On Builds (Destiny)

by kidtsunami , Atlanta, GA, Friday, January 14, 2022, 09:26 (1051 days ago) @ cheapLEY

I’ve seen folks theorizing that the changes to orb generation is at least partly an unstated nerf to Charged with Light. Which, intentional or not, it is.

I’m not sure how I feel about them leaning into builds. There’s a lot of potential there, but it’s pretty half baked so far, and it feels like it’s more trouble than it’s worth, or it’s going in the wrong direction. The focus on Chamoions and the recently increased focus on matching energy types feels constraining rather than interesting.

I could see it being fun to lean more into what you might consider traditional RPG roles. I’d love to run a build focused purely on orb generation. That would just be my job for the team. Someone else could use the high damage Super and Charged With Light, and my responsibility is to just feed orbs. The problem is the game doesn’t really allow for that. The high end content requires so much DPS that having one person not pulling their weight there can mean failure.

I love running my invisible Hunter, even when another subclass might actually be more beneficial. Being invisible for revives has saved many runs for me. I’d love to be able to build into that in a way that either isn’t so circumstantial or in a way that also allows me to do more cool things. Bonuses for stealth shots or something?

Likewise, I love running Welllock and using my grenades to heal teammates. I can still remember saving Claude in the shank hallway in the Bunker Nightfall with it. Not that it would have ended the run, but timing that heal while he was dunking the orb so that he didn’t die and drop it was genuinely fun. We need more of that.

Their current philosophy with Champions being in everything and matching elements (both with Match Game and new perks requiring weapon element to match subclass element) are far more limiting choices than they are enabling cool powers and play styles. They really need to evaluate what they’re doing when it comes to build crafting. Because they’re leaning towards making it required to even play instead of making it a cool thing to invest in because it’s fun.

Well and as they lean into it becoming required, the less and less comfortable I am with them leaning on DIM to make it ever feasible.