Published on: Dec 29, 2015 @ 19:23
Watch the full interview with Jon Weisnewski and Sage Merrill here: Part 1 & Part 2
… or watch the highlights from part 2:
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Final Thoughts on Auto Rifles
Birds placed a special call to Jon to fill in some of the conversation about auto rifles, and let Jon give his final thoughts on the changes. Jon explains that auto rifles, especially the high-impact archetypes, are especially sensitive to small changes. He also points out that according to their numbers and feedback, the high-RoF archetype is already in a very good spot.
Doctrine of Passing has been seeing a lot of action in the Crucible lately, proving his point. The main goal of the auto rifle tweak was not to make them outright stronger, but to ensure that they perform to maximum efficiency within their range. Remember, changes to other weapons can impact something more than a change to that weapon itself.
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Perky
The community has been wondering about a few weapon perks, so Crucible Radio made sure to ask Jon Weisnewski about their intended goals and effects.
Unflinching – as suspected, the amount the screen will “kick” when scoped will be reduced with the Unflinching perk. The amount of zoom affects the amount of kick, so this means that flinch will always look harsher for a sniper scope than say, a scout rifle. To induce the most kick, doing any amount of damage will cause it, but more damage means more kick. This means that a heavy machine gun would cause more flinch than an auto rifle. The biggest way to induce flinch is to hit an enemy from the side – this moves their camera around much more than head-on damage.
Guerrilla Fighter – basically unused, this perk offers huge bonuses in an admittedly very rare circumstances. Weisnewski was actually worried that this perk would be deemed overpowered in those select instances where it can shine, but as it turns out, most playstyles in the Crucible just don’t have room to fit it in. As always, Jon ensured that if perks aren’t used enough, they can always be removed from the pool in future content releases to make room for cooler ones.
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Best Subclasses Per Mode
Thanks to a handy “Lift” spreadsheet, we now know which specific subclasses perform the best in each playlist, at least for now. Based on the top 10% of players, here’s which subclasses are coming out on top as far as K/D goes:
Control – Sunbreaker
It’s true that hammer kills are much harder to land, but it would seem that overall, the Sunbreakers can still dominate a 6v6 game mode.
Clash – Gunslinger
When control points are gone, Gunslingers are apparently the most lethal killers.
Rift – Defender
This one was interesting – Defenders succeed in Rift by almost double any other class in any other game mode, according to Bungie. Something about the bubble makes Rift a piece of cake.
Skirmish – Sunsinger, Striker
In smaler game modes, Warlocks finally rule, but they’re followed closely by Striker Titans.
Elimination – Stormcaller, Gunslinger, Sunbreaker, Striker
This game mode had the most even spread. No subclass stood out, but certain subclasses performed slightly better than others.
Rumble – Striker
The Fist of Havoc and shoulder charge seems to dominate in Rumble. Stormcallers were in second, but not as powerful as the Arc Titans.
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Hidden Gems
Another interesting source of information from Bungie comes from a spreadsheet that reveals the success players have with certain weapons. This is a new concept called “Lift” which basically describes a player doing specifically well with certain weapons. According to these numbers, a select number of players are dominating the Crucible with a few weapons that might surprise you:
Tuonela SR4
A scout rifle obtainable through Armsday packages, the Tuonela SR4 may look like a standard scout rifle, but offers well-rounded base stats and decent aim assist. Certainly worth placing an order in the future.
Plan C
Amidst a wave of controversy over the quality of fusion rifles, Plan C is giving certain players a huge edge. The key to this exotic is adjusting to the timing of the perk. It shoots right away when equipping, and can save you from a serious bind if used correctly.
Super Good Advice?
This one had the Crucible Radio confused, but SGA has been giving players a serious edge in the heavy weapon slot. Once considered useless, SGA has seen a significant amount of changes in its day. Now that so much ammo can be consumed, it seems like the old heavy machine gun can truly shine in the Crucible.
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Looking Forward
We’re all dying for some news and Crucible Radio did ask, but only hints and ideas could be revealed when it comes to the future of Destiny and the Crucible. Jon and Sage do have some interesting ideas for general gameplay improvements, including future adjustments to Hunters and Warlocks, and different ways in which playstyles could be recognized in-game. Their goal is to make everything viable, and though this may be an impossible task, this won’t stop them from trying.
Jon made it clear that he would like to see private matches as well, but nothing concrete to share as far as soon-to-come updates. Rest assured though, we have some cool things to look forward to as we move into 2016, including another balance patch very early in the year.