[b]When you start playing Destiny, your best bet is to make titan or hunter. Warlocks always end up weaker, [u]because the armor available to them is nowhere near as good[/u] as what other classes can equip.[/b]
* For example, take the chest slot. My co-op buddy bought the [url=http://destiny.wikia.com/wiki/The_Armamentarium]Armamentarium[/url] titan chest armor from Xur at the weekend. This is clearly the most overpowered piece of gear in the game, and anyone can have it because Xur sells it:
- Have TWO GRENADES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Carry MORE ROCKETS!!
- Carry countless extra sniper or shotgun rounds
[b]Why don't warlocks have anything like that? Nothing for that class comes even close. This makes the game severely unbalanced. Players who make a titan character instead of a warlock character have a substantial advantage in every situation.[/b]
* Another obvious example is the boot slot. Why the lack of exotic boots for the lock class? [b][url=http://www.reddit.com/r/DestinyTheGame/comments/2hv5xl/here_are_all_the_exotic_armor_pieces_sorted_by/]Exotic boots are available for all classes, -- but not for warlocks![/url][/b] Why? This results in less armour choice for warlocks and a net lack of perks obtained from armour. Titans get exotic boots. Hunters get exotic boots. Warlocks were overlooked. Bungie clearly put a lot of thought into titans and hunters, but self-evidently overlooked warlocks resulting in numerous disadvantages and oversights facing the class which all need to be addressed at some point.
I have checked all available armor for each class. It's confirmed: warlocks have the worst gear. I don't mind there being great armor for other classes. What I do mind is that there is nothing that comes close for locks. Destiny was supposed to be a game in which one class does not have an advantage over the others. That is not the case, mainly due to unbalanced gear. Forget the negligible 1% buff or nerf that Bungie applies to weapons.to improve balance. Look at the huge difference between gear available to different classes.
I dearly hope Xur has [url=http://destiny.wikia.com/wiki/Voidfang_Vestments]Voidfang Vestments[/url] again this weekend. I didn't have enough coins for it the previous week, after buying Ice Breaker. I genuinely needed to buy IB when it was sold, because [url=http://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/73153066/0/0]having played every day since day 1 I have literally never had any legendary or exotic weapon drops -- not even one[/url]! By comparison, my co-op buddy plays the same games as I do but and gets so much gear he has to shard it to clear space in his vault. Players who get drops don't know how lucky they are. When they switch weapons they are upgrading three weapons as they play. I have to waste kills on upgraded weapons until I save to buy a weapon from Xur or a Vendor. My co-op buddy doesn't usually buy charity handout gear from Xur, because he doesn't have to due to always getting drops, but I really do need it.
EDIT:[b] This is a post about the imbalance of GEAR between classes. Nascent class balance is a more complex issue beyond the scope of this thread. [/b]However, the classes are well balanced in this game. If that were not so Bungie would have addressed that before the minor weapon balancing that we are seeing.
-
1. Warlocks are weaker in the early game, because they have the worst armor rating...but they can become very powerful later on. You can compensate for that poor armor rating by going with a build that emphasizes "armor" and "recovery" at the expense of "agility". 2. You don't need armor that gives you a second grenade, because you HAVE a second grenade (if you want) if you're a fully-levelled Sunsinger. Even as a Voidwalker, you have Energy Drain which can dramatically lower your grenade cooldown. 3. Actually the Exotic armor for Warlock is some of the best in the game. a. Sunbreakers: Faster reload on special weapons, Melee reduces grenade cooldown (remember Sunsingers often have TWO grenades), Increased duration of Solar Grenade. b. Voidfang Vestments: Increased Hand Cannon ammo. Increased Special weapon ammo. Axion bolt grenade generates another seeker (and likely and additional kill) c. Heart of the Praxic Fire: Increased Fusion Rifle Ammo. Increased Heavy weapon ammo. [i]Decreased cooldown of ALL abilities while Radiance active[/i] d. Skull of Dire Ahamkara: Increased grenade thrown distance. Grenade kills replenish Super energy. Reduced damage when using Nova Bomb. Increased Energy drain. I have all four of these exotics...and the last two especially are VERY powerful. 4. Your problem isn't "gear imbalance". Your problem is that you're trying to equip yourself from drops. Which is the WORST way to equip yourself for the end game (level 20+) Because only about one monster in 1500 drops a legendary engram. In fact, the odds are SO LOW that I've had more RARE engrams turn into legendary gear than I've had purple engrams drop that give lengendary gear. So you're trying to fill up a bucket with a fist-sized hole in the bottom. What you need to be doing---if you want legendary gear with minimum of frustration---is: a. DO YOUR BOUNTIES EVERYTIME YOU PLAY. Once you get your Vanguard/Crucible/Faction rank to level 2 you can BUY legendary armor. Once you get to level 3 you can buy legendary weapons. (Vangaurd rank 7) For each level past three your faction will GIVE YOU rare-and-better engrams for each level increase. I've gotten a legendary helmet and autorifle that way. b. Do strikes/public events/Crucible to earn marks. You can earn up to 100 Vanguard and 100 crucible marks per week, per character. You can use these to buy lengendary weapons and armor from the vendors. Have bought several legendaries this way...and a few others to dismantle for upgrade materials for the gear I'm using. c. Farm engrams...but ONLY for fodder for levelling up your Cryptarch. After level 6, the Cryptarch will GIVE YOU rare-or-better engrams for each level increase. (Mine is level 27). I've gotten several legendary weapons this way, and a few armor pieces. Though you can get armor that is for a differnt class. Either bank them for other characters or dismantle them for shards. d. Buy from Xur. I've bought Sunbreakers, Light Beyond Nemeis, and Apotheosis Veil for Strange coins. e. Buy the random exotic engram. Unless you are just IN LOVE with the warlock bonds that the Speaker sells, there's nothing else to spend them on in the game, and you are guarenteed to get something exotic...just not necessarily for your class. I Got Voidfang Vestments, Heart of the Praxic Fire, Skull of Dire Ahamkara, and Achyllophage Symbiote (Hunter, sharded) for Motes of Light from Xur.. f. Once your height enough level, start doing the weekly strikes. Complete these strikes and you'll get strange coin and upgrade materials for legendary gear. At the highest levels of difficulty you'll get legendary and exotic gear outright. Got a legendary shotgun for this week's Nightfall. But stop trying to win the lottery with monster drops. It's the least efficient and least effective way to equip yourself. I have HUNDREDS of hours into this game, and I've only gotten ONE (a Scout Rifle) weapon from a purple engram drop...and NO armor from drops. In fact I ahve MORE legendary items that popped from BLUE engrams...and just as many exotics (Icebreaker) that popped from a purple engram.