A Destiny 2 player conducted extensive testing to determine the hidden rules of the Destiny 2 ammo drop system. The player used their testing to post a lengthy theory about what makes certain ammo types drop at certain times, concluding the ammo drops in Bungie’s FPS MMO are not random but based on a cyclical system of different ammo-type phases.
Reddit user u/space_boobs (yes, that is their name) posted the theory to the Destiny subreddit this morning. “The Ammo Cycle, or why ammo drops don’t work the way you think they do,” as the post is titled, details how u/space_boobs discovered that ammo drops of certain types could be guaranteed under particular circumstances. For example, they realized that every time a player enters a destination from orbit and kills an enemy with a primary weapon, it will drop one special ammo brick. But while u/space_boobs was observing ammo drops for another planned ammo-related post, they began to notice ammo drop patterns unrelated to zone changes or fast traveling.
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After much testing, u/space_boobs realized that, during the first 40 to 60 kills after entering a destination from orbit, special ammo drops when using a primary or heavy weapon. After that, heavy ammo drops — usually about three to five bricks at a time — before the cycle returns to special ammo. This then repeats over and over, with heavy ammo drop periods every 40 to 60 kills. Added complications to the cycle are ammo capacity (u/space_boobs found that less heavy ammo dropped during heavy phases if their heavy weapon was full, and more dropped if it was empty) and the “hidden juggler” effect (using a special or heavy weapon during that weapon’s ammo drop phase decreases the drop rates of that ammo type, encouraging “juggling” between different weapons).
As noted by u/space_boobs, this is only a theory, and they encourage others to conduct similar testing to prove or disprove it. Still, they seemed confident about their findings in the post. “Once you see the ammo cycle,” u/space_boobs said, “you cannot unsee it.”
If u/space_boobs’ theory is correct, it could help players more efficiently manage ammo counts in high-intensity activities like the raid and Nightfall. Still, with all the Destiny 2: Shadowkeep changes coming to the game on the expansion’s release date next week, it’s possible (though not necessarily likely) Bungie could introduce tweaks to this system.
