Destiny 2’s radical dungeon changes have made solo runs harder than ever

Destiny 2’s primary endgame activities have undergone major balance changes in The Final Shape and they’re not being received well by players, especially in the context of solo Dungeons.

Introduced with The Final Shape, Dungeons and Raids now fix Guardians at a -5 Power deficit against enemies. This is in contrast to the previous +20 Power cap. The result is a sizable reduction in damage dealt and increased damage received across both activities.

Players had previously registered concern over the adjustments immediately after The Final Shape’s release. Now that many have had a chance to test them firsthand, the consensus isn’t favorable.

In a breakdown of their miserable experience attempting to solo Warlord’s Ruin post-update, one Reddit user said: “Before TFS came out I decided the last thing I would do in Season of the Wish was solo flawless Warlord’s Ruin…Took a couple of tries but wasn’t bad. Now it is horrible. Enemies hit much, much harder.”

“The even more egregious part is the ~30% less damage when doing damage off-surge,” they continued, adding, “The first boss was already a 3 phase, maybe 2 if conditions were perfect. Now it is a 5 phase.”

While these issues affect players attempting to solo a Dungeon most, it’s worth pointing out that the changes are universal, no matter the Fireteam size.

“Dungeons don’t even feel much better in a Fireteam. My group used to run two or three each week just for fun, but after doing this this week, we decided we were done with that. It’s just not fun anymore,” came one downbeat response.

Ghosts of the Deep is widely regarded as offering the toughest solo Dungeon challenge, though judging by further feedback in the same thread, most solo enthusiasts have consciously decided to avoid it at all costs.

Questions persist concerning Bungie’s position. The studio did acknowledge the feedback before the launch of Salvation’s Edge but it remains to be seen whether this will translate to changes.