Destiny 2 players are often eager to find gaps in the game that they can exploit. Recently, one YouTuber famous for "glitching" has been banned from the game.
Bungie traditionally takes responsibility for glitches and exploits in its game. Outside of hacking/cheating (which manipulates the game with third party software), cheesing in-game mechanics aren't punishable, such as the AFK Black Armory Forge farming.
Content creator JB3 had been creating quite a bit of buzz with his "out of bounds" Destiny 2 videos for many months at this point. Although many fans glitch to places outside Destiny 2's play area, JB3 admitted on Twitter that what he did wasn't glitching but something closer to "in-game data mining".
JB3 was able to dig up places, objects, enemies that regular glitchers simply cannot get to. He stated that he had been using third party software for some time now and this allowed him to break through barriers obstructing future content. Some fans even noted the fact that he purposefully didn't show how he got out of bounds in his exploration videos.
This type of behavior falls under hacking or modification of the game client, and, therefore, is answered with a ban. Nonetheless, JB3 does not regret what he did and fully accepted his punishment, even though, according to him, he only did it to gather exclusive footage of things hidden in Destiny 2.
However, he did lose the support and respect of a portion of his community as cheating isn't looked kindly upon no matter where it is used. To some, he tarnished what "glitching" means in Destiny 2. But, many appreciated him for being open, and owning what he actually did. He said that he saw it coming but was surprised how long he got away with it.
Bungie's reasoning for banning JB3 is also understandable. Alongside meddling with the game's code, JB3 also spoiled many surprises the studio had been preparing, despite some fans defending that he didn't do any harm to other players as he wasn't using malignant cheats.
Ultimately, the content creator seems to be neither happy nor sad about the situation. He's just grateful to have been able to share his journey to thousands and he still supports and respects the 'legitimate' glitchers of the community. Although he did state that this "is the end for JB3", he is still sharing Destiny 2 screenshots on Twitter and interacts with fans.
Overall, feelings around glitchers and dataminers are mixed within the community. To many, the novelty of reading up on confidential info has worn off and that the spreading of such info is now damaging the game and the fanbase. But, those who aren't affected by spoilers believe that this creates a sense of anticipation and can even lure back Destiny 2 veterans who had taken a break from the game.
Destiny 2 is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One, with PS5 and Xbox Series X versions also in development.