Before all the hunters come for me with pitchforks—yes, I’m a Warlock main. And yes, I’m frustrated.
I’m tired of being the only non-Hunter in Trials, Comp, and now even Quickplay. This isn’t aimed at players who genuinely play to win and use what’s effective. This is directed more at Bungie and the PvP Strike Team.
I’ve got some feedback to share. This isn’t a hate post, and I’m not here asking for nerfs—just asking some real questions that I hope are taken seriously:
Why are Hunters consistently the majority in Trials—often making up around 50% of the player base?
Why are there more Void Hunters alone than all Warlocks or Titans in Trials? And it's even more skewed in Comp.
We just came out of a Prismatic Hunter-heavy meta, and now we’ve landed straight into an invis-smoke-heavy Void Hunter meta. Why?
Why is high-end PvP (Trials and Comp) always dominated by Hunters?
What is it about the Hunter subclasses that makes them consistently rise to the top?
How can a subclass with only -blam!-% pick rate end up representing over 30% of PvP usage?
Once the PvP Strike Team can take a real look at those questions and identify what’s driving these trends, the next step becomes even more important:
Dig into the core issues:
Why does each new subclass we create still lead to another Hunter-dominated meta? (Looking at you, Prismatic.)
How long does each meta last, and what have we actually done to respond to it?
When should we step in with major balance shifts, and when should we gradually bring outliers back in line?
If Hunters are exactly where we want them to be, were these outliers intentional—and if so, where are the equivalent options for Warlocks and Titans?
And most importantly, what can we do moving forward? Should we build in more flexibility or keep pushing toward stronger, clear-cut meta choices?
None of this is meant to be rhetorical. The PvP Strike Team really needs to consider how subclass balance and exotic buffs shape the meta over time—because if players can see broken builds coming from a mile away, why can’t the devs?
I just want a healthier, more diverse sandbox. That’s it.
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Edited by FrenetiCreature: 4/21/2025 10:55:10 PMThis may not be the reasons for everybody, but these are my reasons - [quote]Why are Hunters consistently the majority in Trials—often making up around 50% of the player base?[/quote] The jump. For me anyway, it's mostly the jump. Plain and simple, that's why I use Hunter over the other two. That and the fact I can do almost an insta-reload with my dodge. [quote]Why are there more Void Hunters alone than all Warlocks or Titans in Trials? And it's even more skewed in Comp.[/quote] The neutral game. Even though you can't do it anymore, it was the Wombo-combo that got me to choose void from the beginning. Void is what I got used to, and have just always used ever since (Way before all the complaining about it). [quote]We just came out of a Prismatic Hunter-heavy meta, and now we’ve landed straight into an invis-smoke-heavy Void Hunter meta. Why?[/quote] We finally got that new aspect that's actually useful in PvP. The other ability we had wasn't very good in PvP. (Stylish Executioner) The new one is basically the same as Trapper's Ambush, except you have to use your dodge charge + get a kill and then run over to the smoke cloud. Trapper's ambush just used your melee ability. The trade off, is you get to keep your melee charge, but have to use your dodge + get a kill. [quote]Why is high-end PvP (Trials and Comp) always dominated by Hunters?[/quote] Again, imo, I really think it's the jump. Tracking a bouncy hunter with your reticle is harder to do than tracking a floofing warlock. Also, the insta-reload with dodge. [quote]What is it about the Hunter subclasses that makes them consistently rise to the top?[/quote] 'See above' [quote]How can a subclass with only -blam!-% pick rate end up representing over 30% of PvP usage?[/quote] 'See above'