Destiny's Hardest Boss Gets a Little Easier to Kill

Destiny's level 35 Prison of Elders arena is now the most difficult mode in the game, and its final Skolas encounter one of the most memorable. According to Bungie, over 370,000 teams have killed Skolas since the House of Wolves expansion launched last month.

However, the Skolas battle isn't perfect, and many players have reported unfair conditions that make it too punishing. In response, Bungie is releasing an update to tone back the difficulty of the Skolas fight and make it more consistent week-to-week.

Right now, a cycling series of buffs to arc, void, or solar damage can cause the difficulty to wildly shift, sometimes becoming nearly impossible. Creative director Christopher Barrett explains, "First off, the elemental burns proved to be too punishing (being one-shot by tracking Arc fire for example). This makes it too tempting to rely on one common tactic (three Gjallarhorns on a Solar Burn)."

Bungie will remove the elemental burns in the update, intending to increase the predictability of the encounter and the flexibility of options for players. The studio will also lower Skolas' overall health, to compensate for the lack of elemental burns. Finally, Bungie will make enemy spawns more consistent, as well as change the enemy waves' composition slightly.

Destiny will be at E3 next week, although it's still unknown what Bungie will show off. Earlier this week, Destiny's next expansion reportedly leaked. Titled The Taken King, the expansion is said to contain a raid, several strikes, and new subclasses.