Bungie looks to fix the mistakes of Destiny's first add-on with House of Wolves

With Destiny's next batch of downloadable content, the House of Wolves add-on, Bungie is hoping to right many of the mistakes the developer made with The Dark Below, game designer Luke Smith said in a recent post on NeoGAF.

Smith, responding to another post that expressed concerns about changes to upgrading exotic weapons and purchasing new vendor gear in House of Wolves, wrote that "mistakes we made with the [The Dark Below's] reward economy will not be repeated." Smith said he was specifically referring to gear from vendors invalidating the efforts of Vault of Glass raids and exotic weapon upgrades resetting the item's talents.

Bungie's philosophy on doling out loot to players will continue to evolve based on player feedback, Smith said. The developer aims to "lessen the grind and get players to the fun parts of their arsenal faster."

"We sat down and talked about the rewards for [Vault of Glass] and the rates vs. [Crota's End] and ended up with the following: Increase drop rates globally in [Crota's End]; we wanted dedicated players to be around 32 or real close by the time Hard mode came out; [and] increase the variability of perks that a given piece can roll," Smith wrote. "
The goal here: Players would reach 32 easier than 30, but would have more customization and options to build the perfect set (in terms of stats, perks, weapon affinities).

"The part where this didn't work as well as we'd hoped is with the Shard economy. Shards are a are a barrier between you and equipping a sweet new piece of gear."

Since launching Destiny in September — and The Dark Below three months later — Bungie has continued to tweak the game's economy, drops and materials in an effort to alleviate player frustration. For a guide to maximizing your playtime in Bungie's shooter, check out Polygon's guide to Destiny in just five hours a week.

Destiny's second expansion, House of Wolves, is due sometime this year and is part of the game's season pass.