Destiny 2 Faction Rally tokens being severely throttled, Bungie promises adjustments
Bungie has successfully managed to upset Destiny 2 players once again, this time over the Faction Rally token earn rate.
In keeping with the Destiny 2 theme of making a major change, not communicating it, and later apologising when players figure out what's going on, Bungie has put a harsh limit on the number of tokens that can be earned per hour in the currently active Faction Rally event.
This Faction Rally event, the first one in season 2, started off earlier this week. As with every Faction Rally, players pledge allegiance to one of the three factions, and the game awards tokens for doing activities in the name of that faction.
Tokens can be used to increase a standing with a faction, which unlocks Engrams every time a new level is reached. Shortly after the event went live, Destiny 2 players discovered that they aren't earning as many tokens as the previous event.
The first activity that made player suspicious was Lost Sectors, after players saw that they were no longer getting faction tokens from the chests at the end of each sector. A Reddit user first reported the problem, before others confirmed it. Later, another player realised similar soft cap is also being applied to Public Events.
The community obviously didn't take it well, especially as it's yet another Bungie decision that follows the same mantra.
In a post on the official forums, Bungie said that the lockout is working as intended, and that the change was made to fix a farming exploit found in the previous Faction Rally. Discovered in the Winding Cove in the EDZ, the exploit allowed players to earn hundreds of tokens per hour.
However, instead of fixing the actual exploit, Bungie decided to put a universal cap on the number of tokens you can earn per hour.
"We're aware of player reports about Lost Sectors not granting rewards. There was a throttle added to address an issue in the previous Faction Rallies where players were earning 500 Tokens per hour," said Bungie.
"Right now if a player opens more than two chests in a ten minute period they will not receive additional rewards from Lost Sector chests for ten minutes. This does not prevent players from completing milestones related to Lost Sector chests."
Needless to say, many believe Bungie went too far in the other direction. Game director Christopher Barrett agrees that the limit is too harsh, promising to change it in the next patch.