

Note: In addition to the above list, [REDACTED] Engrams have a chance to drop when defeating combatants anywhere in the system, similar to Legendary Engrams. They share the same loot pool as Legendary Engrams and when you hit that loot pool you have a 66% chance to earn a [REDACTED] Engram and a 34% to earn a Legendary Engram.

We hope this preview of Season 11 gives some insight into how we're approaching the communities' feedback in the short term.

Guardian's Heart

Earlier this week, we wrapped our Guardian's Heart Charity Initiative that had been going strong for the last month. We asked you to help support Direct Relief in their efforts to deliver supplies to hospitals and healthcare workers around the world. Guardians everywhere answered the call in full force and together you raised $788,923.19. Smashing our goal of $700k.

We'd like to thank everyone who donated, and everyone who volunteered their time to help spread the word by streaming in one of the 39 Bungie Bounties that we put on during the event. It's been inspiring to watch this community come together once again to make the world a little better during a tough time.

More Fixings

The Player Support team is keeping an eye out for any issues players are reporting and have updates on how we are handling them.

This is their report.

HOTFIX 2.8.1.2

On Tuesday, May 19, Hotfix 2.8.1.2 will be available to players. Below is a timeline of Destiny 2 maintenance for Hotfix 2.8.1.2:

• 9 AM PDT (1600 UTC): Destiny 2 service maintenance begins.
• 9:45 AM PDT (1645 UTC): Destiny 2 is taken offline on all platforms.
• 10 AM PDT (1700 UTC): Destiny 2 Hotfix 2.8.1.2 begins rolling out across all platforms and regions. Players will be able to log back into Destiny 2 at 10:01 AM PDT.
• 10:01 AM PDT (1701 UTC): Destiny 2 is back online on all platforms.
• 12 PM PDT (1900 UTC): Destiny 2 service maintenance concludes.
• For future release timelines when they are available, players should visit our Destiny Server and Update Status help article. For live updates as this maintenance occurs, players should follow @BungieHelp on Twitter or monitor our support feed at help.bungie.net.

UPCOMING RESOLVED ISSUES
Below is a list of issues that will be resolved with the release of Hotfix 2.8.1.2:

• Season Pass Small Fireteam XP Buffs will now work as intended.
• The Wormgod Caress gauntlets will no longer grant infinite 5x Burning Fists when repeatedly taken on and off.
• Removing the Winter's Guile gauntlets will now properly remove all Warlock's Sigil perks.

ERROR CODES

On Friday, May 8, a potential fix was implemented for those experiencing frequent WATERCRESS error codes. Since May 8, we have been closely monitoring WATERCRESS reports and have noticed a significant decrease in WATERCRESS errors appearing. While we continue to progress toward a resolution, we recommend anyone continuing to experience WATERCRESS errors to report in our #Help forum.

We are continuing to monitor increases in BEETLE, RABBIT, BEAVER, and ANTEATER error codes.

GUARDIAN'S HEART

The Guardian's Heart Initiative ended on Tuesday, May 12. Any donations made after 10 AM PST on May 12 are not eligible for the Guardian's Heart emblem.
If you donated within the Initiative's timeframe and still have not received your emblem, please contact the Bungie Foundation with your donation receipt order number and date of donation for assistance.

CURRENT KNOWN ISSUES

While we continue investigating various known issues, here is a list of the latest issues that were reported to us in our #Help Forum:

• The Ascendant Champion triumph is not unlocking for some players.
• The Enhanced Fusion Rifle Loader, Enhanced Auto Rifle Loader, and Enhanced Bow Loader mods are not dropping as intended.
• The Clenched Fist perk for the Stronghold gauntlets is not working as intended.

For a full list of emergent issues in Destiny 2, players can review our Known Issues article. Players who observe other issues should report them to our #Help forum.

Streaming Now

Now let's check in with the movies that caught our eye this week.

Movie of the Week: Velocity

Honorable Mention: Eye of the Storm

As always, these winners will be receiving a special emblem as proof that their creations were featured here. If you won, make sure you have a link to your Bungie.net profile in the description of the video.

We hope you enjoyed the little preview we gave you of the new [REDACTED] Engram coming next Season. Next week, we'll share more changes coming to how you earn rewards in Season 11. Some of you know what a world loot pool is. Many of you have no idea what I'm talking about. Don't worry, we'll talk next week.

<3 Cozmo