Destiny 2 game director Luke Smith discussed the particulars, responding to fans’ questions about the upcoming sci-fi shooter.
When to use Kinetic and Energy weapons
The weapon system has changed in Destiny 2 from the first game, now giving players a Kinetic weapon slot and an Energy weapon slot (in place of Primary and Special). While Bungie has explained in the past that Energy weapons do extra damage in PvP against enemy players who are in their Super, Smith also explained the advantage of using a Kinetic weapon.
According to Smith, kinetic weapons do extra precision damage against enemy players in comparison to an Energy weapon. So it’s best to use a Kinetic weapon in the Crucible—that is, unless an enemy has activated their Super.
Players can change elements of Energy weapons
Energy weapons have a slot for an elemental mod, which will allow the element of arc, solar, or void to be reassigned to that particular weapon. Smith said that wouldn’t necessarily be the case with changing the element on exotic Energy weapons, but for the majority players can change the elemental damage to suit their needs. That is, as long as they have the proper mod in their inventory to do it.
Energy weapons’ advantage against shielded PvE enemies
In Destiny 1, players were taught to shoot shielded PvE enemies with a weapon of the same elemental type. See a Fallen Captain with an arc shield? Hit it with an arc damage weapon to burn down that shield faster.
In Destiny 2, all Energy weapons will do more damage than Kinetic weapons to shields. However, there is still a reason to try to match the elements of both shield and weapon. Shooting an enemy with the matching damage type will cause the shield to explode, stunning the enemy, and dealing area-of-effect damage to any nearby minions.
How to spec armor to grant speed or tankiness
In Destiny 1, armor gave Intellect, Discipline, and Strength stats that affected the cooldowns of a player’s Super, grenade, or melee ability, respectively. In Destiny 2, ability cooldowns have been standardized and armor now mainly affects what Destiny 1 players know as Agility, Recovery, and Armor.
Previously, those stats were determined by a subclass’s perk tree, but they have been tied to armor in Destiny 2 in the form of Mobility, Recovery, and Resilience. Smith says prioritizing certain armor builds will allow for different experiences:
Fusion and sniper rifles have gotten adjustments
Fusion rifles were very strong in the console beta (and they still are in the PC beta). Smith specifically mentioned fusion rifles as being one of the weapon types that has undergone a slight nerf to bring it in line with the other Power weapons available. On the other side, he mentioned that sniper rifles received a buff, with a slight reduction to flinch and sway.
Destiny 2 releases September 6, 2017 for PS4 and Xbox One, and on October 24, 2017 for PC.
Souce: Wired
