Destiny 2's Stasis Has Gotten Worse For PvP Players, But There is Hope
Destiny 2 is a very different game now than what it was on release. It has come a long way in its story arcs and its gameplay features, which as of late last year includes the Beyond Light campaign on Europa. Beyond Light was the Year 4 expansion for Destiny 2, and it allowed players for the first time ever in the Destiny saga to wield the powers of Darkness, rather than just the Traveler's light. This power, which worries the main character's Ghost because of what possessing it entails, is called by the Eliksni and the Exo Stranger Stasis, and it has affinities with ice and freezing enemies.
Because of the extremely potent crowd control that Stasis provides, it quickly became extremely popular in the Crucible, making it an overly dominant meta. This is because of how accessible Stasis abilities are in Destiny 2, especially with players being able to stack Discipline and Strength in order to have their grenades and melee special abilities, respectively, up as frequently as possible. For this very reason, many players are frustrated with Destiny 2's current state of PvP, and they have been calling for nerfs to Stasis for a while now.
One of the reasons why it is so prominent in the current meta for PvP in Destiny 2 is Stasis doesn't simply slow enemies; it can suppress them and their abilities in a way that makes both the use of guns and Supers almost trivial. Some Guardians will want to use their Supers at some point, as they often provide them the ability to change the tides of the match, but Stasis can suppress them too if it properly freezes the enemies. Of course, being frozen in PvP is a big deal, as it renders the icebound characters easy preys for their enemies.
Because of how powerful some class abilities are, there are examples of Hunters stacking Strength up to 100 and wielding Stasis, so that their Shurikens can be fired as often as possible. Even a single errant Shuriken is enough to kill unready enemy Guardians, and this makes Hunters even more deadly when taking advantage of the powers of the Grim Harvest aspect. Furthermore, this is just one out of the three classes in Destiny 2, but there are many devastating builds out there for Warlocks and Titans as well in PvP, with Stasis often being at their core. Movement is a key element in Destiny 2's PvP meta, and Stasis freezing enemies in place means removing that freedom from players.
Recently, G1 Gigz said how the PvP community is tired of constant slows and suppressions from each and every Stasis ability, let alone Supers, and how a Crucible playlist with Stasis disabled would be appreciated. Kevin Yanes, one of Destiny 2's developers focusing on the sandbox part of it, replied to the aforementioned user and said that Bungie knows Stasis is a bit over the top right now, and changes are coming. Apparently, it's Bungie's intention to shift the focus of Destiny 2's PvP towards weapons more than ability spamming and Supers, which is going to be big for hopfully balancing Stasis.
Guns should be dominant in PvP, so the change ought to be a good one. However, some players are worried that this will, in turn, mean that Stasis weapons could become extremely more relevant, especially with the recently added Cryosthesia 77k sidearm with Season of the Splicer. Another thing that preoccupies players, specifically PvE-oriented gamers, is that nerfing Stasis because of PvP could make it even less relevant in all other activities. This is a fair point, especially considering that right now Stasis doesn't see much play in the PvE endgame. Balancing things is not going to be easy for Bungie, and doing so properly seems like walking a tightrope. There's a few options and a few reasons to hope, but all fans can do now is wait.
Destiny 2 is available now on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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