Why do All Guardians Reload so Much in Destiny 2?

There’s a pandemic in Destiny 2, and it’s got nothing to do with the very real pandemic we’re all living through. Guardians are reloading after every single kill, sometimes after every shot, and it’s crazy. There’s no logical reason for us to keep doing this, and yet we do. Every single time an enemy dies, every time we fire and miss, or another Guardian kills the prey we were aiming for. Why do we do it? Let’s talk about it.

Why do we all Reload so Much?

There’s a really simple answer to this and it’s that we all want bonuses from kills. Some perks grant bonus to reload speed from kills, so it’s worth using that speed immediately to ensure you have the maximum bullets available to kill more enemies and reload quickly once more. It’s a false economy though. Each time you reload, you’re wasting seconds you could have used to kill another enemy, so there’s no point in the speedy reload, unless you’re almost out of bullets that is.

The other answer here is that we’re all trained to do this because we know that a group of enemies could be just around the corner. There’s every chance that a huge swarm of enemies will be just ahead of you and try to overwhelm you, so you need to be ready. Reloading in these instances makes sense.

The silly thing is that we’re all so conditioned at this point that it’s crippling us. Some of us are reloading after each bow shot, something that doesn’t help anyone. In fact, pressing the reload button is just going to cause you to waste time.

Some Guardians, those on PC, probably have a macro setup that causes them to reload every time they fire. I imagine that it feels incredibly efficient, but as I’ve pointed out, there’s a chance that it’s not. You’re wasting valuable seconds that could be better used on killing enemies. Why not unbind the reload button and live dangerously?

Let us know how you feel about the reloading problem in Destiny 2. Do you suffer from it? Or do you love the warm embrace that comes from knowing you have maximum bullets in your weapon at once?

Jamie Moorcroft-Sharp

I'm an avid Destiny 2 fan and player. I fell in love with Destiny 1 during the early alpha and have been hooked by the universe ever since. I really enjoy playing with other Guardians, speculating about the lore, and writing about as much of the Destiny universe as I can.