Destiny’s Crucible has long been dominated by shotguns. Helped along by small multiplayer maps, quick and agile Guardian movement and frankly ridiculous range, these double-barrelled menaces have long been the secondary of choice for those looking to impress Lord Shaxx. Indeed, such is the strength of shotguns that even following the nerf that came with Destiny 2.0, you’ll still find combatants running straight at you, eating up your Primary fire to deliver some sniped buckshot straight to your face. Its overpowered and a lot of players do not enjoy getting a one to the face. The reason update 2.0 didn’t have the intended effect was because it only reduced the Shot Package perk by 30%. Shot Package is a perk that narrows the spread of the pellets from your shotgun, increasing the range at which the weapon is effective. 30% just wasn’t enough. So with Destiny update 2.01, Bungie is removing the perk entirely. “With the deployment of Update 2.0.1, we will wholesale remove the Shot Package perk from all Shotguns,†said Senior Designer Jon Weisnewski in the Bungie Weekly Update. “Any shotgun with Shot Package (depending on the exact weapon) will now have Close and/or Personal, Crowd Control, or Knee Pads. This change has not negatively impacted our PVE playtests. “Even though Shot Package is going away right now, expect to continue seeing Shotguns used to great effect by Crucible warriors,†continued Weisnewski. “Each Class allows for movement optimizations that let players quickly close gaps. Most PVP maps have great flank routes and tight spaces. Game modes like Control, Salvage, and Rift ask players to converge upon and fight over small spaces to win. With or without Shot Package, even our shortest range Shotguns will continue to be effective death dealers in the hands of a skilled Guardian. “With Shot Package on a time-out, we can recalibrate the effective range and research a way to hopefully reintroduce the perk after some time at the work bench.†As Weisnewski says, shotguns are still going to be effective. Guardians can still move quickly, the maps are still small, and shotguns will still be a one hit kill at close range. Using them will remain much easier than lining up a sniper shot in a crowded corridor. They’re just not going to be long-range anymore.
