Bungie explains why Destinys Thorn had to be trimmed

When it comes to creating and, more importantly, maintaining an online shooter, balancing weapons (and adding fresh new features) is everything. Have a weapon or two that cut other players down in the blink of an eye and you’ve got a problem on your hand. A bigger problem still if you’re game happens to be a persistent MMO PVP/PVE mashup such as Destiny. Take Thorn, the envenomed hand cannon that’s been the bane of many a Crucible player over the past year. It’s become so powerful some players are concerned it’s practically breaking the game.

Now it’s been patched, Thorn has been neutered to remove its most frustrating application – when someone shoots you twice then turns away and leaves you to die. “When people drop into the Crucible, we want them to see diversity,” explains senior design lead Sage Merrill.