Gjallarhorn needs a nerf, but not a stupid one that makes it weaker and provides no alternative. Gjallarhorn needs to be BALANCED with OTHER EXOTIC ROCKET LAUNCHERS, not just weakened.
Hear me out.
How it is now-
Truth- (Aggressive) Tracking + Prox Det
Dragons Breath- Max DPS from mag
Gjallarhorn- Tracking + Prox Det + Max DPS from mag
Who thought that was a good idea?
Proposal:
Truth- Leave it as it is
Dragons Breath- Add tracking, make tripod a hidden perk like it is on Truth, minor increase to solar flare duration.
Gjallarhorn- Remove tracking. If you want to nerf Wolfpack rounds a little, have at it, as long as overall DPS is similar to Dragons Breath potential.
Now what do we have?
Truth- (Aggressive) Tracking + Prox Det
Dragons Breath- Tracking + Max DPS
Gjallarhorn- Prox Det + Max DPS
Why does this matter?
Now the answer is not universally Gjallarhorn in every situation (at least in PVE)
Are you a ledge-monkey on Crota (long range bullet sponge with moderate movement)? Dragons Breath
Are you facing a large number of quick-moving enemies and trash mobs? Truth
Are you facing a stationary bullet sponge at relatively close range? Gjallarhorn
Now the endgame content has multiple solutions based on playstyle, what enemy you are facing, and what your skill level is. For instance, Gjallarhorn with no tracking would therefore REQUIRE SKILL TO ACHIEVE MAXIMUM DPS, which in itself may mitigate the need for a major nerf to Wolfpack rounds.
Holy Shit! Balance without pissing in everyone's Cheerios! Who woulda thunk?
TL;DR- BALANCE the exotic Rocket Launchers by moving perks around in order to make it so the situation determines the optimal weapon.
Edit- clarified title
Edit 2- I'm not a -blam!-ing Viking, so I just corrected the spelling of Gjallarhorn
Edit 3- To clarify, I absolutely believe that Gjallarhorn is overpowered. It needs to be reduced in power overall to get rid of its "easy button" characteristic. That being said, if you take the most powerful gun and make it weaker, but don't make anything equal to it, then all you have is a weaker most powerful gun- that isn't fun, and it doesn't fix the fundamental issue which Bungie cited as their reason for the nerf in the first place. My proposal acknowledges that the overall DPS may need to drop, and that is fine- as long as the perks change to at least make the other exotics viable options, while keeping all of them above legendaries.
Edit 4: I got 99 replies, but the Dev ain't one...
Edit 5: There are some other interesting ideas floating around in here for leveling the field even more, such as reducing Gjallarhorn ammo (either in the mag, or in reserve), making Dragon's Breath solo flares more powerful (either making them sticky, having them cause ignite, or making them do more damage or last longer). It seems like most people agree with the central points:
1. Gjallarhorn is really too powerful as is
2. Dragon's Breath is not sufficiently powerful enough to elevate it above legendaries.
3. Truth is probably fine
4. It would be better for game play to include a buff of some other weapons as part of the Gjallarhorn fix in order to provide more options for the endgame instead of just making the one choice weaker.
I've outlined one possible option, but just a brief look through this thread shows many more creative solutions which could work as well. Ball is in your court, Bungie...
Edit 6 (24AUG15)- so, this piece was originally written a while ago, prior to the Twitch reveal last week that showed that Gjallarhorn will not be moving forward into Year 2. This post assumed that Gally would not be left behind on Sep 15, but now that we know it will be,the broken parts about it will likely fix themselves.
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No, Gally is so strong because it does too much damage. If you buff other rockets then the game gets even easier then it already is. Give up. Leave your gallys.
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Death to Gjally !!! lol jk I love my Gjally it actually needs a buff, more wolfpack rounds and they need to be more powerful.
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Jheez people really rely on the Gjallarhorn...
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Edited by Ephyrel: 8/21/2015 9:48:53 AMGet over it Jesus There Will be something better. I can bet for a month ago you where asking forums that xur shuld sell it
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They did you one better they left it behind it will stay year one and will not be brought into year 2 check out today's update from Deej
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Doesn't matter anymore...Ghorn isn't coming forward to year two...*single tear*
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Well thought out proposal. Glad that you offered solutions as well as a thought out argument. The forums need more of this. Right now it's all whiners. Bump, +1, rep, cheers, etc...
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Edited by RavenousLD3341: 8/19/2015 4:27:12 PMI... actually like this. Nice thinking
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Some ideas for in game, see if you guys like them
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Gjallarhorn is useless without tracking. Enemies will just Dodge it.
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Here's the problem with this. Tracking is a waste of a perk. Proximity is the better perk option because tracking still has to direct impact the target. You're making dragons breath the same with a waste of a perk, and not touching gjallarhorn in any way. In the grimoire for rocket launchers, it literally says that skilled users will aim at the feet of enemies. Doing this negates any need for tracking. Proximity allows you to basically have the same effect as shooting their feet, but with not actually having to shoot there. Increases the size of your target massively in essence. Your so called fix doesn't help balance gjallarhorn or make dragons breath any more useful.
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I agree that it needs more careful balancing, but this will not work. Dragon's breath is designed for up close crowd control and aoe. No tracking. Truth was designed for long range crowd control. Tracking and proximity. Gjallarhorn was designed for bosses. Low blast radius, tracking, high damage. You can't mess with these things. Tealuze that there is an underlying purpose to these weapons. I agree proximity should be removed from gjallarhorn, but in the process you can't just destroy its purpose.
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http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2015/08/18/destiny-is-now-drowning-in-gjallarhorns-proving-a-big-nerf-is-needed/
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Gjallarhorn needs to be balanced with other rocket launchers?? What is the god damn reason of having different rocket launchers if all of them do pretty much the same damage ?? Just to have one doing pretty solar flares or those wolfpack rounds?? There has to be one that is better than the others, just imagine life with everything delivering the same results, boring, the problem here is people wanting what others have and crying for it on the forums?
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Ghorn should have lowest velocity and DB should have the highest.
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Gjallarhorn doesn't have proximity detonation like the truth does. It's not really necessary with tracking. How about not "tuning" weapons and play the game face value. Go play something else if you don't like it.
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They could just reduce it reserves to 4, 5 with a carry more ammo with heavy weapon armor piece on.
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Horrible idea. Just horrible
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Edited by Howie: 8/18/2015 9:20:58 AMAgreed completely - although I would remove the proxy detonation on the gally too. What you're suggesting is entirely the right way to balance weapons in Destiny - pros and cons, risk and reward. You want the crazy power of the wolfpack rounds? Then earn it by actually being able to hit your target. More balanced, more rewarding, more fun. bro five \o/\0/
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I'm onna go for a crazy idea and go with buff the other Rocket Launchers the nerf the Gjallarhorn. They are supposed to be powerful heavy hitters.
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It must be hard being this -blam!-ing stupid
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Edited by GrendalPr1me78: 8/17/2015 4:18:03 PMDon't nerf anything on Gjallarhorn....leave it alone. I'm so tired of all the best weapons being nerfed.
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Eh I would rather have the Bungie nerf than yours. Your nerf is literally crucifying the weapon into the ground.