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Destiny 2 (opens in new tab) won’t exclusively use dedicated servers but that doesn’t mean it will suffer from all the same lag-related problems as the first game. Bungie added some much-needed context to the discussion around Destiny 2’s server situation (which was, for the most part, disappointed players shouting “peer-to-peer NOOOOO”) in its latest weekly update (opens in new tab). Before getting into the details, let’s talk about why players care so much.
The original Destiny uses a mix of peer-to-peer and client-server networking. No one Guardian hosts the Tower, for instance, which is why your dance sessions don’t get interrupted for host migrations. But individual players are automatically selected to host activities like Strikes and The Crucible. If those players drop out, the game has to perform a host migration. That could be a mercy if they have a bad connection, though, because a laggy host can mean poor hit detection, weird physics, and all kinds of other problems.
According to Bungie’s explanation, Destiny 2 will use a similar hybrid peer-to-peer/client-server model with a few key changes. Activities are now hosted server-side, so you’ll never have to worry about a host migration again. And now physics calculations live in the cloud too, meaning there should be fewer discrepancies on key things like where attacks land.
Why not just go full into dedicated servers like Battlefield 1 (opens in new tab) or other big shooters? Well, Destiny 2’s mix of activities and seamless matchmaking mean its networking needs are significantly more complicated than most. Check out this Reddit thread (opens in new tab) for a more technical rundown of what this revised networking arrangement could mean for the game. However you feel about the setup, we can at least wait and see how the Destiny 2 beta (opens in new tab) plays.
Read our full Destiny 2 (opens in new tab) news recap to learn more about Bungie’s online shooter sequel. And don’t miss 6 game-changing things you need to know about Destiny 2 (opens in new tab).
