Destiny has gone through many, many changes since its first launch, though few have been as controversial as the 1.1.1 patch. There are plenty of Destiny fans who are unhappy with the update, and claim that it's taking player choice out of the equation. However, Bungie isn't fazed: the 1.1.1 patch is ready for launch.
What does that mean for Destiny players? First and foremost, as the patch rolls out, players will be kicked out of the game temporarily. This is so the update can take effect across all of Destiny's servers, and the changes to the game can go live. Don't worry: the outage won't last long, and the only thing you'll have to do is quit the game, download the patch and restart. Once that's done, you should be able to start playing again normally.
Patch 1.1.1 is now live. Includes weapon balance and heavy ammo updates, heroic strike matchmaking and more. https://t.co/HyJDiU6Ycu
— Destiny The Game (@DestinyTheGame) February 25, 2015
For casual Destiny fans, the 1.1.1 update won't make much of an impact on your playing habits. You may notice that some guns are weaker, while others are more powerful: Bungie has dedicated much of the update to re-balancing the weapons' damage output. There are a bunch of smaller fixes and changes as well, but if you're only a casual fan, it's not going to make that big of a difference.
If you're a hardcore Destiny addict, you likely already know what's incoming. Bungie released its plans for the update last week, along with the planned weapons update. For most, the damage updates are far from the worst part of the patch. That honor goes to the game's new mandatory matchmaking.
While bringing the game's Strikes into matchmaking may sound like a good thing, many players are upset that the game now outright requires it - there are no longer options for people that prefer to play alone. Many fans claim that Bungie is forcing games to play how the studio wants them to, instead of however they see fit.
M.E. Chung, Destiny's Design Lead, stated that the matchmaking was for the community's best:
"We wanted the Weekly Heroics to be a challenge that pushed you and your buddies, but what we observed was that these strikes don't demand the same cooperation of a cohesive pre-made group. The overwhelming community response was such that many players didn't have the numbers on their friends list to experience the activity on a weekly basis."
Whether or not the rest of the community agrees with him is another thing entirely...
Either way, the patch is online now - again, all you'll need to do is download the patch, restart the game and you're golden. Keep fighting, Guardians.
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