PSA: Alt-tabbing out of Destiny 2 could result in a PvP timeout thanks to a major exploit

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A glitch that allows players to generate several Orbs of Power has been skewing PvP matches.

A warlock holding a mote in the Prophecy dungeon.
(Image credit: Bungie)

Bungie is coming down on players who've been exploiting a major game-breaking bug in Destiny 2, but the current solution may be pulling legitimate players into the crossfire too.

The min/max glitch has quietly been on Bungie's radar for a few months, but a video showing how to replicate the bug has thrown the exploit out in the open. Popping the game into windowed mode and holding down the minimise window button for five seconds before using certain super abilities causes the game to have a bit of a moment, tanking framerate and dropping a ton of Orbs of Power—essentially allowing for a constant stream of supers. It's a huge issue for PvP in particular, with the glitch theoretically letting teams who use steamroll their opponents. 

Senior community manager dmg04 says that the development team has been "silently working" on a fix for a while now, but called it "an incredibly deep and difficult to fix bug." A patch is currently penned in for December, but Bungie is starting to take action against those exploiting the issue.

Significant dips in framerate will now force Rutabaga errors, bumping you out of whatever you're doing. Dmg04 also warned that erroring out a handful of times "can be met with escalating restrictions," adding "aside from recommending you don't negatively impact the experience of others by reproducing this issue, I also recommend not ruining your own."

The main issue with the current solution is that it can cause issues for those who suffer from regular framerate hitches and even people who regularly Alt+Tab out of the game to be slapped with a PvP timeout. Dmg04 said it shouldn't result in a full account ban though, and players who are being wrongfully errored out can respond to a Destiny help thread. While the current band-aid may come with some frustrating caveats, it beats getting unfairly crapped on during matches. 

Mollie Taylor
Mollie Taylor
Features Producer

Mollie spent her early childhood deeply invested in games like Killer Instinct, Toontown and Audition Online, which continue to form the pillars of her personality today. She joined PC Gamer in 2020 as a news writer and now lends her expertise to write a wealth of features, guides and reviews with a dash of chaos. She can often be found causing mischief in Final Fantasy 14, using those experiences to write neat things about her favourite MMO. When she's not staring at her bunny girl she can be found sweating out rhythm games, pretending to be good at fighting games or spending far too much money at her local arcade.