While news has been rolling in about the next big thing in Destiny 2 and how Raid and Dungeon content will appear going forward, Titan players specifically have something to look forward to in the short term. The Class is getting a substantial overhaul as part of an effort to add more identity and playstyle options. The best part is that it’ll go live alongside Episode: Revenant on October 8.
Over time, Destiny 2 Titans have found themselves in a bit of a pickle. While the Class can do things that none other can, like a Ward of Dawn dome barrier Super or consume a grenade to create a mobile shield, the game doesn’t actively reward defensive play. For Warlocks and Hunters, the Classes have evolved to allow players to eliminate enemies nearly as soon as they appear.
There’s not much incentive to stand around and block damage when you can destroy a room of enemies with a single grenade. As such, this has led to limited builds and playstyles for Titans, just trying to keep up with the other Classes. Thankfully, Bungie has some significant changes incoming for Titans.
Titans join the ranks of the MMO tank
In a This Week in Destiny communication, Bungie described how it plans to change up Titans. The studio started by acknowledging that Titans didn’t feel like they had a Class identity that competed with what other Classes could do. The first alteration, arguably the biggest, is that Titans can taunt enemies like a traditional tank.
Bungie said of the change, “We’ve heard your cries for more depth to Titan gameplay and more viability in high-tier endgame content, and we agree with you. Titans have so much more to give than mere blunt-force trauma. They’re frontliners, damage mitigators, and battlefield commanders. Now, we don’t want to take away from or replace what the Titan already has. Instead, we want to find non-destructive ways to add depth to the Titan’s kit.”
The taunt ability will work primarily through the Barricade Class ability, though Bungie notes that Unbreakable Shields and Sentinal Shields will also benefit from the effect for mobile taunting. While the studio notes that the taunt will only occur if a player is behind the Barrier, this tweak will allow Titans more control over the flow of the battle, redirecting incoming damage.
To further support these changes, Barricades will take 50% reduced damage from non-bosses, reduce splash damage by 20-60% for Guardians behind a Barricade, and grant some damage resistance during the cast animation. Unbreakable is also getting a few alterations, including generating grenade energy from blocking damage and increasing the maximum duration the shield can be active.
Other changes coming to the Titan Class
The ability to taunt isn’t the only new toy Titans will have to play with, as a few other abilities and options have also been tweaked. Void Overshields will be more helpful, seeing an increase from 50% to 70% resistance. Stasis Crystals will also be detonatable via a Consecration slam or a Diamond Lance. Additionally, Diamond Lances will apply two stacks of Frost Armor to Titans and nearby allies when slammed.
The Knockout Aspect will change to help Titans stay in the action longer, starting health regen immediately. The long-maligned Shiver Strike also gets some love, refunding 80% of melee energy on a missed attack and regening 12.5% faster. On top of that, a successful blow now adds a Stasis explosive to the foe.
An added bonus is that the Echo of Domineering and Facet of Command Fragments are also seeing some retooling. The cooldown between triggering the effect has been reduced to four seconds from 11. As if the above changes weren’t sweet enough, Titans can also live out their slugger fantasies with a 20% increase to unpowered melee damage in PvE and a 5% increase in PvP. The punches also have the chance to stun enemies.
While Titans didn’t start at the front of the pack when Prismatic hit the scene, Bungie is making some big changes to breathe life into the Class. Time will tell how it’s all received, but it seems like exactly the right kind of changes to help give the Class more identity. I can’t wait to see Titans rushing into battle and soaking the attention and damage from a group of enemies, becoming the unstoppable bastion all Titans should be.
Published: Sep 26, 2024 02:28 pm