Iconoclasts, out this week on Steam, PS4, and PlayStation Vita, is the product of developer Joakim Sandberg, who spent seven years tuning and tweaking the side-scrolling adventure game to his personal taste. The result is a game that’s strikingly precise, and one that reflects the passions and interests of its sole developer. 

That’s a rare thing in games, which often benefit from being touched by many hands in the course of development. Today on the Gamasutra Twitch channel, we were lucky enough to talk to Sandberg about his influences and the decisions he made producing this game. 

You can watch our full conversation up above, but just in case you’re *checks spreadsheet* trying to escape a iron-fisted theocratic government that’s angry at you for choosing your own career, you can read some quick highlights down below. 

Building a side-scrolling action game with auto-aim

Most side-scrolling action games, while not relying on precision aiming, do ask players to pay some attention to where they’re pointing their gun/otherwise magical item. However, Sandberg told Gamasutra that he was largely interested in creating a game where players could keep moving, so he wanted to give a small degree of auto-aim to players so they wouldn’t be stopping to shoot all the time. 

To that end, he explained he designed a cone-centered system that only asked players to be pointing the gun toward the correct 90 degree angle, and as long as they were in range, an auto-aim system would take care of the rest. There’s also a fairly limited degree of tools the player picks up in Iconoclasts, since Sandberg said the insane feature creep of some modern games (He jokingly references Batman: Arkham Knight) reduces the impact of what encounters can be meaningful to players. 

Shooters shouldn’t have boss battles

Amidst our discussion about the game’s many creative boss battles, Sandberg shared his thoughts about what roles a video game “boss” has in modern game design, and how some action-oriented games shouldn’t be employing them. Sandberg explained that his game has bosses because he essentially designed his control system around 1 on 1 encounters, not battles against hordes of enemies. He argued that in games where players face hordes of enemies (like shooters, for instance), singular boss encounters tend to slow down the general flow, and thus become less memorable. 

In Sandberg’s eyes, action games that currently use bosses as narrative crutches would benefit more from structured setpieces that can either accommodate large amounts of enemies, or are crafted with unique moments that don’t occur elsewhere in gameplay. 

Iconoclast’s inspiration includes Metroid Fusion and…Monster World IV?

Again, since Iconoclasts is such a personal effort, we thought it was worth talking to Sandberg about his game design inspirations. Broadly, the game does feel reminiscent of the so-called “Metroidvania” genre, but Sandberg points out that the game’s linearity and lower emphasis on exploration means it doesn’t quite fit in that description. 

One game that Sandberg wanted to call out was Monster World IV for the Sega Mega Drive. It’s a side-scrolling action game that manages to build a narrative world out of 2-dimensional space, and since we don’t hear that game cited often here at Gamasutra, we figured other developers interested in following in Sandberg’s footsteps may want to revisit its structure when studying other games. 

For more developer interviews, editor roundtables and gameplay commentary, be sure to follow the Gamasutra Twitch channel. 

Save up to 30% on select Nintendo Switch digital games

Looking for something new to play? Download great digital games to play anytime, anywhere—and in a whole new way—with Nintendo eShop on the Nintendo Switch system.

Right now, you can get up to 30% off select digital games for Nintendo Switch. My Nintendo members also earn Gold Points on qualifying digital purchases, so it’s a win-win. Act fast, though, as this sale only runs until 2/1 at 8:59 a.m. PT.

We know you’re busy and might miss out on all the exciting things we’re talking about on Xbox Wire every week. If you’ve got a few minutes, we can help remedy that. We’ve pared down the past week’s news into one easy-to-digest article for all things Xbox! Or, if you’d rather watch than read, you can feast your eyes on our weekly video show above. Be sure to come back every Friday to find out what’s happening This Week on Xbox!

Age of Empires: Definitive Edition Launches on February 20
When we set out to create the Definitive Edition of the original Age of Empires, our goal was to deliver the best possible version of this classic, from a top notch audio-visual presentation to multiplayer to core game systems. Everything needed to be as good as you remembered it (or better!) to deliver a compelling RTS experience 20 years after its original release. …and that took us a bit longer than we’d originally planned. But, it was important for the team to treat the Age of Empires franchise with the respect it deserves, so we took the time we needed to get features like attack-move and the improved minimap exactly right, and even… Read more

Xbox Game Pass: NBA 2K17, WWE 2K17, Halo Wars 2 and More Available February 1
Hello, fellow gamers! Welcome to your February Xbox Game Pass update. February brings a mix of eight new titles to Xbox Game Pass, with something for absolutely everyone to enjoy in addition to the over 100 great games already included in your Xbox Game Pass membership. You can look forward to playing NBA 2K17, WWE 2K17, Halo Wars 2, Darksiders II DE, Fable Anniversary, RIME, Riptide Renegade GP, and Letter Quest: Grimm’s Journey all available February 1. NBA 2K17 Xbox Game Pass members loved the stunningly realistic, world-class simulation basketball and engaging Spike Lee MyCareer story that NBA 2K16 had to offer — it was one of the most-played games in Xbox Game Pass when we… Read more

Explore Unknown Territory with the ID@Xbox Artistic Adventure Sale
We’re going on an adventure! The ID@Xbox team has gone hunting for over 55 of our favorite indie adventure games and discounted them by up to 70% in the Artistic Adventure Sale. Now’s a wonderful time to shore up that game catalog with fantastic critically acclaimed games like: What Remains of Edith Finch (33% off). Winner of Best Narrative at The Game Awards and Best Adventure Game by Game Informer in 2017, What Remains of Edith Finch is a collection of strange tales about a family in Washington state. As Edith, you’ll explore the colossal Finch house, searching for stories as she explores her family history and tries to figure out why she’s the last one in her family left alive…. Read more

Console Launch Exclusive Full Metal Furies Available Now as Xbox Play Anywhere Title
Holy shlamboly, it’s actually happened. Full Metal Furies is coming out… today! To finally give gamers the chance to play a labour of love that we’ve spent nearly four years making is tough to put into words.  There’s a lot of pride getting to this point, and while the journey getting here was far from smooth, in the end, it was totally worth it. We honestly hope you enjoy playing Full Metal Furies. As the game approached release, we unveiled a lot of info about it and received a lot of feedback. One of the most interesting comments were from people who questioned whether Full Metal Furies even qualified as a brawler. It just seemed too unfamiliar to them, and outside what they… Read more

Drive Australia’s Open Roads in Native 4K with Forza Horizon 3 Xbox One X Enhanced
Since its release in 2016, millions of players have been exploring the world of Forza Horizon 3 on Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs, the highest-rated Xbox One exclusive. We are pleased to announce that, today, Xbox One X enhancements arrive for Forza Horizon 3, as a free download for players with an Xbox One X. Forza Horizon 3 on Xbox One X is powered by the same state-of-the art ForzaTech engine at the heart of the Forza franchise, also used to develop Forza Motorsport 7 for Xbox One X which brought native 4K resolution racing to the new platform. Forza Horizon 3 enhancements let players experience the game in native 4K along with a host of additional visual updates, including improved car… Read more

Assassin’s Creed Rogue Remastered Coming to Xbox One March 20 and Enhanced for Xbox One X
Assassin’s Creed Rogue returns for another voyage as Assassin’s Creed Rogue Remastered. Arriving March 20 for the Xbox One family of devices, it will be enhanced for Xbox One X, meaning you’ll be able to relive Shay Patrick Cormac’s Assassin-hunting adventure in glorious 4K. Giving players a chance to see the history-spanning Assassin-Templar war from the Templar side, Assassin’s Creed Rogue Remastered is an odyssey through 18th century America and the North Atlantic, where you’ll fight for law and order with a mix of nautical and on-foot gameplay. In addition to delivering native 4K resolution, Assassin’s Creed Rogue Remastered features new visual effects, better environmental… Read more

Fitbit Coach on Xbox Will Help You Achieve Healthy Goals
Whether you’re trying to lose weight, build muscle, or just plain feel better, experts agree that exercise should be part of your plan. But working out can be hard. Not only do you have to know what to do, you have to do it. And consistently, too. That’s where the Fitbit Coach app on Xbox comes in. This personalized training app delivers expert-designed dynamic bodyweight, run, and walk workouts that are tailored to your specific goals, making it easy to squeeze in a sweat session between rounds of NBA 2K17, just like Harrison Barnes. Here are some of the ways the Fitbit Coach app on Xbox will help get (and keep) you moving. Fitbit Coach meets you where you are. Upon joining… Read more

Inside Xbox One X Enhanced: Project CARS 2
Many of gaming’s most compelling stories come from those who’ve helped to create our favorite Xbox One games. In our Inside Xbox One X Enhanced series, these creators will share the behind-the-scenes accounts of the work involved in enhancing these epic games for Xbox One X, how they’ve helped chart the course of the world’s most powerful console, and what that means for the future of gaming. Today, we’ll be chatting with Kevin Boland, Lead Render Engineer at Slightly Mad Studios about enhancing Project CARS 2 for Xbox One X. What specifically is your development team doing to enhance Project CARS 2 for Xbox One X? We’ve worked hard to bring the authenticity and fun of… Read more

The Cartographer’s Fleet: The Alien Airframes of Inside Out Flying Game InnerSpace
Greetings, Cartographer. It is I, the Archaeologist, your creator, your companion, and fellow explorer of the Inverse. As you look at yourself, your wings and your fuselage, you may very well ask, “Can I be more than this?” The answer is yes, Cartographer. You absolutely can. I have just developed the technology that will allow you to transfer your AI consciousness from your current airframe into another. A brilliant breakthrough, if I say so myself. I’m envious, I admit. I only have the one submarine. Of course, I’ll need your help finding the parts to construct these new airframes for you. They can be found scattered across the Inverse, lost relics of technology from the Ancients… Read more

Learning the Basics in Kerbal Space Program Enhanced Edition for Xbox One
The countdown is over and Kerbal Space Program Enhanced Edition has arrived on Xbox One! This new version of Kerbal Space Program was built from the ground up with the help of the talented and experienced team at BlitWorks and includes a bunch of enhancements to the overall KSP experience on Xbox One. We have boosted performance, improved UI, and added three completely reworked controller presets designed specifically for consoles and optimized to be played on your Xbox One controller. We’ve also added features and content previously unavailable for KSP players on Xbox One. Rocket science seems overwhelming and difficult, but with Kerbal Space Program Enhanced Edition our goal is to… Read more

The Road to Victory in World of Tanks: TankBowl 2018
TankBowl has returned to World of Tanks for 2018! This clash of titans pits two mighty nations against each other, with tank commanders siding with either the USA or the USSR, and duking it out for honor, glory, and prizes. We know that going headlong into a battleground can be daunting, even when you’re backed up with a massive, heavy metal war machine. With that in mind, we’ve put together some tips to help you get the edge over your competition and dominate the battlefield during TankBowl. Here are five things to keep in mind before you join the fray in World of Tanks! Choose Wisely Whether you’re deciding to align with the USSR or the USA or just selecting your… Read more

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is Available Now on Xbox One
The first thing you see when you start The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a black screen with only this message in the center: “This game is a narrative experience that does not hold your hand.” Pretty harsh, isn’t it? We always wanted to make a game about the excitement of discovery. The problem is, true discovery means it needs to be earned, and that the players need to be able to miss things. Imagine there’s something interesting to be found in a forest. It’s a different feeling if you reach that spot using an objective marker and a map where “X marks the spot,” or if you just stumble upon this discovery almost accidentally, exploring the forest, maybe even getting… Read more

Stay: a Story of Abduction, Loneliness, and Friendship Coming Soon to Xbox One
It gives me great pleasure to be able to reveal our first ever Xbox One title: Stay. It’s a branching adventure game in which you play as yourself, but you happen to have found your way into an internet chatroom populated with one other person: Quinn. Stay takes place in real-time, so every second you spend in the chatroom is logged, as is every second you spend away from it (whether your Xbox One is switched off or you’re using it for other activities). Oh, and there’s the small matter of Quinn having been abducted and left abandoned in a dingy room, with seemingly nothing but a creaky old PC and an internet connection for company. What happens next is entirely down to… Read more

Neo Geo Coin-Op Retro Classics Available Now on Xbox One
If you’re like me, you may have never owned one of the consoles but fondly remember gathering all available quarters to feed into the local convenience store’s Neo Geo arcade cabinet with cult games like the 2D fighting series classic King of Fighters, the never-ending and still challenging run-n-gun series Metal Slug, or the side-scrolling action-adventure game Top Hunter – Roddy & Cathy. During the original 14-year run (1990-2004), Neo Geo games like Metal Slug, King of Fighters, Fatal Fury, Pulstar and more consumed quarter after quarter without ever showing their end credits to most players. With these new ACA Neo Geo releases, Hamster Corporation has faithfully recreated… Read more

Another week and another batch digital delights are winging their way down the pipes to the North American eShops. Whether you’re a Switch kid or an advocate for all things 3DS, this weeks menu is packed with tasty dishes for every kind of palette. We’ve got retro helicopter shooters, cutesy tennis games, Metroidvania platformers and much more.

So to ensure you know exactly what’s new hot and fresh on both platforms, we’ve collected every new game, piece of DLC, new demo and special discounts. Scroll down, pick the ones that catch your eye and watch your poor bank balance begin to tremble…

Switch eShop

Zero Gunner 2 For Nintendo Switch (Zerodiv Inc, $7.99) – Famous for its cool world and innovatively omni-directional shooting system, Zero Gunner 2, is coming back as Zero Gunner 2-. Let’s blast off every enemy’s planes from various sides of your screen. Read our review.

Tennis (D3Publisher, $7.99) – A tennis game that can be picked up and played by anyone. Enjoy the game by yourself, or play against family and friends. With 8 characters and 6 courts available, feel the excitement that tennis brings. The game can be played not only with the Pro Controller, but also by swing the Joy-Con or touch the screen.

Tachyon Project (Eclipse Games, $9.99) – Tachyon Project is an action-packed dual-stick shooter driven by a story. Through the story mode you’ll progressively unlock all the weapons, secondary weapons and perks available to configure your ship. You’ll need them to face the increasingly hard enemies you’ll find with over 30 different types. Read our review.

Super One More Jump (SMG Studio/Premo Games, $7.00) – Simple to learn one button controls. Hard to master levels. Test your muscle memory, concentration and sanity! Features: Now fully reworked & upgraded for the Nintendo Switch, including 100+ Hand crafted levels and insanely-hard challenge levels! Read our review.

STRIKERS 1945 II For Nintendo Switch (Zerodiv, $7.99) – The classic, long-run shooting game from the 90s has been perfectly remade! With its endless fun, STRIKERS 1945-2 is now available to enjoy again! Play it now!

FANTASY HERO ~unsigned legacy~ (Arc System Works, $9.99) – Save the world in “Fantasy Hero -Unsigned Legacy-“, by choosing from one of four heroes, and reclaiming what was lost to the Decoders! Set yourself on fire and charge head in and pulverize them with powerful throws or pick them off with projectiles, or send your robot in to do your bidding.

Dustoff Heli Rescue 2 (Invictus Games/Ratalaika Games, $14.99) – Jump into the hot seat of a combat helicopter and fly behind enemy lines under heavy fire as you search and rescue hostages! Play through 35 tense missions that include rescuing hostages, providing air support and more. Read our review.

CELESTE (Matt Makes Games, $19.99) – Help Madeline survive her inner demons on her journey to the top of Celeste Mountain, in this super-tight, hand-crafted platformer from the creators of multiplayer classic TowerFall.

ACA NEOGEO WORLD HEROES 2 (HAMSTER, $7.99) – Players are able to take part in epic battles between 14 historic figures such as Hanzo Hattori and Jeanne. Players can enjoy numerous battle strategies via the simple but deep game system featuring mechanics such as Throw Back and Projectile Bounce Back. Who’s the strongest in history? A new World Heroes Tournament begins now!

Arcade Archives Kid Niki Radical Ninja (HAMSTER, $7.99) – Kid Niki Radical Ninja is an action game released in 1986 by IREM. Destroy the enemies in your way and defeat the boss that appears in each stage as you head to the castle to save the captured princess. Enjoy the colourful stages and unique enemies as you battle along and aim for a high score.

Tales Of The Tiny Planet (Joindots, $19.99) – Tales of the Tiny Planet tells the story of a Planet searching through the galaxies for his lost friends. You have the ability to manipulate the world elements to guide him safely through the galaxies in this Physics-Puzzle-Adventure.

EARTH WARS (One Of Eight, $4.50) – In the year 2020 the world has become a nest for the unknown hostile organisms (E.B.E.). No current weapons appear to make any impact on the E.B.E. leaving humanity powerless, and on the brink of destruction. However, humanity has now got one last hope for survival in the development of bioarmor which fuses the EBE’s body tissue with metal…

Space Dave (Choice Provisions. $9.99) – Space Dave!, the spiritual successor to the hit game Woah Dave!, is a modern take on the fixed shooters of yesteryear. Defend your ground against the alien onslaught! Protect your terrain from their endless arsenal of weapons!

Demos

INVERSUS Deluxe – Demo Version (Hypersect, Free) – INVERSUS Deluxe is a competitive and cooperative arcade shooter with a mind-bending twist. Player movement is constrained to opposite colors of a black and white grid. My walls are your paths and your walls are my paths. Each shot flips tile colors in an attempt to block, trap and close in on the enemy. Read our review.

eShop sales

Nintendo Switch eShop Sale – Looking for something new to play? Starting at 9 a.m. PT, you can get up to 30% off select digital games for Nintendo Switch. My Nintendo members also earn Gold Points on qualifying digital purchases, so it’s a win-win. Act fast, though, as this sale only runs until Feb. 1 at 8:59 a.m. PT.

3DS eShop

Pokémon Crystal Version – Originally released for the Game Boy Color system in 2000, the Pokémon Crystal game added several new features to the Pokémon franchise. For the first time, players could choose a female or male character, and Pokémon battles featured animation. And now, this game is available in 2D via the Virtual Console service and invites you to explore the Johto region again—or for the first time. The Pokémon Crystal Version game launches on Jan. 26 at 9 a.m. PT.

ZIG ZAG GO (RCMADIAX, $1.49) – Use the touchscreen to switch directions quickly and avoid oncoming shapes. It’s like Tetris, only in 3D! Endless fun for everyone! 

Activities

Kirby My Nintendo Rewards: Let the battles begin! Kirby is back with pink ’n’ puffy My Nintendo rewards to celebrate the launch of the Kirby Battle Royale game. Visit my.nintendo.com for the latest reward information.
Nintendo 3DS HOME Menu theme: Kirby Battle Royale: May the Best Kirby Win!

Kirby February calendar: My Nintendo Presents Nindie Game Gold Point Rewards Vol. 3: Got Gold Points? Get select digital games! My Nintendo users can redeem Gold Points for some of the hottest digital indie games on Nintendo platforms between Jan. 26 and March 25. During this limited time, users can redeem Gold Points to download select Nintendo 3DS and Wii U digital games from talented independent developers. Users will receive a download code that is redeemed in Nintendo eShop. Visit https://my.nintendo.com/news to see a list of the games.

As always Nintendo of America wants you to browse the eShop and check out the official sales and deals website for discount details.

So there are today’s big (and small) hitters arriving on the Switch and 3DS eShops. Let us know which ones you’re picking up this week!

Don’t you just hate it when you go outside for a stroll and the heavens open, leaving you drenched? Soon you won’t have to worry about that any more as Merchoid are here to equip you with the stylish Legend of Zelda Song of Storms Umbrella.

This officially licensed brolly has a design modelled after Link’s famous Master Sword and amazingly it transforms into an umbrella at the push of a button.

Merchoid’s community manager, Jessica Adams cheerfully said:

With the Zelda Song of Storms Umbrella you can do battle with the elements, transforming your sword into an umbrella at a push of a button. In Breath of the Wild, when scaling a mountain in search of a mystical shrine, you knew you were in trouble if dark clouds start rolling in during your ascent. Worry no more!

The umbrella is deployed simply by pressing the release button located near the top of the molded handle. The waterproof canopy features a repeating pattern of triforce emblems in pale blue with alternate darker blue panels with a single larger crest. Upon closing the umbrella there is a tie tag to secure the canopy in place.

Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links. If you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale which helps support the site. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.

It all looks rather lovely. If you fancy picking one of these up you can pre-order from Merchoid today for the princely sum of $34.99. They will be shipped just in time for the April showers. Now, if only we could get one of these in Breath of the Wild for those annoying moments when the heavens open, we’d be even happier…

Subnautica is Now Available on Steam and is 10% off!*

Descend into the depths of an alien underwater world filled with wonder and peril. Craft equipment, pilot submarines and out-smart wildlife to explore lush coral reefs, volcanoes, cave systems, and more – all while trying to survive.

*Offer ends January 30 at 10AM Pacific Time

This week at Bungie, we’ve got details on the next update to Destiny 2. 

On Tuesday, Faction Rallies came to a close, and New Monarchy defended their title. They are now two-time champions and they aren’t shy about rubbing it in the other factions’ faces. You can pick up their prize in the Tower. Servants loyal to the New Monarchy will get a discount. Everyone else can still get it, but it’s going to cost more Glimmer.

Perhaps Future War Cult will finally get a “W” the next time Factions Rallies returns. Until then, we have a new event to look forward to. 

Salad Bar

It’s time. A battle of Guardian versus Guardian returns. 

Begins:  Tuesday, January 30

Ends:  Tuesday, February 6

The game is Control!

This will be the first time Lord Saladin returns to the Tower in Season 2. There have been some changes to how you’ll go about decorating your Guardian with relics of the Iron Lords. 

First, we are adding new items to the engrams you will find waiting for you when you visit Lord Saladin. There will definitely be Season 2 weapons in the Iron Banner Engram and we will be adding more in the next event. Here is a look at what rewards you can expect to earn next week.

Hand Cannon

Scout Rifle

Shotgun

The only thing not pictured is the Iron Banner ship. We’ll save that for when you discover it yourself.

If you are missing items from last season, they will still drop as possible rewards from the engram. There is also a new emblem that tracks how many lifetime rank ups for Iron Banner you have earned in Destiny 2. You can earn it by completing the Iron Banner Milestone. 

We’ve received a lot of feedback from previous Iron Banner events that players preferred a way to directly acquire items. We have added the ability to obtain armor and three different weapons from Lord Saladin during each event. Here is what he has to offer next week. 

The final way to earn rewards is by completing challenges. Ornaments are available for all your Iron Banner gear and you can unlock them by completing various objectives for Lord Saladin.

Season 2 Ornaments

There are no limits to how many engrams you can acquire or how many tokens you can earn. Get as much playtime as you can during the week. It will always move you a little closer to opening another engram, earning an ornament, or purchasing a piece of gear from Lord Saladin. Go nuts!

Masters of the Armor

Many of you have already been discovering Masterwork weapons and adding them to your collection. Next week, we are adding Armor Masterworks to the mix. All Legendary armor now has a chance to drop as a Masterwork. The same rules apply as with the weapons, you will have a higher chance of getting Armor Masterwork from Trials of the Nine and Raid activities. But you might get lucky with an engram from Lord Shaxx or any other vendor who offers engrams.

The Benefits

You can now rework stats on your armor. The results will still be stat packages that are found on other pieces. There is a UI bug right now where if you try to quickly rework Armor sets it will appear to rework to the same stats. It doesn’t actually perform the rework function or use your materials, but can be quite scary, so we wanted to give you a heads up. 

This is just the first version of Armor Masterworks. We are planning to continue updating this system and adding additional benefits. As always, if you have any feedback, please let us know.

Happy hunting. 

Raid Reward Renewal

Raiding is one of Destiny 2’s ultimate endgame experiences. So far, you have explored the mysteries of the Leviathan and dove even deeper into its first Lair, the Eater of Worlds. We’ve received feedback that, while the experiences were epic, the rewards could use some more love. We invited Senior Designer Daniel Auchenpaugh to tell you more about what we’re changing with rewards starting with next week’s Raids. 

Daniel Auchenpaugh: With the upcoming January patch, we’re making a number of changes to the way Raid rewards work. We’ve been hearing that the current system doesn’t feel exciting when you kill bosses, that tokens aren’t interesting enough, and that you want more deep-chase items to hunt down. This is our first swing at tackling some of those, and we hope you’ll jump in and play with these changes a bit and then let us know how you feel. For now, let’s dive in to the changes and talk a bit about our goals and thinking with them.

Raid Armor: Now With Raid Perks!

Raid armor now drops with perks that function on the Leviathan; these appear on mods that are selectable on both new drops and existing Raid armor pieces you may alread have in your inventory. Additionally, these mods are reusable: if you swap to another one these will always be in the list to swap back to on your Raid armor for the low, low price of 1 Calus Token. Since no one wants to take a -5 Power penalty if they remove their Legendary mods while in the Raid, all the Raid mods are Legendary by default. This should also be extra icing on the cake for players who can’t seem to get that last mod they need to max their gear out.

The goal for these perks was to elevate the power of Guardians in the Raid, and we aimed to build things that were useful in every encounter. As a result, we avoided things that relied on specific mechanics to be useful and moved to broadly useful perks like “Recharge your grenade when you activate your Super” and “Deal 20% extra damage after getting a melee kill” as opposed to things tied to specific mechanics. 

Double Drops

Clearing Prestige now gives you Prestige and normal drops. If you have the prowess to clear Prestige, then you’ve proven yourself enough that we don’t need to force you to go back and do Normal as well.

Raid Encounters Always Drop a Raid Piece

We didn’t want players to have that “dead encounter” feeling anymore, where they had already received all the rewards for that encounter and were just waiting on a later encounter. Or, even worse, the disappointed feeling where no one in your raid group gets something, which could happen under rare circumstances in the old system. So we’ve unified the drop tables for the encounters so that raid gear isn’t tied to a specific encounter anymore (with an exception I’ll get in to down below…) so no matter what encounter you clear, you can get raid loot. Oh, and every encounter has a chance to drop an exotic. Not an engram that you have to take back to Rahool for decryption, but an item you could equip and start using immediately if you want. This list of possible exotic drops is comprised of all non-quest exotics, with armor and weapons weighted equally, and is restricted to things your class can equip.

Raid Vendor Sells a Rotating Selection of Raid Gear

If you just can’t get that last piece to drop for you, we want to give you some agency with your tokens. For a cost of Legendary Shards and some Calus Tokens, you can purchase these pieces if you have completed that raid for the week. For instance, if you want to buy the Prestige Chest armor, you need to complete Prestige mode that week before you can do so. This is so people can’t save up tokens by sticking to normal mode and still wear the Prestige gear; we wanted to give people agency to fill in those few slots they’re missing, not negate the need to progress further in the raid. Ole Benedict will change up what pieces they have available for purchase each week.

New Item: Exotic Raid Ghost “Contender’s Shell”

While not quite at the grind level of the legendary Nanophoenix, we felt like we needed to add a chase item to the Raid pool to make coming back still have reward potential each week. Enter the Contender’s Shell. This Ghost can drop from the final encounter in either Leviathan or Eater of Worlds. We also included some bad luck protection to avoid the previously mentioned “Nanophoenix Problem” so that dedicated raiders can rest assured they’ll get their hands on it eventually, even if it takes several weeks. 

The Contender’s Shell comes with some brand new perks that we’re hoping helps reward players that keep clearing the Raid even after they’ve gotten their Ghost. Both active only on the Leviathan, and its lair, they aim to make Leviathan encounter rewards stay awesome. First, Seeker of Brilliance enables the chance for encounters to drop Bright Engrams from their loot pools. Every time one doesn’t drop a Bright Engram, we increase the chance for the next. Remember those Exotics that can drop from encounters I was talking about earlier? Well, Seeker of Opulence means those exotics have a 50% chance to pull from a list of Exotics you haven’t collected yet instead of the standard list. Lastly, to top off this already pretty rad Ghost, we threw on Seeker of Glory, which provides a tracker for the number of encounters you have defeated on the Leviathan.

I realize this is a bit of an avalanche of text more than a wall, but I wanted to talk about both what we were working on and why we did it. I know we still aren’t going to address every concern here, but hopefully this is a start in good faith. If we missed the mark on something, please let us know. Additionally, if you think we really nailed it with one of these changes, please give us that feedback as well so we can keep doing more of that. We’re hard at work on the next month’s update now, but I hope next week you jump back in to the Leviathan (both Raid and the Lair) and let us know how it feels.

Patch Note Preview

Armor Masterworks and changes to Raid rewards aren’t the only changes coming in the upcoming 1.1.2 update on January 30. Here is a look at a few of the other fixes you can expect to see in the full notes next week. 

Shader Sit-down 

Since the launch of Destiny 2, we’ve gathered a lot of feedback on the new shader system. As time went on, and the shaders began to pile up, players lamented the cumbersome process of trying to delete each shader one by one.

You’ve been asking us why we can’t just allow you to dismantle entire stacks of shaders. I mean, there are other consumables that can be dismantled in mass. It’s a totally reasonable question and we wanted to let you know the facts. We’re not making excuses or claiming this problem is too hard to solve. We just want to be transparent about what the problem is, and how we are going to go about solving it. Here is Senior Design Lead Tyson Green to shed some light on shaders. 

Tyson Green: Shaders are individual items, and individual items trigger individual reward bundles when dismantled, even when those rewards are simple. That creates a challenge for us that we haven’t yet addressed, which is triggering dozens (or hundreds) of reward bundles simultaneously when an entire stack of shaders is dismantled. This is challenging not simply because an arbitrary number of rewards need to be run and delivered simultaneously, but because we also have to safeguard against scenarios where this produced items that couldn’t fit in your inventory, which could be instantly lost (ex: shaders that produce Glimmer could easily evaporate into nothing if you were at or near the cap.)

It would be relatively easy to find another button on the controller (L2 + X?) and let players actually delete a full stack, but that isn’t the spirit of what players are asking for, so we’re looking at a stronger solve. In addition, we’re also looking at how to address other shader feedback:

• It should be easier to get rid of a stack of shaders. We are looking at mass exchange solutions.
• We know you miss D1 Armor Shader mechanics. Looking at ways to re-integrate that capability without losing the ability to shade weapons, Ghosts, ships, Sparrows, or customize specific pieces of armor.
• We also understand you want shaders to be more freely usable and not limited by availability. We’re looking at re-introducing shader collections or a way to get copies of a shader in your possession.

This work is ongoing, and we’ll go on record as to when the solution will land as we get closer to a fix that we test and certify. For now, it was important to us that you know it’s on our workbench.

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Turning the Page

Recently, we unveiled our very first webcomic. To call it the first implies that it would not be the last. Coming soon, we’ll be delivering the next episode. 

Keep your eyes trained on Bungie.net next week for the continuation of the story.

Update Schedule

If you ever need help with Destiny 2, the Player Support team is standing by on our #Help forum to assist you. 

This is their report.

Upcoming Maintenance

Next week, Destiny Services will undergo a series of maintenance windows. Some are related to Destiny 2 Update 1.1.2, while others are for general housekeeping. If you experience any issues connecting to Destiny services upon maintenance completion, please post a report to the #Help forum.

Monday, January 29, 2018

Destiny services will undergo backend maintenance. No downtime is expected. Maintenance will begin at 10 AM PST (1800 UTC) and is expected to conclude at 12  PM PST (2000 UTC).

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Destiny services will be brought offline for maintenance. Destiny Update 1.1.2 will also become available upon maintenance completion. Please see below for the timeline of the maintenance window.

• 8 AM Pacific – 1600 UTC
• • Destiny server maintenance is schedules to begin
  • Players may no longer sign in to Destiny services
• 9 AM Pacific – 1700 UTC
• • Players still in Destiny 2 activities will be returned to the title screen
• 12 PM Pacific – 2000 UTC
• • Destiny server maintenance is scheduled to conclude
  • Destiny 2 Update 1.1.2 will be available to download and install
  • Iron Banner will begin as soon as maintenance concludes

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Destiny services will undergo backend maintenance. No downtime is expected. Maintenance will begin at 12 PM PST (2000 UTC) and is expected to conclude at 2 PM PST (2200 UTC).

Armor Masterworks: Reworking Perks

Late in development, an issue was discovered impacting the ability to rework Masterwork Armor pieces quickly in succession.

If a player attempts to rework a Masterwork Armor piece immediately after reworking the item, a progress bar will fill, but no action is completed in game. The armor piece will retain the previously held perk, and no Masterwork Cores are lost due to this issue. Players will be required to attempt this action again when experiencing this issue.

The issue is currently being investigated by appropriate teams, and we will provide updates via @BungieHelp when more information is available.

The Dundies

Movie of the Week: Argos Quick Burn

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With Armor Masterworks and the new Raid rewards, next week is a prime opportunity to revisit the Leviathan. If raiding isn’t your jam, Iron Banner is calling your name. I plan on partaking in both. Maybe I’ll see you out in the wild.