I'll be very interested to see how the power weapon dynamic shakes out, especially towards the end game. If the bosses are as bullet-spongy as Destiny's bosses tend to be, we might see certain classes of power weapons drastically out perform others.

Unless there are different uses for the power weapons. Maybe grenade launchers are needed to clear out ads, while other people snipe the boss, and over in the corner someone is using a fusion rifle to drop shields so the guy with the sword can take out that major.

The only way this can work is if it's too dangerous for everyone on the team to be sniping the boss at the same time. The raid will reveal how well this change works.

One would hope it doesn't take the raid for us to reveal how well this works. I can be optimistic about the weapon changes :D

I'll be very interested to see how the power weapon dynamic shakes out, especially towards the end game. If the bosses are as bullet-spongy as Destiny's bosses tend to be, we might see certain classes of power weapons drastically out perform others.

Unless there are different uses for the power weapons. Maybe grenade launchers are needed to clear out ads, while other people snipe the boss, and over in the corner someone is using a fusion rifle to drop shields so the guy with the sword can take out that major.

The only way this can work is if it's too dangerous for everyone on the team to be sniping the boss at the same time. The raid will reveal how well this change works.

Their discussion really sold me on the new system. I wanna rock two side arms and a shotgun and just wade in.

I liked that part of it, but I really fear the builds are going to feel really samey.

Primaries in D1 ended up all being very similar. Outside of some very long range for scouts, and some very tight range for ARs, they all basically worked in this very narrow band. They also all had this very similar kind of damage pattern in PVE, where they would all kind of wear down enemies at the same rate. The introduction of those secondaries with big damage spikes really made the whole system work well.

I'm worried about PVE combat feeling kind of mushy in the end without those big damage spikes to deliver to the large scale enemies. Now, they do mention that the "power" weapon slot is still being tweaked, but I'm worried that there will be a *lot* of builds, but not a lot daylight between any of them.

I'll approach with an open mind once it's in my hands, but I'm not thrilled about the change.

I keep thinking about this, and the more I do, the less I think I'll enjoy it (I really should just STOP thinking about it until I play the game and actually see what it's like, lol).

The thing that confuses me about the whole idea behind "freedom slots", as it was described on the podcast, is that they talk about adding variety while completely ignoring the (seemingly) greater variety that is being taken away. Yes, being able to run with a hand cannon and a scout rifle at the same time gives you some flexibility. But not as much flexibility as running Hand Cannon + Sniper Rifle, or Scout Rifle + Shotgun, or any of the current possible combinations.

Then there's the whole issue of "opportunity costs". Forcing players to choose between using a sniper rifle or using a heavy machine gun is a huge limiting factor. Imagine trying to get through the toughest encounters in Destiny right now with such limitations in place (it can be kind of fun once in a while, after you've already mastered the encounters and you're looking for even more challenge... but not all the time).

And John on the Podcast seems to acknowledge this. He said something about your choice of power weapon forcing you to commit to more defined role within your fireteam. Which can work in some cases, but Destiny 1 certainly doesn't play in a way that rewards that sort of specialization. Most of the more challenging encounters in the game require players to do a little bit of everything.

I'll be very interested to see how the power weapon dynamic shakes out, especially towards the end game. If the bosses are as bullet-spongy as Destiny's bosses tend to be, we might see certain classes of power weapons drastically out perform others.

I've never even played the shark cage PSVR thingie myself, although I've gotten a kick out of watching others play it.

For now I'm assured that D2 won't go too far in the horror direction.

That said, for podcasts on my phone, I use beyondpod, which has the option of being used for podcast and playlist management, that plays the MP3 through an external player. When I have to use a preamp, I do this and send it through a different program. It will work through poweramp, though, and you don't have to download the MP3 from the website, you can just use their podcatcher.

Beyondpod costs like $7 though.

Volume was low for me as well (om Android). I was listening through my car's Bluetooth connection and had to turn the volume way up, which resulted in a deafening blast of sound every time Waze interrupted with a traffic alert. :P

For the Android ecosystem, Poweramp is a handy application (note: Russian developer? Some open-ish permissions?).
You should be able to bump the gain up, and it also has a rudimentary EQ (from what I can recall years ago)

I did the direct download mp3 from Bnet link to my Android phone and used the standard music player for my device. I had the volume at around 65-70% and was fine. Quiet room, 3.5mm wired closed ear headphones. I just played a song (music, ambient rock), at the same volume and had to turn the volume to about 50% for a similar sounding (comfortable) volume.

I didn't really have a problem in my case but yes, the Podcast could maybe use a boost or volume standardization to put it in line with music or other podcasts?
Streaming, Bluetooth, loud environment, iTunes settings, etc I could see all being potentially problematic

MeUndies doesn't want Guardian underwear to be a thing

I only just learned what that is an hour ago, and now I'm hearing about it again. What an odd day.

On my macbook pro I had the volume turned all the way up and they were a quiet, conversational level. I listen to most movies with the volume at about 20%, for comparison.

Urk and Deej, if you read this, try to balance so your gain rests between -20 and -8 dB. Don't peak above -4 and don't trough below -26 except in cases of silence (dur).

For a podcast, just compress everything (in the dynamic range sense) and set it to -6. This isn't an orchestral rendition or epic film; your suggestion is already too much range for a podcast. Most compressor filters have settings for voice content.

Urk and Deej, if you read this, try to balance so your gain rests between -20 and -8 dB. Don't peak above -4 and don't trough below -26 except in cases of silence (dur).

I wonder if cocoon perk is returning. It would be very useful with two primaries.

I don't know if it's called cocoon in D2, but it was on one of the guns in the gameplay at the D2 reveal event. It even had the same icon.

This could be a very very good perk if 'short time' is less than the time it takes to empty a clip. Magazine. Whatever, I'm not a gun person.

The introduction of those secondaries with big damage spikes really made the whole system work well.

Except for maybe raids. Pretty much every boss ended up being:

1. Make them vulnerable.
2. Wail on them with snipers or heavy weapons until they are no longer vulnerable.
3. Repeat.

When you can do massive damage in a short amount of time, making raid bosses that don't work this way can be tough. It definitely started to show its age a bit during Wrath of the Machine. This is also what made Skolas one of the more interesting bosses once the burn issue was fixed - you could damage him at any time.

Their discussion really sold me on the new system. I wanna rock two side arms and a shotgun and just wade in.

I liked that part of it, but I really fear the builds are going to feel really samey.

Primaries in D1 ended up all being very similar. Outside of some very long range for scouts, and some very tight range for ARs, they all basically worked in this very narrow band. They also all had this very similar kind of damage pattern in PVE, where they would all kind of wear down enemies at the same rate. The introduction of those secondaries with big damage spikes really made the whole system work well.

I'm worried about PVE combat feeling kind of mushy in the end without those big damage spikes to deliver to the large scale enemies. Now, they do mention that the "power" weapon slot is still being tweaked, but I'm worried that there will be a *lot* of builds, but not a lot daylight between any of them.

I'll approach with an open mind once it's in my hands, but I'm not thrilled about the change.

Datto also has mentioned something similar (Here), and I agree with his points and yours. PvE is my thing man! And I... Uh oh... I feel a story com'n on! Bett'a get in my rock'n cha'r! :P

One of my fondest vanilla Destiny memories is when I finally found my groove with a set of kit (which I still have in my vault). The primary A.1F19X-RYL with final round, armor piercing rounds, and firefly, was for the main bulk. It was fun because it hit hard for the time and, shoot, what more do I need to say when firefly is in the mix. Then there was the fusion rifle called Light/Beware. It was for foes who had gained my ire, and this being vanilla Destiny, it's safe to say there much reason to beware this guns light. An arc weapon, it had performance bonus, where kills had a chance to grant bonus ammo. It also had hammer forged and life support. This sucker got me out of alot of jams in vanilla Destiny, before the dark times. Before the empir-er... I mean the nerf. ;_;

Then to round things off, to help fight off the bullet sponges, there was The Swarm. A void machine gun, with spray and play, field scout, and crowd control. Also to close up the story, Why vanilla? Why not some other point in the three years? "You always remember your first", as well as - if my recollection is correct - there was the most variation during vanilla destiny (even if shotguns were a waste of a slot at that time). I don't know why I recall it that way through.

Anyway... for me these three weapons are worth legend. Each had their own style of play, their own silhouette of play - if you will, that helped keep things varied. Now that all the interesting guns are behind a "heavy" barrier, I wonder how Bungie is going to make the primary weapons interesting. Firefly only goes so far, for example.

This new system even brings exotics to question, in my ignorance. Primary exotics now have a lot more sway in my thought experiment, as they switch up the game play. You get to use only one slot anyway, so why not make the one slot more interesting.

Was Newsk loud enough? He was up on the mic real close and sounded a bit louder (good and strong) to my ear. He also helped inspire Urk's tweet about getting some pop filters, I think? He had a few sharp or harsher sounding plosives.

Which device and peripheral (headphones) were you using to listen (your environement was a significant issue you already identified) Stepping back and looking at your set up can help alot in determining things

Newsk was a bit better, Luke was barely audible.

Iphone 6s with the default headphones.

Other podcasts I listened to were fine. I switched over to the the Weeds podcast and I could hear that one just fine.

Which device and peripheral (headphones) were you using to listen (your environement was a significant issue you already identified) Stepping back and looking at your set up can help alot in determining things

Their discussion really sold me on the new system. I wanna rock two side arms and a shotgun and just wade in.

I liked that part of it, but I really fear the builds are going to feel really samey.

Primaries in D1 ended up all being very similar. Outside of some very long range for scouts, and some very tight range for ARs, they all basically worked in this very narrow band. They also all had this very similar kind of damage pattern in PVE, where they would all kind of wear down enemies at the same rate. The introduction of those secondaries with big damage spikes really made the whole system work well.

I'm worried about PVE combat feeling kind of mushy in the end without those big damage spikes to deliver to the large scale enemies. Now, they do mention that the "power" weapon slot is still being tweaked, but I'm worried that there will be a *lot* of builds, but not a lot daylight between any of them.

I'll approach with an open mind once it's in my hands, but I'm not thrilled about the change.