For 3 years, the Hunter has been my main. Through all the stages of the Hunters evolution, from dominant PvP powerhouse with blade and GG controlling the meta, to the dulling of the blade for the more PvE focused Nightstalker, Hunter has always had something I absolutely loved. Whether it be the jumps, the abilities or something in between, I've always loved the Hunter. However, in Destiny 2, that love is waning, if only somewhat. Now I'll admit, jumping around with a hunter still feels as good as ever, and is the one part that I feel like is the least offensive downgrade the Hunter has faced (not including the lack of Blink on Arcstrider.) However, in other parts of the game, Hunters have been less than stellar. To be frank, I honestly believe Hunters are, for lack of a better term, useless, in end-game activities and, more specifically, the raid. Warlock and Titan saw major changes to their kits when Destiny 2 arrived. Warlocks lost their biggest crutch, self-res, for a new, more offensive ability more in line with the Sunbreaker on Titans. Titans lost their workhorse bubble for... a worse bubble, but with a more offensive option in the Sentinel shield. Hunters lost Bladedancer for... an even worse Bladedancer. Come on guys, we really doing this? For 3 years, Bladedancers have been the target of nerfs and restrictions that made the class an inconsistent mess to play. From the hit detection on the blade essentially becoming RNG, to blink changes and Hungering Blade, we really couldn't catch a break. Now you bring in Arcstrider which, for the most part, is like a Y3 Blade with less in-air mobility and without the useful perks from the kit? Welp, might as well mark that as a useless subclass. Now, I'm not saying it's bad, because it is fun to play in PvE, and hell it even can be reliable for keeping ads in check. But the problem is, what about it actually makes it more beneficial than something like a Slam or Stormcaller? Titans and Warlocks both generate similar amounts of orbs, have better grenades in the same slots with pulses, and are overall more effective than Arcstrider at doing the same job. Golden Gun, while still my baby, has also become a relatively standard class. Beyond the fact that the only usable skill tree is Way of the Sharpshooter, with Way of the Outlaw being a waste of a super all around, Golden Gun doesn't really have any outstanding problems. In fact, the precision hits with GG and the ability to generate orbs on precision hit are welcome additions, and still make it somewhat useful, especially when paired with a Celestial Nighthawk for devastating damage. If there was something I could complain about, its how it still doesn't have bonus armour while in the super, and how there are times where Guardians, especially supering Titans, can just survive a golden gun shot. But honestly, whoever came up with the idea for Way of the Outlaw, I just have to ask: Do you think popping your super, not having it be able to even kill an enemy in a shot, and then it going away is fun? Trust me, it's not. Nightstalker is honestly the saddest case of all of these subclasses. When it was first introduced, I absolutely loved Shadowshot. Being able to actually be a useful class in PvE, with the great ad control, orbs and boss damage made me feel like part of the team, finally able to contribute to the squad besides the occasional Golden gunning of a minotaur or turning invisible against Crota. But in Destiny 2... its not even worth my time. Sure, Orpheus Rig and tether come together for a deadly combo, but the orb generation is stifled. Even if you do get your tether back, the amount of enemies bundled up in the majority of encounters are slim to none. And all of this would honestly be forgivable if Nightstalker did just one thing right: allowed for bonus critical/Power weapon damage against bosses. I'm not sure why exactly Bungie went with this change, turning Tether from an all around beneficial super to one with a clear goal of ONLY controlling ads, but it is one that puts the nail in the coffin for Nightstalker for a good portion of high end PvE activities. In the raid, the ad control doesn't overlook the fact that it holds no DPS benefits over other classes, and other supers can handle the ads as well as Tether while generating similar amounts of orbs. Not being able to gain extra damage means bringing one into the raid/nightfall means a net DPS loss when compared to other similar classes, with even GG being a much more efficient option. Even with good skills like turning invisible and smoke grenades, they do not cover well for the glaring flaw in Tether's overall design. However, that isn't where the problems end. The class abilities for Destiny 2 are an addition that I've heard both positive and negative things about. People say they're too good to be attached to a low cooldown or too situational, but the universal opinion I have heard regarding them is this: the Hunter has the worst one. Rally barrier from Titans allows for insane DPS during raid encounters, with Pleasure Gardens, Baths and Calus all being spots where its effects are seen to great effect. The normal barrier can cut off huge choke points and entrances, with a damaging effect if someone attempts to pass through it, which becomes even better if you have a Crest of Alpha Lupi granting a healing buff. Rifts are extremely useful, offering quick healing, a DPS boost equivalent to the now removed Weapons of Light, and even secondary bonuses like Arc Souls, which, while not extremely useful in all activities, has found uses in the Raid. The Hunter however, get a dodge. One that reloads your weapon, and one that recharges your melee if near enemies. Yup, the ability that needs to compete with the ones that allow you to instantly reload your entire fireteams weapons, and the one that can heal/buff the entire fireteams damage is the one that the hunters got. Not only do I think it is insane that the hunters can't just do this as an inherent perk, but the fact they added this as a class ability to put against the other classes makes me wonder just how much disdain Bungie has for Hunters? There's no benefit other than rez-ing with the invis perk, and some scenarios in PvP, where if you use Marksman's Dodge, you find yourself dying when you don't just forget you have it in the first place. In conclusion, I feel as if the Hunter needs some drastic improvements to its kit. Nightstalker needs to be more akin to the original, with damage from Power weapons actually being affected, as well as crits. Arc Strider needs more speed and aerial movement, which will flow with the ground dancing to make a truly agile subclass that feels like your dodging bullets. Golden gun... is just hampered by only one useful subclass in both PvE and PVP, and a lack of a useful ability. I know we're only 1 month into Destiny 2, and I'm sure that Bungie already has some updates coming down the pipeline that may fix these issues. But seeing the PvE as well as the PVP meta slowly shift to a more Titan/Warlock focused game just makes me sad, since I'll see less and less cool cloaked Guardians running around.