A theory (Destiny)

by narcogen , Andover, Massachusetts, Thursday, June 06, 2019, 07:53 (1779 days ago) @ cheapLEY

The above thread indicates Bungie's balance changes are working as intended.

I don't think Bungie nerfs just to affect the game's actual balance, but also to affect it's perceived balance, as well as to try and enforce a certain minimum amount of variety in loadouts people use.

If someone tomorrow starts a rumor that Weapon Z is ridiculously overpowered, and as a result everyone uses it, this is a situation that requires response even if the gun is actually not particularly good.

Ideally, in a transparent marketplace, this problem would quickly be solved-- people would realize the gun is not that good and stop using it.

But the marketplace isn't completely transparent, as people keep pointing out that it is complicated to figure out how the public stats and perks interact with each other and produce unexpected in-game results.

So you've got a favorite gun with a rep for being overpowerd.

It gets nerfed.

Some people stop using it because they find out it got nerfed.

Some people stop using it because they realize it's been nerfed.

Some people would rather lose an arm.

Mission accomplished.