Destiny 2’s weapon crafting won’t be like other MMOs’, according to Bungie
Destiny 2:The Witch Queen will bring weapon crafting to the Destiny universe on February 22, 2022. Bungie has not revealed much information about the system yet. However, we spoke with Joe Blackburn, Destiny 2’s game director, and Justin Truman, general manager, about weapon crafting and what it brings to Destiny. We also discussed the benefits of the crafting-only weapon, the glaive.
At last week’s Destiny Showcase, Bungie representatives referred to the crafting system as being “combat based,” but never gave a further explanation. Weapons would drop for players who had locked perks. Players would then defeat enemies and use resources to unlock the weapon’s full potential. Bungie’s description led us to believe Destiny2 would have a similar crafting process, but the studio isn’t content with repeating the past.
Blackburn stated, “This is definitely more in-depth than what we had in the original Destiny.” “We want you to feel that you are building a relationship with any subject matter you are passionate about.”
However, The Witch Queen‘s crafting won’t be the same as crafting in other loot-based games. Blackburn stated, “I think all of us have the MMO, ” and it’s like, “Hey, how can I level up and do crafting?” He said. We want it to feel more sacred and special. We want you to have a long-lasting relationship with your weaponry. We want you to feel confident when you have mastered a weapon. You feel like an expert with the weapon.
Blackburn also suggested that the weapon crafting system wouldn’t fit into Destiny2‘s current economic environment. An experienced player, like me, with the resources to make Exotics from Xur every week, won’t have an advantage over a novice player. Blackburn stated, “This is a fairly new system, from scratch.”
Although Blackburn and Truman didn’t give a clear picture about weapon crafting, other than how it wouldn’t work, we did talk a little more about the new glaive weapon types. They will be available in Legendary and Exotic versions. The glaive is a spear with three weapons: it shields, shoots and stabs. The weapon is a weapon of many firsts for Destiny. It is the first weapon that can be crafted and the only melee weapon that can be used to pull the player into a third-person perspective.
The glaive can be distinguished by its camera perspective and acquisition, as well as its ammo type. Blackburn stated, “We have had melee before, however, this is also in energy and special like, this green ammo weapon,” contrasting the need for Heavy ammo players to deal with damage with swords. This style is new to us. […] You can still stab anything even if you run out of ammunition [with the glaive]. You can still stab anything, even if you have to reload. […] When someone grabs a glaive and puts Swashbuckler on the top, they are like, “Oh, oh! I won’t reload.” “I will just stab and shoot things for ever.”
Although Blackburn didn’t give a detailed explanation of the glaive’s workings, this quote does provide some clues. Players will have to reload their weapons for one reason or the other. Glaives will also have an impact on your loadout as you only need ammo for one weapon. Melee-focused players may not require any ammo.
Blackburn suggests that players can place perks like Swashbuckler directly onto a glaive using the crafting system. Swashbuckler gives bonus damage stacks for kills and can be used immediately after a melee kill to max out the stacks. This makes it a great perk for weapons like the glaive. This supports the notion that players will be able directly to select certain perks to their weapons through the crafting system.
Blackburn explained why players choose a glaive over other weapon types, particularly in difficult content. Blackburn stated that the glaive is a weapon that allows players to invade encampments. You can think of something like, “Oh my God, a Hive Guardian just passed away, its Ghost is back.” You see a Shrieker in my back. I don’t have the time to kill it. So, you put the [Glaive] shield onto your head and go up to the Ghost to smash it…
