Bungie is bringing some changes on how it reports Destiny and general company updates.

 “Whoa, wait!” you say. “Is this the Bungie Weekly Update?” 

It was, for many years. Today, we’re giving it a new name so it would no longer be confused with Patch Notes. Bungie has long enjoyed taking a moment out of each week to share something from our studio with the players of our games. We may have outgrown the name in the complex era of Destiny, but we have not outgrown the weekly ritual of friendship.

But beyond a title change, Bungie is talking Destiny Update 2.1.1 which could change how you play Crucible for the better, I think. Details after the jump.

This has happened to all of us.

You’re about to begin what you hope will be an epic fight in the Crucible. Your Fireteam materializes on the surface of your favorite map in a haze of luminous energy. The leader of your Fireteam plants a flag in the opening pose-down (maybe it’s even you), while you contemplate your favorite choke-point to set up shop. The match begins, and you’re on the run. You sprint down a lane that leads to that sweet spot where you always teach a clinic on how to kick some ass.

[BOOM – Headshot]

Looks like someone knew where you were headed and treated themselves to an easy first strike at your expense. And you rage… Oh, do you rage!

Have you ever wondered how the opening sprint might play out if that clever Sniper didn’t have bullets right at the outset? We’ve asked ourselves that question. 

Luckily, Bungie has a solution that though it could piss off some people, I think will make playing Crucible for many people a better experience. Senior Designer Derek Carroll explains:

After the update, players will start certain matches without Special Ammo. Once the match has begun, those green Special crates will behave in the same ways you’re used to (although you may be looking for them a bit more).

Basically what Carroll and Bungie want to avoid are those ever so frustrating moments that within spawning, you find yourself waiting to respawn again as a sniper already had their way with you.

The PvP team wanted to increase the use of Primary weapons, especially at match-start. Sniper rifles and shotguns, in particular, inspire great happiness or sadness depending on which end of the weapon you find yourself. We wanted to somewhat delay that gratification (and sadification).

The change however is only coming to 3v3 playlists.

All 3v3 playlists will feature the new Special Ammo behavior. Skirmish, Salvage, Elimination, Trials, and any rotating 3v3 playlists are covered. I will take special care to say that Rumble is not a 3v3 mode, and is safe from this change.

Though I wish this new ammo economy was headed to 6v6 as well, I can’t argue their logic.

several reasons to limit this change to the 3v3 modes. First, the larger gametypes are generally less sensitive to initial conditions, which gives us more freedom to have Special Weapons going from the beginning. Also, smaller gametypes like Skirmish are a bit more hardcore, with more weight applied to each player in the match, so we felt we could try pushing Primary weapons for those initial engagements. Conversely, Control is the friendliest place to enter the Crucible, so we wanted to make sure that we don’t present new players with a fundamentally different game than what they’re used to.

A lot more details can be read on the official Bungie site but in short, Bungie is nerfing special ammo for 3v3 on Crucible in order to give the game a bit more flow versus who can, depending on the map, pull the trigger the fastest and get a kill or two. Destiny update 2.1.1 will be released on February 9th.

Discuss:

What do you think about the new changes coming in Destiny update 2.1.1?

[Via Bungie]