The Icebreaker Nerf is Actually Pretty Clever (Destiny)

by Cody Miller , Music of the Spheres - Never Forgot, Friday, July 17, 2015, 17:13 (3678 days ago) @ someotherguy

It works as a nerf because it doesn't fundamentally change the way the gun works. It's still the same old icebreaker, just with a slightly longer recharge time. This must have been a PvP nerf, since I don't think I've used Icebreaker in PvE since January.

Contrast this with the Black Hammer nerf, which completely changes the behavior of the gun. If Bungie felt it was overpowered, then it should not have touched the gun itself, but changed the situations in which it is useful. For instance, perhaps it should take more to stun bosses. Stunlocking bosses with Black Hammer was very powerful, but so was doing it with another sniper. Prevent that, and while the gun is still good, it's no longer completely dominating.

Further look at the bosses where it is not useful. Valus. Undying mind. They could absolutely design future boss counters to mitigate Black Hammer without touching the gun.

That is both less intrusive, and less unsatisfying.