I by no means imagined I might sooner or later play Destiny with a mouse and keyboard, and now that I’ve, my opinion of most of the issues the sport does is shifting.
The benefits mouse and keyboard deliver to a busy shooter like Destiny are apparent. I used to be touchdown headshots left and proper, even after rapidly turning to interact an enemy behind me. This isn’t particularly about greater precision making headshots simpler, it’s moderately the consistency with which I used to be in a position to land them that’s shocking.
The greater challenge right here isn’t that mouse beats analogue stick, it’s that capturing mechanics had been designed across the traits of a controller. This is by no means extra obvious than in weapon dealing with.
During my first jiffy with the beta, I did the factor shooter gamers do once they need to find out how any weapon handles. That factor being: standing in entrance of a wall and firing your complete journal with out compensating for recoil. The ensuing bullet sample usually tells you what you must learn about learn how to management the weapon.
After doing this with just a few of them, it instantly grew to become clear that weapons have little or no recoil in Destiny 2. Even handcannons, which all the time felt like they earned their title on console, have been extremely straightforward to regulate. This revelation was significantly fascinating, as I had by no means considered Destiny as some brain-dead straightforward shooter in my many hours of enjoying it on a controller.
“Weapons have very little recoil in Destiny 2. Even handcannons, which always felt like they earned their name on console, have been incredibly easy to control.”
Sure, you might all the time put a podcast within the background and simply loosen up for a bit whereas enjoying, however the motion nonetheless required a sure degree of participation.
The enter methodology isn’t the one factor turning issues over on PC. The excessive frame-rate is, dare I say it, a recreation changer. Destiny is in no way distinctive on this scenario, going from 30fps to 100+fps would do the identical for any recreation, however it felt totally different right here due to how finely tuned Destiny’s mechanics have all the time felt to me on a controller.
Going again to handcannons, the excessive frame-rate turns their sluggish reload speeds and weighty really feel from deliberate and menacing to clunky and worsening. The harm bonus merely isn’t value it in PvE when you possibly can land fixed headshots with a 42-round auto or pulse rifle. I don’t assume it is a predicament console gamers had been ever confronted with.
Going toe-to-toe with enemies within the mission and the strike is the place these modifications manifest themselves essentially the most. I solely died as soon as within the story mission by a fault of my very own. The battle on the ship’s prime deck with 4 teams of enemies and a giant boss within the center was a cakewalk. Even the ultimate strike boss by no means killed me as soon as, I solely died to the lava flooring.
I distinctly bear in mind pondering the sport was a hair too difficult throughout the console beta, significantly whereas preventing the identical boss. Unless Bungie determined to make every part simpler for the PC beta, I’ll proceed to attribute my observations to the management scheme change and frame-rate improve.
Destiny is a distinct expertise now, and although the modifications don’t make the sport much less enjoyable, it makes it much less partaking.
If I don’t have to fret about weapon recoil, even barely, it’ll really feel like I’m enjoying a numbers recreation of DPS vs well being swimming pools. Demanding, big-scale engagements will probably be about nothing greater than crowd management and DPS checks moderately than private talent.
A recreation that’s much less partaking received’t be thrilling to return to when it comes time to replay content material for loot. Great capturing mechanics, not loot or recurring occasions, is why individuals have put lots of of hours into Destiny in comparison with its opponents. Even myself, a predominantly PC participant, all the time appreciated how Destiny felt as a shooter and it’s what all the time saved me coming again at any time when new content material was launched, regardless of my distaste for just a few of the sport’s different options.
“My desire for more engaging weapon mechanics isn’t born out of some superiority complex, but from my wish for the game to evolve past being just another console port that happens to run really well on PC.”
So the place can we go from right here? While adjusting enemy problem may very well be performed by buffing their well being or harm, it’s inevitably going to really feel like synthetic inflation. By the identical token, it’s not lifelike to anticipate Bungie – a console developer first – to only flip up the recoil on all weapons particularly for PC, and even create totally different weapon traits for every platform.
The answer is probably going a mix of all these concepts, however I actually hope one thing will get performed. I respect steadiness is just not straightforward to evaluate when your character degree and kit are pre-set, however I can’t simply gloss over how huge this transition feels.
As it stands, Destiny 2 on PC is a enjoyable, clean, flashy shooter. It’s nonetheless higher than every other loot-shooter on PC, and it stays the one with the very best manufacturing values.
But it may very well be extra if Bungie is keen to deal with gameplay mechanics and steadiness otherwise on PC, and play to strengths of the platform. My want for extra partaking weapon mechanics isn’t born out of some superiority complicated, however from my want for the sport to evolve previous being simply one other console port that occurs to run rather well on PC.
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