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Destiny balances weapons, shuts down another loot cave
Bungie updated Destiny to balance some of its weapons and fix a few bugs today. For starters, the developer swatted a bug where the Valkyrie-O5X ship appeared to be the same as the Aurora Lance and fixed issues related to quick weapon swapping. The base damage of scout rifles were increased six percent, whereas the damage of all auto rifles as well as the Vex Mythoclast was decreased two percent and 34 percent, respectively. The developer also shut down another loot cave, one located in the rocket yard area of the game. The hot new treasure farming spot, a room where Fallen enemies consistently spawned, surfaced after Bungie closed the first loot cave. "The Fallen have also retreated from their hold over the Rocket Yard to discuss a new takeover plan," Bungie wrote in its update notes. For now, Destiny looters will have to take the stairs, if you catch our drift. [Image: Activision]
Destiny announces 3.2 million daily players
It's been a month since Destiny's launch, which is as good a time as any to see how healthy the game is now. As it turns out? Quite healthy indeed. Bungie is reporting that the game has 3.2 million players logging into the game on a regular basis, with the average play session lasting three hours at a stretch even during weekdays. Bungie also took the opportunity to respond to player complaints about the Iron Banner event. While the event was advertised as allowing gear and power to matter more directly in the Crucible, the event did not simply turn off all restrictions; players are still normalized to an extent so that a level 30 Guardian cannot defeat someone else in a single shot. Power matters, but skill matters too, and the biggest functional difference you can have between players is about a seven-level gap. For more details, take a look at the full explanation.
Joystiq Weekly: Vib-ribbon launches, Driveclub Review, RE: Revelations 2 preview and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. "Better eight years late than never," PlayStation Network users probably said during this week's return of Vib-ribbon. Sure, we're not exactly in drought season, but what's stopping you from impulsively bailing on 2014's release calendar to revisit a 1999 cult classic? Beyond money and life's responsibilities, anyway. If Vib-ribbon is fair game for a 2014 appearance, can we go ahead and get our hopes for comparably-unlikely surprises? Sure, StarCraft: Ghost's indefinitely-on-hold status is probably irreversible at this point, but if Blizzard felt like continuing development in secret for years and launching it without warning, we wouldn't be upset. Valve, you're more than welcome to do the same with fresh installments in the Half Life or Left 4 Dead series. There was more to this week than feeble wishes though, including resolution news for Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Assassin's Creed: Unity, reviews for Driveclub and Neverending Nightmares, and previews for AC: Unity and Resident Evil: Revelations 2. All those and more are tidied up for you after the break!
'Destiny' racks up an average of 3.2 million players per day
Whether or not you believe that Destiny lives up to all the hype, there's no doubt that it has a lot of gamers hooked. Bungie has revealed that the hybrid of shooter and online role-playing game is managing an average of 3.2 million players per day in the month since its launch -- no mean feat given that even a well-established (if subscription-based) rival like World of WarCraft has 6.8 million users. That's also more active players than the company saw during a similar period for both Halo 3 and Halo: Reach combined, so the absence of a familiar franchise clearly isn't spooking users.
Why your high-level Guardian is dying in Destiny's Iron Banner
Despite advertising Destiny's Iron Banner as a player-vs-player event where - according to the official Iron Banner site - "power matters," it seems that developer Bungie may have left room for confusion regarding just how much it matters. "The way we pitched Iron Banner did make it sound like a 'no-holds-barred' playlist. In reality, we delivered what we felt would be a competitive experience for everyone, not just players at the level cap," senior designer Derek Carroll wrote on yesterday's Bungie Weekly Update. "Your skill will take you 80 percent of the way to victory, but that last 20 percent will be a much harder climb without the gear you've been relying on." How much harder? About seven levels' worth, according to Carroll: "To keep competition close and avoid unwinnable fights, the largest advantage you can have is around seven levels. So, if you attacked a target 20 levels above you, you'd have a fair shot at winning that fight." Carroll also notes that, while "time-to-kill" is the same whether a high-level player is shooting at their equal or a low-level foe, the opposite is not true, meaning lower-level players should have a harder time killing experienced combatants. Destiny has had a bit of a rough go post-launch, with players exploiting its respawn system, tweaks to how often players acquired quality loot, and bugs revealing content related to upcoming DLC. The Iron Banner began October 7 and will conclude on October 14. [Image: Activision]
Destiny State of Service: Final Verdict
This is State of Service, an ongoing review of the online service of a recently launched game. You can read our scored review of Destiny here. Friday, October 10 | Final Verdict Current State of Service: Good Summary: Server performance has been stable. Some users experiencing network issues. Destiny's launch month has been a stable one, with no major service outages or severe issues. Bungie has released several updates to the game, in some cases adding features and in others fixing bugs. A handful of limited, in-game events have also been cycled in an out of Destiny. Joystiq staff have encountered no serious problems throughout the first month of Destiny's availability. Bungie notes that it is still working to resolve network errors affecting certain users, and some can be rectified by making home network adjustments. The most prolific error code is "Zebra," which signifies an issue that Bungie considers to be a high priority. These problems don't appear to be widespread, and for our part, Joystiq has received very few reports from readers. To that end, Destiny's overall State of Service is Good. Our time with the game has been essentially problem-free, and Bungie is actively providing updates and improvements on a regular basis.
Destiny player jumps into the game's DLC regions
Do you want to start exploring Destiny's second expansion region? Don't start fretting about tiny details like not having it installed or the fact that it's not out yet. You can go there right now! A video by YouTube user Nowise10 is embedded just past the break and details the exact sequence of jumps needed to climb up some scaffolding, hop into a gravity lift, and wind up coming out in an area that the developers certainly didn't intend for players to explore just yet. Lest you get overly excited, the game does note that you do not have the DLC, and the area is absent of most everything you'd want to find in the region aside from a handful of dead ghosts. If you're the sort to go spelunking before an area is officially released, however, take a look at the video and enjoy a bit of acrobatic exploration.
Destiny State of Service: Week 4
This is State of Service, an ongoing review of the online service of a recently launched game. You can read our scored review of Destiny here. Tuesday, October 7 | T-minus 2 days until final verdict Current State of Service: Moderate Summary: Destiny servers remain stable, though some users continue to encounter network errors. Bungie issues update to help isolate these errors. Destiny has made it through its fourth week without too many problems. PlayStation platforms briefly encountered some sign in troubles on October 2, and servers went down earlier today for scheduled maintenance, but performance has otherwise been solid. Today's patch was designed to help Bungie diagnose networking problems that some players are running into. This includes a new error code "Zebra," which Bungie says signifies that "you are hitting an issue that we deem extremely important, high-priority issue," and it is being actively investigated. Several other network error codes – "Centipede," etc. – have also received updates, which you can read about here. At least some users are claiming that the most recent update resolved their issues, though the Bungie forums are still seeing a fair share of complaints. For our part, the Joystiq staff still has yet to run into any serious problems. If you encounter any connection problems while playing Destiny, let us know in the comments, or on the Joystiq Twitter or Facebook accounts. Use the hashtag "#sos" and specify your platform, please.
Destiny hotfix downtime today, Iron Banner PVP event kicks off
Guardians will have to stay on standby for "several hours" later today while Bungie applies a hotfix update to Destiny. The downtime, during which you'll be unable to play the game, is scheduled to begin at 10AM ET (7AM PT, 3PM UK). You can check out the full list of the fixes here, which include nixing the bug that lets you quick scope using certain weapons and tightening up connectivity. If you're unfamiliar with the term, quick scoping is bringing up a sniper rifle's scope reticle for an instant before firing, exploiting an accuracy window. Meanwhile, Bungie is also raising the Iron Banner today, a new week-long event designed to remove the equal footing from underneath the space boots of competitive types. Unlike other playlists, the Iron Banner PVP matches will take level and gear advantages and attack and defense ratings into account, so if your stats could do with a boost then enter at your own risk. If you are feeling up to the challenge, there are legendary gear rewards on offer as you raise your Iron Banner rank. The event is due to end this time next week on October 14. [Image: Activision-Blizzard]
Destiny knows you want a looking-for-raid tool
In Destiny's latest letter to the playerbase, Bungie Community Manager Deej says that a looking-for-raid tool might be on the table. "You've been heard," he tells a player asking for raid matchmaking. "We're having conversations about how Matchmaking might support the more challenging activities in Destiny." He suggests that PUGs for dungeons thought mostly un-PUGgable are already happening. You don't need to sell us too hard on the value of Matchmaking at Bungie. It's something we helped to pioneer. Yet, we understand its limitations. In the recipe of a Bungie game, Matchmaking has always contributed the ingredient of a team built to play one match of competitive multiplayer. As you've probably witnessed in recent weeks (or years), many of those fresh allies have failed to go the distance together. The Raid was designed for solid teams of killers who have made a commitment to solve a dense and explosive riddle. Most of the raiding parties who have emerged victorious from the Vault of Glass have sworn that one weak link would have doomed their chain. There have been other stories, of course. We've heard tell of Guardians who met each other just outside the door that leads into that vault. Strange tales have reached our ears - tales of total strangers who have banded together to see the Raid all the way through to a triumphant finale. After announcing that he wouldn't be fielding queries about rumors, Deej also addressed the companion app, factions, feedback, and class balance. "The next batch of enhancements, refinements, fixes, and tweaks," he says, will be released "very soon."
Joystiq Weekly: The Cryptarch grows a heart, Alien: Isolation review, N64 turns 18 and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. Between the Nintendo 64's birthday and the Pokemon TCG iPad app reminding us that our childhood card games no longer have to be played with expensive, holographic pieces of paper, we're teetering toward a slight meltdown. When did we swap out our trapper keepers for a stack of bills? Why did we have to give up Saturday morning cartoons, again? What do you mean there's more to save up for in life beyond booster packs and video games? Sorry, we'll do our best to get a grip. This week brought more than a halting reminder of time's unstoppable march, though! Bungie tweaked a few loot-related settings in Destiny, we reviewed Alien: Isolation, Skylanders Trap Team and The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, and we explored the weirdest stages of the N64's now-adult life. Those stories and more are waiting for you after the break!
Bungie patches Destiny, Cryptarch now feeling more generous
The 1.0.2 patch has reached Destiny, making the open-world shooter far more likely to reward players with useful loot instead of green trash that will immediately be smashed into glowing bits of Glimmer. We covered the additions included in 1.0.2 last week, but to reiterate, the Cryptarch is now guaranteed to award players a Legendary item when presented with a Legendary engram. Likewise, Rare engrams will always produce a Rare item, though the likelihood that they might instead produce a Legendary item has been increased. Additionally, Bungie has added the possibility that Rare and Legendary items might be awarded for completing both Daily and Weekly Heroic Missions as well as the Vanguard: Tiger Strike playlist. As with all Destiny patches, the update is free of charge. For full details on the patch visit Bungie's blog. [Image: Activision]
Destiny State of Service: Week Three
This is State of Service, an ongoing review of the online service of a recently launched game. You can read our scored review of Destiny here. Tuesday, September 30 | T-minus 9 days until final verdict Current State of Service: Good Summary: Destiny servers have been largely stable, with a couple of hiccups. Bungie closed the "Loot Cave" exploit, though players have already flocked to a new one. An upcoming patch aims to improve the loot system. Destiny's third week was mostly a smooth one, with only a few isolated server problems. Bungie noted sign-in issues across all platforms on Thursday, September 25, which were resolved quickly. Xbox 360 players ran into similar trouble on Monday, September 29, but these too were quickly rectified. The Joystiq staff encountered no outstanding complications at all last week. Meanwhile, Bungie states that it is still addressing outlying networking issues, reporting that "Bee," "Lion," or "Fly" error codes have been reduced by 50 percent over the last week. Elsewhere in the galaxy, Bungie put an end to Destiny's infamous "Loot Cave." Undaunted, players immediately latched onto a different Loot Cave. Perhaps in response to the design problems that the Loot Cave represents, Bungie announced that patch 1.0.2 will significantly change the loot system. Namely, Purple Engrams will guarantee Legendary quality items, while Blue Engrams will guarantee Rare or better quality items. If you encounter any connection problems while playing Destiny, let us know in the comments, or on the Joystiq Twitter or Facebook accounts. Use the hashtag "#sos" and specify your platform, please.
Bungie confirms Destiny DLC leaks, but DLC is not 'finished'
Leaked info about Destiny's upcoming The Dark Below and House of Wolves DLC is accurate but incomplete, says Bungie Community Manager DeeJ on the official forums today. "We noticed that you noticed that we already have plans for upcoming content packs in Destiny. We do! They have activity names (which may or may not change) and we have a really good idea what they're going to contain. They even have placeholder nodes in the Director, as you've already discovered. But neither of the Expansion Packs we've announced [is] finished. People at Bungie are hard at work to complete content for our first post launch pack, The Dark Below, as I type these words. It will be finished soon. It releases in December. Soon, we'll detail it out for you so you can see exactly what we've been working on." In other Destiny news, Massively's sister site Joystiq offered a handy PSA this morning about unofficial website DestinyPublicEvents.com, which tracks in-game events on timers so you know exactly where the action is.
Track, time Destiny public events online
Public events in Destiny can be hit-or-miss, but there's a simple way to up your own hit ratio: DestinyPublicEvents.com. This website isn't sanctioned by Bungie or Activision, but it offers a collection of events happening right now and those to come soon. Each event is on a timer, and the site displays the amount of time left in each entry. Everything is broken down by region: Earth, Moon, Venus and Mars. Be lonely no longer, Guardians, and have fun collecting that Glimmer. Thanks for the tip, @PunkrawkBbob! [Image: Destiny Public Events]
Bungie: Leaked Destiny DLC descriptions are real, not final
The nuggets of information about coming Destiny DLC packs have been verified by Bungie Community Manager DeeJ in the Destiny forums. Some players this weekend hit an in-game glitch that revealed information about two DLC bundles, The Dark Below and House of Wolves. "We noticed that you noticed that we already have plans for upcoming content packs in Destiny," DeeJ writes. "We do! They have activity names (which may or may not change) and we have a really good idea what they're going to contain. They even have placeholder nodes in the Director, as you've already discovered. But neither of the Expansion Packs we've announced are finished."
Destiny's soundtrack out now on iTunes
If you can't get enough of the otherworldly music featured in Bungie's MMO-styled FPS Destiny, you can now carry its soundtrack with you wherever you go. Destiny's compositions are now up for purchase at iTunes as individual tracks or as a full album. The 44-track album features compositions by C. Paul Johnson, Michael Salvatori, Marty O'Donnell and Sir Paul McCartney, and covers the game's full soundscape from start to finish. If you plan on picking up more than a few tracks, a full album purchase is the way to go, as the 44-track bundle is priced at $9.99. [Image: Bungie]
FIFA 15 kicks Destiny from top spot in UK
It's the post-FIFA portion of the year on the Chart-Track UK sales charts. Historically this means we'll likely have EA Sports' FIFA XX at the top until Activision's Call of Duty shows up, but there's always the possibility for Just Dance or a Zumba game to mess with that. Anyway, FIFA 15 is out now and it accounted for 80 percent of all software sales and 87 percent of all revenue for the week. Chart-Track estimates if one were to align all the week-one FIFA sales for every platform (it was staggered last year), FIFA 15 unit sales would be flat year-over-year, with a 6 percent revenue increase. The Xbox One and PS4 versions account for 54 percent of unit sales. The only new release last week to break the Top 40 is Fantasy Life, the Level-5 (Prof. Layton, Dark Cloud) RPG, which debuted in the eight spot. The UK top ten can be found after the break.
Joystiq Weekly: Destiny's loot cave, Shadow of Mordor review, building narratives and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. Season passes that add content to separately-sold video games that also offer bundled in video games? Ubisoft's dollop of Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China on top of this year's double-portion of Assassin's Creed is interesting, both due to being bundled in a season pass and its sidescrolling platformer nature. We're already looking forward to when season passes include trilogy HD remasters, which will in turn include their own season passes, complete with spinoff-pack ins. Everything is connected, you see. There was a lot more to this week than alternative business strategies though. Have you heard of a little series called Super Smash Bros.? What about Lord of the Rings? We've got reviews of the latest (interactive) installments in both, as well as news of Destiny's loot cave, features on developing narratives and what developers and YouTubers think of Steam Curators. They're all joined by many other stories, waiting for you after the break!
Perfect Ten: What Titan's death means for the industry and you
Blizzard's fans are in mourning this weekend and its competition is no doubt rejoicing after the World of Warcraft developer finally cancelled its seven-years-in-the-making Titan MMO. Word on the street is that Titan was a little too similar to what Bungie came up with in Destiny, although all the studio itself will say is that it ultimately wasn't fun. So Titan joins Starcraft Ghost and Warcraft Adventures in the Blizzard graveyard. It's a loss for those who were hoping to see what Blizz could do outside of World of Warcraft in the MMO space. But what does this cancellation mean for Blizzard, the industry, and us as MMO gamers? I have a few thoughts, although I'll pre-empt them by predicting that your life will most likely go on just the same it did before this momentous announcement.