Popular Crucible hand cannons Luna's Howl and Not Forgotten are in line to be nerfed when the Season of Opulence drops, Bungie has recently announced. Let's just say it wasn't a very popular move by the Destiny developers because the game's community is now in full on meltdown mode over the news.
That's not to say there aren't people that are excited to see the two hand cannnons disappear from the player-vs-player metagame. Both Luna's Howl and Not Forgotten, henceforth LH and NF (I think you can figure out which is which), have a game-breaking central perk attached to them - Magnificent Howl.
Magnificent Howl is a cool perk for the guns. Hand cannons are already fairly skill-based, which is why a lot of Guardians love when they're in the meta, and headshots are a key part of their playstyle. This perk adds to that, dealing out bonus damage on precision (headshot) hits.
The two dominant hand cannons have risen to the top of the meta simply because of that perk. If hand cannons are strong, and LH and NF can deliver rapid-fire headshots, why would you use anything else? These things shred through opponent's like a butter, and make you look like the King of the Crucible (after Shaxx).
After looking at the statistics on Crucible matches, and figuring out where the power-points were, Bungie made a big call. Luna's Howl and Not Forgotten had to be nerfed.
The nerfs came in what Bungie believed was a simple form. Both LH and NF have now been knocked down to 150 rpm tier, and then the Magnificent Howl perk is being nerfed as well. The perk, which was once meta-defining, now only increases body shot damage, and has done away with the two-shot precision kills the guns have been known for.
"The team has been hard at work on these changes, ensuring the weapons are still viable - and heavy hitters - in the sandbox," Bungie's community manager Dylan "dmg04" Gafner said after the changes were announced last Thursday. "Coming from playtests, they still feel to be the 'pinnacle' legendary hand cannons in Destiny 2.
"We'll be watching feedback as it comes in, and once the changes go live in the Season of Opulence. Cheers to all chiming in with their thoughts. Keep asking questions, and we'll answer where we can."
While initial conversations with Gafner and the rest of the Bungie staff were relatively positive, with some expressing their pleasure at the hand cannon nerfs, the narrative around the heavy-handed nerfs to two premier weapons - that take a lot of grinding to score I might add - has quickly turned sour.
"Is this really the only option your entire sandbox team could think of?" One particularly furious Guardian said nearly 48 hours after the nerf news had dropped. "All 150rpm hand cannons are three-tap, they are pinnacle weapons after all. They should be dominant above other weapons in some way."
The Guardian, who took his grievances to /r/DestinytheGame, admitted the guns were "ridiculous" before their incoming changes, but thinks the nerfs have taken out too much of what made them interesting and exciting in the first place.
"Completely stripping them of what makes them special and worth the effort we put forward is insulting to your hardcore player base," RazaTheChained said. "It took ages to get Not Forgotten. This is disappointing to say the least, and there's literally no benefit to using these weapons now."
"Please do not make these changes, or at least approach PvP players that can give you better options [on how to nerf the hand cannons]. What an absolute joke of a sandbox team."
What do you think of the incoming nerfs to Luna's Howl and Not Forgotten? Do you think it was a waste of time getting them, or will they still be viable in the Crucible when the new season drops?
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