Grenade Launchers are in a bad place, but not the way you think
Please keep in mind this is largely from a PvP perspective, but I've never cared what perks/traits a grenade launcher came with. Instead I care about what's in the magazine and barrel columns. Does it have proximity grenades? Does it have spike grenades? Does one of my barrel options improve blast radius? Is blast radius my masterwork, or is it worthless? Oh goody I got ambitious assassin on my not-Militia's Birthright, that will come in handy.
I'm talking about grenade launchers because of The Mountaintop and its quest, as right now players need to do one or more of the following:
Just be that damn good.
Hoard/rush heavy in Competitive and risk losing the match & Glory points.
Hoard/rush heavy in Quickplay for a slow grind.
Wait for Mayhem to come back and then hoard/rush heavy under threat of endless flying knives.
Be very good with Fighting Lion.
Use a Y1 lightweight grenade launcher with no blast radius (not getting double kills with that).
Be a Y1 player who supported Dead Orbit in Faction Rally to get Truthteller.
Or wait for Lake of Shadows to be the Nightfall and grind that for the only year 2 special ammo grenade launcher.
I think Bungie creating The Mountaintop was a good thing, because it's the kind of design choice that I adore: a unique weapon not constrained by the exotic system and tied to a quest that requires stepping outside the PvP meta comfort zone, proper awareness, skill, and persistence.
(Competitive still has problems but that's a different, well-discussed topic and not why I'm here let's continue.)
I also think Bungie didn't do enough to make grenade launchers more attractive, despite giving us all the Edge Transits we could ever ask for. I'd like them to consider a few suggestions.
Make new perks/traits for grenade launchers: liven up the loot pool with fun toys like grenades that bounce around wildly with mild tracking for a few seconds or explode in a cloud of poisonous smog.
Revert the nerf to proximity grenade's blast radius and/or turn it into a full trait: proximity grenades are the only part of a grenade launcher to ever be nerfed (to my knowledge, that is, there may be some ammo economy changes I can't recall). It's still a heavily desired roll, so upgrade them to the forefront and give other options more room to grow.
Make more grenade launchers that take special ammo: largely restricting grenade launchers to heavy slows down progression enough to offset the bonus progression in Competitive.
I dunno, buff blast radius/ammo economy for heavy grenade launchers a bit: it's an easy, mild change that likely won't upset the balance too much but if it does that could be a good thing.
Your role as a moderator enables you immediately ban this user from messaging (bypassing the report queue) if you select a punishment.
7 Day Ban
7 Day Ban
30 Day Ban
Permanent Ban
This site uses cookies to provide you with the best possible user experience. By clicking 'Accept', you agree to the policies documented at Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
Accept
This site uses cookies to provide you with the best possible user experience. By continuing to use this site, you agree to the policies documented at Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
close
Our policies have recently changed. By clicking 'Accept', you agree to the updated policies documented at Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
Accept
Our policies have recently changed. By continuing to use this site, you agree to the updated policies documented at Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.