This week Destiny 2 developers had to disable the Evensong exotic. But the reason for this unusual decision is as surprising as it is confusing: The exotic worked exactly as Bungie intended in the last rework for Season 21. MeinMMO shows what’s going on and why the Exo was probably deactivated.
Which Exotic Has Bungie Disabled? On May 26th, just prior to the launch of the new Spirits of the Deep dungeon, the developer announced that the recently revamped warlock exotic, Evensong, had to be disabled due to an issue.
This is how Bungie Support informed the Guardians via Twitter:
However, this announcement caused some confusion in the Destiny community, as the reason for the deactivation sounds like what the Exo is described as doing. MeinMMO tells you why the exotic was actually deactivated.
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This is controversy about the disabled Exotic
Shouldn’t that explode, Bungie? If you read through the exo perk, the explanation for the deactivation is actually confusing. The shockwaves of “Evening Prayer” are supposed to do just that: explode slain enemies.
“Planetary Flash Flood”
Rifts regularly emit Arc Shockwaves. Finishing blows with these shockwaves create an arc blast. While an Arc subclass is equipped, the shockwaves and subsequent explosions blind nearby targets. Rift energy recharges faster when surrounded by targets.
So the question that many guardians asked under the message on Twitter was justified. Why did Bungie disable an exotic that does exactly what it was designed to do? However, Bungie’s statement doesn’t seem to reveal all the details of the issue.
That’s why the Exo was really deactivated: The Exotic “Evening Prayer” was causing an unintended chain of explosive arc damage, primarily in connection with an interaction with the exotic scout rifle “Skyburner’s Oath”.
Destiny player Chadly responded to Bungie with a video below the tweet, writing, “So it’s actually disabled because Skyburner Oath creates a blast chain when killing some Trash enemies of all things? […] If that’s all that was wrong, there was 0 reason [das Exo] to deactivate.”
Is that why it’s disabled?
Some players note that it might have made more sense to disable the Skyburner Oath scout rifle instead of the Warlock Exo.
However, it is also not known whether the exotic has not also led to interactions with other weapons. Apparently there were similar problems with the “Phoenix swoop” that could trigger strong explosion chains. So at Bungie it probably made more sense to disable one thing than several.
When will the evening prayer exotic be available again? Disabling Evensong is temporary. Bungie is already working on adjusting the exotic and bringing it back to the game once it meets intended balance and performance standards. However, it is not yet known when that will be. However, we will update this article in this case.
“We shall never have fun in Destiny 2!”
If it’s fun, it has to go: For players, disabling Evensong is further proof that Bungie only disables exotics or weapons when they’re the most fun.
As such, the decision to disable an Exotic because it works too well may seem odd at first. Despite this, most disablements due to bugs or excessive strength in Destiny 2 are warranted. Again, Bungie is proactively disabling to maintain gameplay and balance.
What often goes unmentioned in this complaint: There are also gameplay bugs in Destiny 2 that were to the benefit of Guardians that were not immediately removed.
In these cases, Bungie set a fixed date with a wink and simply let the overpowered fun for a while. True to the motto: “Enjoy it while it lasts”.
Bug Overwhelms Destiny 2 Class – Bungie Says “Enjoy It”
Those were just three examples out of many. But this shows that Bungie is also willing to allow fun in some cases – if not forever.
Nevertheless, it is inevitable that a fix will also have to come here in the end. Because, as every Guardian in Destiny 2 has already experienced for themselves, even the most careful planning at Bungie can lead to unexpected consequences. Also because Destiny 2 is a constantly evolving game. Such adjustments are therefore part of the process.
Did you also notice the strength of the Exo combo in Season 21? And what do you think of Bungie’s wording in the support message? Do you think the issue was adequately addressed? Or was it confusing for you too with this explanation? Then write it to us in the comments.
By the way, since yesterday the guardians have dived into the brand new dungeon “Ghosts of the Deep”. We have linked everything you need to know in our dungeon overview:
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