This sentence made me intrigued (Destiny)

by Malagate , Sea of Tranquility, Sunday, November 17, 2013, 06:48 (4027 days ago) @ electricpirate

Confirmed in the first podcast. They balance it by making ammo the commodity you use to fight over for map control.

And how does that change the fact that going into it players have different guns?

Different types of balance ;) my fault for using vague language.

I'm just saying that the usage of your "Heavy weapon" vs main vs. special is balanced by the usage of getting people to rely on ammo for map movement. Along that vein it seems like smart design, we'll see how it actually plays.

Reach's bloom was a play in favor of finesse, knowing when to pick your shots, to keep your aim steady while under pressure. Overall a small but masterful touch that I think added significantly to gameplay. Unfortunately, most people didn't seem to agree.

I think there's a bit more to the ammo thing than has been observed here. Not only does it serve those functions, but I see it as encouraging that same kind of care in a firefight. You're going to judge much more carefully when you make a shot. Your individual shots will count that much more. There's a wrinkle that that adds, simply making it a differently-flavored beast than we're used to.

As for the other problem, we don't know anything about possible solutions. Good matchmaking could do a lot here, or maybe a buy in system for weapon/armor level power. There are good and bad ways to do it, and we don't know anything about how different player levels will be balanced.

Agreed. Something as simple as a one-time/limited-use mod purchasable with ingame (or real) currency from a vendor in order to compete in a higher band of play could work. The decision to level the playing field would then be in the player's hands, possibly at the expense of experience or some other drawback. This could manifest as an overall damage boost, stronger shields, what-have-you. I think temporary boosts to ammo capacity would probably be in high demand. There is a lot about the way Mass Effect 3's multiplayer handles such commodities that's worth paying attention to.

~m