With the August 8th TWID teasing reworks to underused exotics, I would like to dedicate this post to brainstorming how Bungie can rework underused exotics.
This post was originally going to be about the Wings of Sacred Dawn, but it felt like it would be more fun to open up the discussion to all exotics that need a little more TLC.
Use this space to share your thoughts on how you think exotics should be reworked and share it so it (hopefully) makes its way to the developers.
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As aforementioned, I did have some ideas on how to rework or tweak how the Wings of Sacred Dawn (WoSD) work in order to give it more utility or bring an entirely new way to play using the exotic. Below are my # workshopped reworks and their summarized characteristics: 1. Icarus Dash the Exotic, gives any subclass class icarus dash aspect + WoSD current functionality. Adds 1 Icarus Dash charge if Icarus Dash aspect is equipped. 2. Flickering Light, improves icarus dash aspect with faster animation and dash speed + WoSD current functionality. Adds 1 Icarus Dash charge if Icarus Dash aspect is equipped. 3. Great Ball of Fire, precision hits or kills reset icarus dash timer. Consecutive icarus dashes will set the guardian ablaze, imbuing weapons with scorch. Adds 1 Icarus Dash charge if icarus dash aspect is equipped. Given that WoSD is meant to be the flight exotic, I felt that the addition of 1 Icarus Dash charge across the board fits the theme of the exotic to fly more often, but only if they invest into it with the Icarus Dash aspect. Given this, each idea plays with this additional Icarus Dash in a different way that may prove very interesting. For the first rework, Icarus Dash the Exotic, we have the classic band-aid. Slap on Icarus Dash and call it a day. Opens up build diversity for dawn blade in areas that shouldn’t be too meta defining or game breaking while also opening up the other subclasses to experiment with WoSD in-flight capabilities and icarus dash. I could imagine this would be an interesting alternative for Astrocyte Verse warlocks who could now Icarus Dash into blink for faster, more horizontal blinking capability. Otherwise, it gives aerial elements to other subclasses in which it’ll either turn out to be interesting or underwhelming. For Flickering Light, the core of the idea was improved movement that granted more control and precision over the mechanics of WoSD. When a guardian goes into ADS, WoSD will activate the exotic trait “Tome of Dawn”, which suspends players in air. Though this suspension can make in air movement stiff when playing stationary, it has the unique property of maintaining horizontal momentum as the player holds ADS. With additional Icarus Dash animation and dash speed, WoSD “Tome of Dawn” movement would be more snappy and hold momentum better. For the percentage buffs to animation and dash speed, Bungie will have to find a sweet spot that increases the fluidity and snappiness of WoSD movement while also not making Icarus Dash a “get out of jail” free option in gunfights. I would recommend Bungie experiment within a range of 5% minimum to 12% maximum on these increases. I’ve saved the most interesting rework for last, being the Great Ball of Fire. With the idea of setting the world on fire through radiant airborne martyrdom, I wanted to change this exotic to promote really fast, high risk high reward gameplay, setting your enemies ablaze before the flame takes you with it. While ADS, precision hits and final blows will reset the timer on Icarus Dash. Resets beyond the maximum charges of Icarus Dash, in this case 2, will set the guardian ablaze, improving the speed of Icarus Dash and imbuing weapons with increased damage and scorch whilst also scorching the guardian. The Icarus Dash speed improvements would be similar to the improvements made in the Flickering Light workshop, with the benefits only activating while the player is set ablaze. Additionally, weapons will be granted a 15% damage increase and varying amounts of scorch based on the weapon type. Icarus Dash resets beyond the maximum charge limit will scorch the player 25 scorch stacks. Upon reaching 100 stacks, the player will undergo a fatal ignition that damages both friend and foe in range of the ignition. Scorch stacks will drop as normal after a period of time, however, the burn effect will linger until the Icarus Dash timer resets fully. Out of all the WoSD benefits that are not part of the primary functionality of WoSD, the suspension part, that complimented this new play-style the most, the only two that will remain in this rework of the WoSD will be the 15% in-air DR and the auto-reload on solar weapon kills. With proper management of Icarus Dash resets, the scorch counter, and health along with proper positioning and build crafting, WoSD could turn into a dominant weapons platform that provides speed and power to everyday combat.