Bungie Tweaking Destiny's Strike Bosses, Adding Opt-In for Voice Chat, and More

In addition to shutting down Destiny's Treasure Cave today, Bungie has issued a statement discussing where the game is at after two-plus weeks on the market. In it, the developer identifies a number of issues with the game, as well as some of the ways it plans on improving Destiny in the coming months.

Alongside the Treasure Cave's closure, one of the most significant changes comes in the communications department. "Our vision for Destiny is that all players, even matchmade players in the Crucible, Strikes, the Tower, or public spaces, be able to communicate with one another in a way that promotes positive socialization," Bungie says. "Voice communication is the easy answer, but existing voice paradigms, including those in our own Halo games, have not done enough to protect players from abusive griefing from a minority of players."

Bungie has been working on what it describes as a "near-term solution" to this problem that will give you the ability to opt-in to voice chat when in matchmaking activities. The company says this feature will be in place sometime before the end of the year for both the Crucible and Strikes.

Speaking of Strikes, some of the most common complaints involve how long it takes to kill a boss and how easy it is to die (costing you the time-consuming progress your group has made). That will soon be changing. "Since launch we've tracked down an issue which has made Strikes more challenging than originally designed by both increasing damage taken by players and decreasing the damage inflicted by players on the boss," Bungie says. "Expect to see this addressed soon, and for Strikes to become a little less grindy as a result."

This change will not apply to the Vault of Glass raid; Bungie says incoming damage is already working properly in raids.

Other changes include doing a better job of calling attention to progress you've made or loot you've earned, and addressing balance issues. Among those are buffing exotic weapons that currently feel underpowered, shortening the range of shotguns and auto rifles, and making scout rifles more effective. Much to my chagrin, there's no mention made regarding the effectiveness of the Hunter's Arc Blade power in the Crucible.

What do you make of the changes outlined in Bungie's post today? Let us know in the comments below.