Destiny: ten terrific changes you might have missed in patch 1.0.3

Destiny update 1.0.3 does a lot more than the patch notes indicate. Check out some of the coolest new additions.

Destiny has been updated and a lot of things have changed. Many of these changes were expected and anticipated, like voice chat options, new shaders for sale, more bounty slots and lots of fixes. But others were not only a surprise - they weren't even announced at all. Here are ten of my favourites.

Weapons sound so, so good

I've always really loved the audio in Destiny so I was surprised and delighted to hear it's gotten better. Some weapons now make even meatier and more thudding sound effects. Surely nobody in the whole world could complain about that.

The buggy Ghosts have been fixed

If you're a collector or Grimoire point hound, rejoice! For the two previously inaccessible Dead Ghosts are now accessible. One is on Earth, in Bunker RAS-2 (Dead Ghost #16), and the other is on Mars, in Freehold Station (Dead Ghost #11). Check our updated Destiny Earth Dead Ghost locations guide and Destiny Mars Dead Ghost locations guide for more details.

Some locations have been fleshed out

Speaking of Bunker RAS-2, have you been there lately? It's had a makeover. The stairs leading down to it are now significantly longer, and the geometry has been moved. The bunker entrance itself is now far more visible. I'm pretty sure this will become a functional door with The Dark Below or perhaps the next expansion after that, so go ahead and try to glitch your way through. Be warned: this area is still full of very nasty Hive. Similar areas that have always seemed to be awaiting expansion content have had a similar look and polish.

Everything's had a makeover

It's easy to forget what a good-looking game Destiny is when you take a break from it, but it's definitely gotten better looking since patch 1.0.3. Some of these things Bungie was quite open about, and I don't know why new icons should make such a difference, but they really do - the new styles are far superior. But Bungie has also done something else, on PS4 at least, and I don't know what it is. Did it fix a bug? Do some optimising? Give the graphics a bit of a polish? I really can't say, but I can say that I can now see textures on my character, weapon and sparrow models that simply were not visible before the patch, and it looks great.

Patrol mission icons show up outside Nav mode

This is such a small thing, but so nice. When you get close to a Patrol mission beacon, you'll see the icon for what kind of mission it is without having to bring up your Ghost. It was barely an inconvenience, and mostly you'll use Nav mode to check the mission type before approaching, but it's still a pleasant little touch: it makes it more tempting to grab a misison when you're out farming or on your way somewhere else. Oh, a bounty? I'm taking that for sure.

No more upgrade notifications on old weapons

I think I speak for every neat freak among us when I say this is so appreciated. Pre-patch, whenever you took a weapon out of the vault, the upgrade notification would appear on its menu icon, and you'd have to go into the upgrade page to clear it. It used to drive me crazy. Thanks, Bungie!

Jackolytes and Flight of Shadows now work for everyone

It's a shame you used all yours when they didn't, right? I still have one Jackolyte, and I'm saving it for a special occasion, like my birthday or Bungie finally hiring me to write it love letters all day.

Strike scaling has been changed

This isn't good news for solo players or those who get stuck playing solo when two teammates drop out, but Bungie has adjusted the difficulty scaling of strikes so that they're harder for one player but easier for three compared to before. This gives you more reason to play together.

Harpies now register critical hits

Harpies have been buggy since launch, in a similar fashion to the Dead Ghosts - they worked fine for some users and not at all for others. The problem was that while the Harpies would take critical damage when shot in the "eye", these criticals wouldn't register for perks like Chain of Woe or for bounties requiring critical kills. All fixed now. Hooray!

The cheese strategy in the Archon Priest battle has been axed

Now, I know this is controversial because some of you loved it, but hiding under a platform shooting a guy in the ankles and intermittently being blown up was not my idea of a good time. Now I can be sure that when I get this Strike my teammates won't go squat in a dank corner demonstrating their ability to be utterly boring any more.

The latest Destiny patch also had some less desirable outcomes - some Exotic weapons were accidentally nerfed, for example - but it prepared the game for tomorrow's rejigged Iron Banner event as well as adding heaps of content for The Dark Below, so the full patch notes are well worth a read.