Once a vast trove of quickly regenerating engrams, Destiny's Magic Cave has been nerfed with a patch from Bungie.
Guardians once embarked on Patrol missions in Old Russia, trekking under bridges and across a valley on the pilgrimage to the Magic Cave. Past the infamous showdown with the wizard from the moon and beyond the room with the Fallen Captain, the cave, now devoid of magic, rests below a dome shaped building perched on a cliff.
Guardians would stay out of the action while the Hive and their enemies tore each other to pieces, careful not to interrupt the Hive's respawning process. Finally, after slaughtering easy targets, the Guardians would farm a wealth of engrams.
The tales of the Magic Cave are just fond memories now, thanks to Bungie's patch to cover up the exploit.
"The Hive of the holy 'Treasure Cave' have realized the futility of their endless assault on Skywatch and have retired to lick their wounds and plan their next attack," states Bungie in its patch as its stays in character with the fiction.
Bungie made the following changes to dispel the magic that had enchanted the cave:
*Respawn timers for monster caves in Skywatch have been normalized to 40 seconds (increased from 6)
*Respawn timers for monster caves in Forgotten Shore have been normalized to 40 seconds (increased from 10)
*Respawn timers for monster caves in Ember Caves have been normalized to 40 seconds (increased from 10)
*Respawn timers for monster caves in the Shattered Coast have been normalized to 40 seconds (increased from 10)
*Respawn timers for monster caves in the Barrens have been normalized to 40 seconds (increased from 20)
While Bungie has appeared to have taken the events inside of the Magic Cave in stride, the developer has stated that its not in love with the practive of "cave farming." It acknowledges that its an inherent element of most RPGs and a valuable part of Destiny, but it wants its players to level up and earn gear together.
"The social experience of a cave farming run is amazing: the herding to get a team of Guardians all behind the line and firing in the right direction, the rush to grab the loot, the scramble when the panic wave starts, the beckoning glow from inside the cave," Bungie stated. "The speed at which the community organized around this activity was inspiring and humbling to us. But shooting at a black hole for hours on end isn't our dream for how Destiny is played."
