‘Destiny’ 2.0 Update Punishes Strike AFKers, Rewards Repeat Players, Nerfs Strike Burns

Strikes, Quests, Bounties, and even the Prison of Elders are among the many areas affected by the Destiny 2.0 update released Tuesday. Bungie provided the details on what’s changing and how with a massive patch note drop. Two of the more fun changes include AFK players will no longer get rewards in Strikes and burns getting a nerf.

The Bungie patch notes for Destiny 2.0 are too massive to cover in a single article. For details on the other changes, please see the Character and Class changes, Weapon changes, or click through to Bungie’s website for the entire patch notes.

Read all about Update 2.0.0 in the Patch Notes. Welcome to Destiny Year Two, Guardians. https://t.co/0chhS5AIUg pic.twitter.com/oHzB54SIgb

— Bungie (@Bungie) September 8, 2015

Strike playlists in Destiny are getting a change up with The Taken King expansion, as I previously reported for the Inquisitr, but that’s not all. Bungie is attempting to discourage AFK players while simultaneously encouraging players to stay in the playlist instead of bouncing to orbit and back into the Strike playlist to get the one they want. AFK players will no longer receive rewards as players must participate in boss fights to receive rewards. Meanwhile, Vanguard Streak Bonuses that provide extra loot and reputation will be provided for those that don’t bounce in and out of the playlist.

On the downside, Arc, Void, and Solar burns during Strikes will now only increase player damage by 2x instead of 3x. On the other hand, AI enemies will keep the 3x burn against players. Thus, Strikes just became more difficult.

Quests are now active in Destiny and have replaced the progression for all of the Year One content in the game. That also means the Nolan North voiced Ghost is now active along with the 16 slots for Bounties. Both Quests and Bounties can also be tracked from the NavMode UI while in the game world.

Finally, say goodbye to the Fallen Wolf Hunt Patrols and Elder Cipher Bounties. The former have been removed from the game world, while the latter no longer drop from beating Skolas in the Prison of Elders. Instead, the here Exotic weapons that were available from the bounties will drop from the Treasure Chests. Existing Elder Ciphers have been converted into coins that can be redeemed with Variks.

You can check out the complete list of Strike, Prison of Elders, Quests, and Bounty changes in the Destiny 2.0 update below. Which ones do you like or dislike? Sound off in the comments.

Activities

World

• Year 1 Activities have been converted into Quest system
  • Year One Questlines do not require ownership of The Taken King
  • You can replay the story for more experience and reputation by looking at the Quest Collections in the Tower
• The Ghost is now voiced by Nolan North
• Fallen Wolf Hunt Patrols will retreat in anticipation of the arrival of Oryx in our solar system
• Fixed an issue where “Medic” and “Blast Shield” PVP medals displayed while playing PVE activities

Strikes

• Players now are required to participate in the boss fights to be eligible for end-of-activity loot.
• Bonus Loot and Reputation can now be earned via Vanguard Streak Bonuses for players who continue to recycle back into the Strike playlist without exiting to Orbit
• Burn (Arc, Void, Solar) Skulls now only increases player damage by 2x (down from 3x). Combatant damage to player is unchanged at 3x.
• Fixed an issue where the incident for completing a strike (i.e., earning the “Strikes Introduction” grimoire card) was not triggering in Strike playlists

Prison of Elders

• Fixed an issue where the “Servitor Bonds Weakened” buff did not clear when Skolas is pushed into phase 2
• Fixed an issue where the web mine FX extended beyond effect area
• Fixed an issue where the rewards for Skolas’s Revenge does not grant “Hildian Seeker” to players who already have Ceres Galliot
• Glimmer Consumable drop rates reduced drastically from the Arena chest
• Removed the Elder Cipher exotic bounty
  • These exotics now have a chance to drop from the large chest in the Queen’s Arena
  • Players who were on any step of the elder cipher should receive a token to redeem at Variks for their choice of House of Wolves exotic weapon

King’s Fall

King’s Fall Raid will unlock on September 18, 2015, 10 a.m. Pacific

Quests

• Quest Screen added to Menu
  • The Quest Screen allows you to view all active Quests
  • Quests may be abandoned, but they are recoverable at Abandoned Quest Archives at the Tower
  • Each Quest has a Details Screen that describes the current and previous quest steps
  • Up to four Quests can now be viewed in the Director and while in Nav Mode
• Year One Activities have been converted into Quest system
• New Questlines have been added for each Year One Subclass
• Reputation panel has been moved from the Inventory screen to the Quest Screen

Bounties

• Bounty slot size increased to 16
• Incomplete Year 1 Bounties are auto-abandoned on 09/08 in preparation for The Taken King launch
• Incomplete Year 1 Exotic Bounties are auto-completed at their respective Vendors
• Bounties are now turned in for completion reward via the Quest Screen
• Bounties can now be tracked via the new Progress UI in NavMode
• Eris Year 1 bounties will be retired. Reputation with Crota’s Bane can continue to be earned via TTK Quests on September 15

[Images via Bungie]