Destiny2

Bungie cancels DLC livestream as Destiny 2’s XP scaling system fiercely criticised by fans

Before today, it looked like EA DICE were set to take the crown for having the most outraged and upset fans this year following the release of Star Wars Battlefront II, but with a mere 32 days left in 2017, a new challenger has stepped up to the plate.

Bungie has found itself under fire over the weekend, from angry players who say a hidden XP scaling system is constraining progress in Destiny 2. A thread on the game’s subreddit exploded last week, with user EnergiserX authoring a post which claims the faster a player earns XP, the more diminished the XP earned will be. So, in simpler terms, earning a lot of XP in a short space of time will not necessarily fill up your progression bar as you would expect. The game will scale down high amounts of XP to prevent exploitation of the levelling system.

EnergiserX writes that while playing modes to ‘power-grind’ XP, they saw the overall amount earned cut by up to 95% during some events. When playing normally, the poster reported that the game was dropping around 50% of XP, and only retained the full amount earned when XP gain was slow. There is plenty of spreadsheet info and graphs included in the original post which backs up the claims.

Fans have expressed their dismay, with some regarding the lack of transparency surrounding the system as shady. Others pointed out that Destiny 2‘s Fireteam Medallions—an in-game item which boosts XP earned—are still available for purchase as a microtransaction, and may in fact be counterproductive if XP potential is being severely limited.

The system also means it takes longer for players to earn Bright Engrams—Destiny 2‘s version of loot boxes. Players must visit the microtransaction vendor to open these, meaning every time one is earned, they will see purchasable loot boxes advertised. Some community members believe their is a correlation between the XP scaling system and the ability to purchase Bright Engrams using real world money, claiming Bungie want more players to buy loot boxes and are using this system to encourage it.

The developer has cancelled a livestream scheduled for tonight, which was set to show off Destiny 2‘s upcoming Curse of Osiris DLC, due for release on 5 December. Instead, it will publish a post on the Bungie Blog with some ‘developer commentary’ regarding the scaling system, as well as details regarding future updates.