During the company’s showcase at this week’s Games Developer Conference in California, Bungie confirmed that its shared-world shooter, Destiny, has now reached 17 million users all the while revealing exactly why the studio shuttered the by-now infamous loot caves.
Essentially, it all came down to a matter of player experience. During the heyday of the loot cave, Bungie revealed that it received the highest amount of player reports for cheating, with certain Guardians accumulating copious amounts of experience by mowing down waves of enemies in a single, overly convenient spot. But that’s not the studio’s idea of how Destiny ought to be played, revealing that through user research the development team was able to locate and fix the glitch in the interest of fairness.
Shooting at a black hole for hours on end isn’t our dream for how Destiny is played. Our hope is that social engagement in public spaces is only one part of the Destiny experience. The time of the loot cave was the highest peak of players reporting each other for cheating. [The Loot Cave] was actually pretty controversial.
Further in the interview, Bungie’s John Hopson noted that despite the fact that those Guardians in question would be able to level up at a faster rate, the loot that they acquired wouldn’t necessarily be as strong as normal, therefore making the wares less valuable. As such, players who remained true to the beaten track would gradually discover more powerful gear and weaponry than those who dedicated time to the loot caves.
Tell us, are you one of the active 17 million users that still enjoys your time with Destiny? If so, let us know what you think of Bungie’s shooter as it nears its six month anniversary.
