Bungie shuts down Destiny's long-running Omnigul exploit

Bungie has moved to swiftly lock down an ancient Destiny exploit, after players used it to dramatically speed up Rise of Iron's glacial loot grind.

The Omnigul exploit was patched out last night after having been present in Destiny since December 2014.

Simply put, it allowed you to kill a boss earlier than intended, nab its end-of-mission loot, then rapidly reset and repeat the process.

Players flocked to the old exploit as an answer to the Rise of Iron expansion's level grind - especially last week, as people rushed to get raid ready.

It's somewhat ironic that Bungie congratulated the fireteams which finished Rise of Iron's Wrath of the Machine raid in just two hours last Friday despite the fact that - without countless hours of grinding - the now-patched Omnigul exploit was the only time-friendly way to level up.

Destiny's loot pool and levelling mechanics have always been kept hidden, but the game's community in agreement over a couple of major sticking points: first, the lack of Ghost and Artefact drops at high level, without which your overall player Light number is held back; second, the fact that blue engrams which drop higher than 340 Light are hard to find outside of the strike playlist - and grinding those same missions is repetitive and time-consuming.

Bungie has now admitted it is aware of the grind, although there are no quick fixes coming:

"We're looking into the way Destiny: Rise of Iron rewards the completion of activities with items that will increase your Light," senior designer Victoria Dollbaum reported back in the game's weekly blog update.

"Currently, our opinion is that Ghosts and Artifacts are dropping less frequently than intended, making it difficult for players to reach higher Light after 365.

"In the weeks to come, we'll be investigating a solution that provides alternate max Light sources for these two slots. Additionally, when the Heroic Raid is released, many Activities and all Engrams will increase their maximum Light, making it easier overall to progress."

Hmm.

A moment of silence, then, for the Omnigul "cheese", and credit to everyone in the Destiny community who passed knowledge of it on over the past week and a half.

The exploit required more than just killing the boss quickly before it ran away. It involves a team of three players using a combination of abilities to damage and simultaneously hold back The Dark Below's screeching wizard boss Omnigul before could fly away to the intended final battle.

By killing her early - and stopping her running past a certain point - the strike mission rewarded you with loot while also letting you return to a checkpoint just before.

One popular method was to have hunters tether her so she was locked in place. Alternatively, you could use a Warlock's Stormcaller lightning to fend her back - all the while doing DPC with heavy guns or swords.

Players will have a chance at new armour this weekend and next week, however, with the return of the Trials of Osiris and Iron Banner multiplayer events.