GamesFPSDestinyDestiny 2Destiny 2 players were right: Bungie confirms an issue “in our code” making some god roll guns harder to get, and says it has already identified a potential fixWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesFPSDestinyDestiny 2Destiny 2 players were right: Bungie confirms an issue “in our code” making some god roll guns harder to get, and says it has already identified a potential fixWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Bungie)
Update - October 25:Following additional reports,Bungie has confirmedwhat many Destiny 2 players suspected. The studio says an issue “in our code” has made “some random perk combinations harder to earn per legendary weapon perk set. In some cases, desirable perk combinations are a bit easier to earn as well. While we inspected our content and confirmed each perk is weighted equally, an issue in perk pool RNG is the culprit here.”
Bungiehas “identified a potential solution to the issue, and we are rapidly working to validate the fix.” It’s hoping to push this hotfix as soon as possible, but is still working out timing.
The exact cause and scope of this issue remains unclear, nor do we know when it first reared its ugly head, but the fact that players accurately sniffed out compromised RNG after 10 years of almost universally groundless loot conspiracy theories (and one true count of XP bottlenecking) really is something. That said, it sounds like a big blog breakdown is coming.
“For right now, we’re focusing on fixing up the issue and getting it out to you,” Bungie adds. “After, we’ll be sitting down with the team to discuss all the nitty-gritty details.”
Original story:
A few days ago, a relatively small group of frustrated and unlucky Destiny 2 players began to speculate if the weapons dropping in the MMO’s newest dungeon, Vesper’s Host,were unfairly weighted against them. That’s just how rare the god roll perks seemed to be. Bungie was quick to respond, stamping out familiar conspiracy theories about false RNG and confirming that there is no intentional perk weighting in any area of the game apart from Exotic class item attunement which operates on a different system.
In the days since, the Destiny 2 community’s sleuths and statisticians have been hard at work investigating the proposed “Weightgate” theory. Asincreasingly holistic and compelling evidencehas piled up, Bungie’s confirmed that it’s now investigating a potentialunintentionalproblem that could be behind all of this. There is still space for this to be a player misinterpretation born from limited data, but if players are right, and it certainly looks like they might be, this could be a serious loot problem that went unnoticed for months despite affecting multiple areas of the game.
Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
The investigation has now evolved into Bungie working with players to either rule out this potential loot bug, or confirm its cause and effect to find a solution. “We are now investigating a potential issue within our code for how RNG perks are generated,” theDestiny 2 Team Twitter account said on October 24. “Many thanks to all players who have been contributing to data collection across the community. This data has been monumentally helpful with our investigation, and we are currently working on internal simulations to confirm your findings.” Analysis from the creator of Destiny 2 loot archive Light.gg alsogot a special thank youfrom the team.
(Image credit: Bungie)
Handily, Light.gg nowhas a dedicated tool, which is “not a tool to aid a witch hunt,” to visualize this alleged loot bug. To explain Weightgate as succinctly as possible, players believe that certain weapon perk combinations are inordinately unlikely to drop. This appears to be based on a snag in Destiny 2’s weapon API and the way perks are assigned.
To put it less succinctly, this theory is based on the distance between perks in a weapon’s perk columns. Every Legendary weapon has multiple potential perks in columns three and four, and these perks are assigned to ordered slots behind the scenes. Weightgate posits that if a gun has six perks in each column and you roll the slot one perk in column three, it’s much less likely for column four to roll the slot four perk than slot two because the former is ‘further away’ from slot one, so to speak. The tricky bit is that this distancing seems to ‘wrap around,’ which in this example means slot one perks are actually right next to slot six perks and are therefore pretty likely pairings.
To go back to VS Chill Inhibitor, Bait and Switch is a slot two perk in column three. Envious Arsenal is a slot five perk in column four. This gives this roll a perk distance of three, which the Weightgate theory calls unlikely. Some people have gotten this roll to drop, along with the other god rolls under investigation, but it appears to be unusually uncommon according to the data we have.
This theory is probably better explained visually. As Light.gg illustrates, several weapons from recent Destiny 2 releases show a predictable gradient-like relationship between perks. This data is based on the rolls of the guns that players have in their inventory. I’ve also toggled off crafted weapons, which can guarantee god rolls, to sharpen the data, though that doesn’t matter with the new weapons which aren’t craftable. Here’s how VS Chill Inhibitor looks in that loot tool:
(Image credit: Bungie / Light.gg)
See what I mean? There are consistent dips in roll pairings that have a perk distance of three, and the most common combinations generally have a distance of one or zero. This rule is not absolute and there are plenty of outliers and exceptions, in part because players are most likely to delete the truly trash rolls from their inventories.
This is mainly what gives me pause – a lot of recent weapons still have more standard perk distributions, and weapons with many more possible perks seem to throw the perceived pattern out entirely. If Weightgate is real, I doubt it will be as all-encompassing as some believe. But this grenade launcher is far from the only gun, and particularlynewgun, with this pattern, and if you go back to pre-Final Shape content in that same tool, the pattern effectively vanishes. With that in mind, have a look at the new sniper Sovereignty, which has seven perks in each column:
(Image credit: Bungie / Light.gg)
Notice how rolls with a perk distance of four are rarer than, or comparable to, those with a perk distance of three? Destiny 2 math wizMossyMaxmakes a good case in a post highlighting Truthteller, which doesn’t really have an undisputed god roll and is a good test case with less bias from player tastes, but still shows this gradient pattern. “This is the smoking gun for me,” he says. “100k rolls of S24 Truthteller on Light.gg. Not a single good roll to go for, so the pattern shows really clearly. There’s no reason that Moving Target + Threat Detector should be 17x more likely than MT + Repulsor Brace.”
This is the smoking gun for me. 100k rolls of S24 Truthteller on light .gg. Not a single good roll to go for, so the pattern shows really clearly. There’s no reason that Moving Target + Threat Detector should be 17x more likely than MT + Repulsor Brace. https://t.co/MwLw9uUJ8g pic.twitter.com/RCfkvBCgYZOctober 24, 2024
This is the smoking gun for me. 100k rolls of S24 Truthteller on light .gg. Not a single good roll to go for, so the pattern shows really clearly. There’s no reason that Moving Target + Threat Detector should be 17x more likely than MT + Repulsor Brace. https://t.co/MwLw9uUJ8g pic.twitter.com/RCfkvBCgYZOctober 24, 2024
The key takeaway here is that loot was not maliciously or even intentionally rigged, if it is indeed rigged at all. Bungie wouldn’t give players the tools and access to discover this if it wanted to hoodwink them, for starters, and frankly the people at the studio do deserve more trust than that. That being said, Destiny 2 is currently in an extremely rough state on a technical level, and we’ve seen plenty of systemic updates cause inexplicable collateral damage in the past. I don’t know how it may have happened, but Destiny 2 spaghetti code has surprised me before.
Weighted loot would be quite a problem for a loot game to have, especially when the latest Destiny 2 Episode has explicitly encouraged players to spend less time crafting god rolls and more time chasing them the old-fashioned way. Bungie has been open about its investigation so far after ruling outintentionalweighting, and you’d better believe Destiny 2 players will have their eyes glued to the studio’s reports in the days and weeks ahead. This could all blow over, or it could make for a whopper of a developer blog post.
Bungie teases Diablo-style “treasure goblins” and “dynamic enemy spawning” for new Destiny 2 missions you can solo in 10 minutes if you don’t want the MMO experience.
CATEGORIESPS4PS5Xbox Series XXbox OnePC GamingPlatformsPlayStationXbox
CATEGORIES
More about destinyHow to get the Destiny 2 Doki Doki armor setsDestiny 2 is kind of a mess right now: bugs are making it harder to enjoy my favorite MMO and it only seems to be getting worse
More about destiny
How to get the Destiny 2 Doki Doki armor setsDestiny 2 is kind of a mess right now: bugs are making it harder to enjoy my favorite MMO and it only seems to be getting worse
How to get the Destiny 2 Doki Doki armor sets
How to get the Destiny 2 Doki Doki armor sets
Destiny 2 is kind of a mess right now: bugs are making it harder to enjoy my favorite MMO and it only seems to be getting worse
Destiny 2 is kind of a mess right now: bugs are making it harder to enjoy my favorite MMO and it only seems to be getting worse
Latest
See more latest►
Most PopularOne of Sonic 3’s writers threatens us with a good time in a future movie: “We gotta get Big the Cat in there in some capacity"This nifty gadget turns any M.2 SSD into a portable drive, but it’s great for when you’re upgrading your PC tooLeague of Legends co-creator responds to report that Arcane was a “financial miss,” says “people think we make things like Arcane to sell skins, when in reality we sell skins to make things like Arcane"After hours of number-crunching, one Marvel Rivals player has laid out the true meta – and Iron Fist’s ranking feels alarmingJames Gunn says his DC shows will likely stick to the “one episode a week” schedule moving forward: “It affords a quality show an opportunity to be discussed"Just two weeks after its theatrical release, Lord of the Ring: The War of Rohirrim is heading to digitalEscape the horrors of family time this holiday with Slitterhead’s first ever discountNosferatu should “feel like a love triangle” according to star Lily-Rose Depp, albeit a twisted oneYou might be ready for Elden Ring: Nightreign, but not as ready as this streamer who completed the RPG like it was a roguelike – 207 bosses, random items, and permadeathThe team behind the unofficial Zelda Ocarina of Time PC port just modernized another Nintendo 64 classic, and the original creator is “very happy” about itNosferatu’s Bill Skarsgård was so happy to shed the Orlok character when filming wrapped: “It was an immense sense of relief”
Most PopularOne of Sonic 3’s writers threatens us with a good time in a future movie: “We gotta get Big the Cat in there in some capacity"This nifty gadget turns any M.2 SSD into a portable drive, but it’s great for when you’re upgrading your PC tooLeague of Legends co-creator responds to report that Arcane was a “financial miss,” says “people think we make things like Arcane to sell skins, when in reality we sell skins to make things like Arcane"After hours of number-crunching, one Marvel Rivals player has laid out the true meta – and Iron Fist’s ranking feels alarmingJames Gunn says his DC shows will likely stick to the “one episode a week” schedule moving forward: “It affords a quality show an opportunity to be discussed"Just two weeks after its theatrical release, Lord of the Ring: The War of Rohirrim is heading to digitalEscape the horrors of family time this holiday with Slitterhead’s first ever discountNosferatu should “feel like a love triangle” according to star Lily-Rose Depp, albeit a twisted oneYou might be ready for Elden Ring: Nightreign, but not as ready as this streamer who completed the RPG like it was a roguelike – 207 bosses, random items, and permadeathThe team behind the unofficial Zelda Ocarina of Time PC port just modernized another Nintendo 64 classic, and the original creator is “very happy” about itNosferatu’s Bill Skarsgård was so happy to shed the Orlok character when filming wrapped: “It was an immense sense of relief”
Most PopularOne of Sonic 3’s writers threatens us with a good time in a future movie: “We gotta get Big the Cat in there in some capacity"This nifty gadget turns any M.2 SSD into a portable drive, but it’s great for when you’re upgrading your PC tooLeague of Legends co-creator responds to report that Arcane was a “financial miss,” says “people think we make things like Arcane to sell skins, when in reality we sell skins to make things like Arcane"After hours of number-crunching, one Marvel Rivals player has laid out the true meta – and Iron Fist’s ranking feels alarmingJames Gunn says his DC shows will likely stick to the “one episode a week” schedule moving forward: “It affords a quality show an opportunity to be discussed"Just two weeks after its theatrical release, Lord of the Ring: The War of Rohirrim is heading to digitalEscape the horrors of family time this holiday with Slitterhead’s first ever discountNosferatu should “feel like a love triangle” according to star Lily-Rose Depp, albeit a twisted oneYou might be ready for Elden Ring: Nightreign, but not as ready as this streamer who completed the RPG like it was a roguelike – 207 bosses, random items, and permadeathThe team behind the unofficial Zelda Ocarina of Time PC port just modernized another Nintendo 64 classic, and the original creator is “very happy” about itNosferatu’s Bill Skarsgård was so happy to shed the Orlok character when filming wrapped: “It was an immense sense of relief”
Most Popular
One of Sonic 3’s writers threatens us with a good time in a future movie: “We gotta get Big the Cat in there in some capacity”
This nifty gadget turns any M.2 SSD into a portable drive, but it’s great for when you’re upgrading your PC too
League of Legends co-creator responds to report that Arcane was a “financial miss,” says “people think we make things like Arcane to sell skins, when in reality we sell skins to make things like Arcane”
After hours of number-crunching, one Marvel Rivals player has laid out the true meta – and Iron Fist’s ranking feels alarming
James Gunn says his DC shows will likely stick to the “one episode a week” schedule moving forward: “It affords a quality show an opportunity to be discussed”
Just two weeks after its theatrical release, Lord of the Ring: The War of Rohirrim is heading to digital
Escape the horrors of family time this holiday with Slitterhead’s first ever discount
Nosferatu should “feel like a love triangle” according to star Lily-Rose Depp, albeit a twisted one
You might be ready for Elden Ring: Nightreign, but not as ready as this streamer who completed the RPG like it was a roguelike – 207 bosses, random items, and permadeath
The team behind the unofficial Zelda Ocarina of Time PC port just modernized another Nintendo 64 classic, and the original creator is “very happy” about it
Nosferatu’s Bill Skarsgård was so happy to shed the Orlok character when filming wrapped: “It was an immense sense of relief”
GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension"2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package"3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure"4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years"5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths"1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show"2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie"3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action"4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien"5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite"1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat"2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses"3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist"4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands"5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension"2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package"3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure"4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years"5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths"1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show"2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie"3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action"4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien"5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite"1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat"2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses"3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist"4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands"5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension"2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package"3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure"4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years"5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths"1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show"2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie"3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action"4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien"5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite"1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat"2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses"3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist"4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands"5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension"2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package"3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure"4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years"5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths"1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show"2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie"3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action"4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien"5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite"1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat"2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses"3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist"4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands"5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1
Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2
Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
3
Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
4
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
5
Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
1
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
2
Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3
Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
5
Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
1
Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
2
Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
3
Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
4
Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5
Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”