As many have noted, reality is that Bungie stated the change was for PvP. The data you reference from D1 just shows effect, it doesn't show cause. You draw conclusions without discussing the variables that make up the cause. That is false logic. In a game where primary drops more than special or heavy, that becomes significant. I will use what is vastly available until something presents itself that it warrants more rare ammo. Thus, the design of the game leads to usage patters, not player habits or desires. When you pick up a given ammo drop, quantity of rounds received becomes significant. When I pick up primary I get a significantly larger quantity of ammo than I do with any other slot - even if holding a had cannon or scout. Running a Vex Mythoclast is about the only time I can recall running out of primary before I seen more ammo. Therefore, the quantity of ammo picked up per drop becomes significant as I don't want to run out, so conservation of use is again built into the game design, it's not player freedom of choice which is dictating use, but more logic of use based on parameters given. Next, I think you also have to factor in just how much of an ammo type can be carried. Regardless of how much is in the drop, if I can only carry single or low double digits of ammo, I'm just not going to use that item as much. Without swords, heavy was typically carried in the single digits. With a sleeper and the right armor, you might be able to get to low double digits of rounds carried in heavy... but add that to the minimal frequency that heavy dropped, and you just use it sparingly. The special slot contains 'special case or situational use' types of weapons, that becomes significant. shotguns and fusions are good close but stink at distance. Snipers are great at distance and horrible up close. reload times on shotguns and charge times on fusion also play a part in the decision process. So special, regardless of how much might be on the ground - becomes a situational use weapon type. I have ran out of sniper rounds plenty until I got ice breaker... and with it, I ran it dry plenty... in y3, I haven't found it again, but even the pain in the arse quest to go get the lost sniper from thieves den has ran dry plenty in boss fights... if using other snipers, I've ran them dry in boss fight plenty. for normal use in pve, I just don't rely on special that much and save it for when I need it - but that's because I'm just not allowed to carry much of it at any given time and the weapon's use are situational. If I could carry more, I would use more. Again, design and ammo access dictate use. Since primaries are the most common ammo drop, it's rather expected that its going to get used more. I think their data shows more just how much they are forcing behavior rather than player options. + + + In a game of D1, we know special and heavies are commonly preserved for bosses - which is above, design condition logic more than player preference of use. So if we look next at where bullet sponge bosses exist, raid mechanics such as time to kill before phase or time to kill before enrage, then we also can see the VALUE of having two heavy and special weapons for these activities. Especially when groups many times struggle to get through a phase or a boss.... especially even MORE so when raids are designed with wipe mechanics if you fail. Now layer on the fact that D1 commonly expects you to find your way in a raid, learn mechanics and repeat failed attempts. Where does this take them in D2? + + + In D2 giving players dual access to primaries means you have flexability to switch between two different types of weapons that you commonly were already being encouraged to use, now you will use more of them. The ammo drops that were once left might be picked up a bit more, but we will see. We have already seen in the first strike that a multi-staged boss fight exists. You have to rotate between his shields void, solar, arc then kinetic for the finish it seems. However, you now have a single power slot to burn him down, which means you are not really burning him down if ammo is not more plentiful, if his hit point count remains high like we seen, and if you are mainly relying on primary. How could they tune it - primaries could do more damage, boss hit points could be lowered, power weapons could be amped up to do even more damage against single targets... lots of variables. Out of the gate, based on what we've seen thus far, I expect strikes will now take longer. Forget 8-15 speed runs. How will that affect the length of Nightfalls which some are 15-30 min runs now? Let's get to pinnacle content, which is to be more accessible now. Let's extrapolate that to a raid. First, will there still be enrage timers or damage window times before you have to repeat a phase of an exercise? (must do X damage before Y time?) - Will bosses have less or similar hit points in D2 from D1? - Will power ammo drop more? - Will power slot weapons do more damage in D2 than in D1 equivalent weapons? - Will primaries do more damage in D2 than in D1? Next, will we have horde types to deal with at range while dealing with a boss or other raid mechanic? Let's think about hob-gobbos at distance while dealing with oracles in vault of glass. In D1, I could have a primary to deal with adds, then switch to a sniper like icebreaker to deal with my assigned hob gobos or even help someone when I had down time at other side of map, then I could switch to rockets if things got out of hand or when the armies were summoned. In D2, I'm going to have at best a scout for distance and whatever else for the adds. My power weapon slot could be rockets still. I've got to use my raid equivalent fate bringer or timepiece or even visions for the oracles and mobs. I could go to my requisite scout to take on hob-gobos, but now I cannot 1 shot them...and neither can my buddies which means increased risks of horde or hob-gobos... unless they icreaed damage output of the primaries or made the hob's weaker... alternatively, I could run a sniper as power and two primaries but same horde problem exists as I have no rocket now. Again, the only way this becomes a BETTER situation is if they drop the horde or hit points of mobs in question, or, they increase the amount of power weapon ammo drops to compensate. I notice all supers that we have seen thus far in D2 are now roaming supers. They seem to charge at the same rate, but clearly are more effective as they can be used more. On average, I'm guessing they are 2-3x max more effective. There just are not that many mobs on screen at any given time and your buddies are still doing their thing if they are with you. So 2-3x more effective, but used about the same quantity of time in D1. It's an improvement, but significant enough to offset the drop of sniper + ghally (or sleeper?) + + + Where I land presently, is at face value and without other variables touched on above being adjusted - the weapon change from D1 to D2 ALONE, again - *without* considering quantity of ammo carried, ammo drop frequency, relative damage output differences of weapons, mob / boss hit points and time to kill challenge adjustments - means its a net loss from D1 to D2 in power, and a net increase in time to clear objectives. + + + When we factor in these yet to be known other variables being changed, I think you can only then draw a full picture. We just haven't heard them talk about what other variables are being changed to accommodate this new weapon system change. + + + I for one, am sick of PvP interests affecting PvE in D1 and we already have the beginnings of it in D2, by BNG's statements. Does it mean its bad - no, just that we don't have the full breath of appreciation for these other factors yet. A buddy of mine said, if swapping out primaries during fights 80% of the time makes that mob killing more interesting - that's not all bad... and I agree. If that's how we are spending 75-89% of our time, them I'm all for making that part more interesting. At what cost, if any, is still a valid question though. + + + I like feeling 'powerful' in a game of PvE content and building that power is part of the joy in a Destiny experience. I hope by the end of our trope through D2, we have achieved as much or more power - as measured by time to kill, time to clear strike and time to clear raids as we had in D1. *If not*, then what Luke Smith talks about with life balance is in question. If we take longer to complete similar and new goals in D2, and we are still expected to complete as many or more on a weekly basis, then D2 is again a wedding ring, like D1 was / is. As they have mentioned this concern in some interviews, I'm still cautiously optimistic that when we get our hands on it in the beta, and when we see the full scope in Sept, they have taken all of this into account. If I'm being honest, overall I'm quite pleased with what I've seen, I'm just questioning what I don't know yet and a hoping they made a net positive change in the experience. Thanks for listening.