Destiny Thread

[Guest]

Destiny 2 is interesting and a breath of fresh air. A new clan feature grants every one bonuses as well as a record log of stats. From Raids, Nightfalls, to Crucible(pvp/Trials of Osiris) If your currently playing Destiny 2 I want to extend an invitation to with a group of seasoned Guardians.

 

[MОD] Masters of Destiny is Openly Recruiting Vetreans of the game as well as new comers! PM me here,on Bungie.net, or Xbox One GT- RequixEclipse

 

 

 

[Matuzz]

Been enjoying Destiny 2 for a while now. Though I wish they buffed Strikes and added raid perks in the raid gear.

[FatedTitan]

I was enjoying D2, but they removed the things about D1 that made you keep wanting to come back.  I sure hope they fix it because by Year 3, D1 had become such a good game.

[Inconcievable]

Here, have this.

 

[Inconcievable]

Hey guys.

 

So, I know we have a Destiny 2 thread up on the site, but... I feel like this takes a bit more of a precedence, enough to warrant me posting about it in a separate post altogether. I don't know if anyone may feel similarly regarding what I say, nor do I know if it will be regarded similarly. It might just be me, and I might just be repeating what other people have been talking about for a while now. In any case, however, I feel a need to write something regarding it. So... let's start this, I guess.

 

=====================================================================

 

Destiny, in full form, is a wonderful, interesting thing. Typically, I find myself looking up to Bungie in a way of grace, thinking about how they've perfected their ambitious (expensive) "10-year project". I started playing Destiny via a demo that (I suppose) came out between House of Wolves and The Taken King, and my Age of Triumph record book tells me that is the case. I actually bought the game itself around the time that the April Update came out, during Year 2, and... I quickly became addicted to the game. I felt something strange, y'know? Like... for some reason, everything I did in Destiny felt like it actually meant something. It meant something to be a part of a shared experience with other people that dedicate themselves to this game, and feel it in a way that we can all relate to. With the way I played and how me and my friends grew to play, I felt like I knew everything, as though I came to the game as a Year One person... not that I was, but that feeling was there. I felt like I knew the game I was playing. The PvE was exceptional and felt different to a lot of the games I played at the time, the PvP felt dedicated (but sweaty as fuck), and... the Raids were an experience unrivaled to most of the things up until that point that I had played. I met many new people and found many new friends in the means of finding a way to crush Oryx each week, to grind my way to 335 and get the best guns for the best experience, albeit only ever slightly understanding that I already was given that experience through my actions and those of others.

 

Rise of Iron, as well, further pushed this mentality, yet... it did produce a sort of buffer of its own. Yes, it was what we wanted to see, in a way, but it quickly diminished. Year 3 heralded this own mini-era, where, essentially, everything was... well, easy. The grind to 385 - and, post-Raid, 400 - was indeed a bit of a struggle and brought its own levels of fun and good times with it. But, as soon as you found yourself reaching that benchmark, things suddenly halted. By this point, you've done everything you can do. Perhaps it's because of the DLC being too short, with 5 missions to its name and quests for exotics that faltered and became very simple... or hard, depending on what one you refer to... and what understanding of binary you have in the first place (fucking Outbreak Prime... I'm still pissed off that it isn't Solar damage). Anyways, point being, the game was becoming a chore. Iron Banner didn't help it, and the Festival of the Lost kind of made things worse. The Dawning was interesting, for a time, and I was actually finally able to experience SRL, which I had not played prior. That being said... I didn't really play it. I didn't hate SRL, but the game was just boring, and nothing really fixed that. Sure, Age of Triumph was nice, but that lasted maybe a month for most, and wasn't worth the work it was. Bungie's kinda had this particular issue for a while now. They only ever give so much and choose to hold back the rest. I find that a lot of people drop the game because it lacs the substance that people need to keep holding hope to it, and... it's definitely a problem, among a mix of others (i.e. nerfing to the point that the only good gun is a sidearm, rising issues with microtransactions, etc., etc.), that should be addressed more than others at times.

 

But, Destiny 1 isn't what I came here to talk about. My gripes about the game are few and far between. But it's not the topic I wish to discuss.

No, we're discussing the true "magnum opus", the "grand symphony", the chariot of fire that Bungie made to, ideally, fix all the problems of its predecessor. We're talking about Destiny 2.

 

Let's start simply. Was Destiny 2 a good game?

On release... yes. Yes, it was. It was, in fact, fantastic. It genuinely felt like a new experience, something which, if it were in the original Destiny, would have been as monumental as The Taken King. It felt like Destiny coming back to form, as if we were getting something we should have had about three or four years ago (it's technically Year 4, right?). I was goddamn excited, I really was. Maybe, even, excessive. I pre-ordered it, and with it, I got myself the Expansion Pass, with the usual givens of the Coldheart and the Kill-Tracker Ghost, while also getting the Cayde statue from GameStop ('tis beautimus) and bought the Collector's Edition book they sold separately from everything else (also beautimus, hardcover too)... and, y'know, I gotta admit, I was pretty impressed. The story of the base game was decent (well... by Destiny standards), and the introduction of a narrative that I feel introduces a sort of questioning about what's truly evil in the Destiny universe is simply gorgeous. It, indeed, lived up to standards.

 

But I struggle to say anything more of it.

Why?

Because I've realized that nothing's really changed since the last game.

 

The Destiny formula is not much more simpler than "see enemy, shoot enemy, progress, do a thing, shoot an enemy, progress, do a thing, shoot a really big enemy, loot loot loot". Given, that's not gimmicky or anything, it's a pretty honest formula. But the formula doesn't work when, surrounding all this is a lack of the urge to actually doing something that you feel is worth it, and the knowledge that what you do won't amount to more than time spent getting the same guns doing the same raid and strike. Yes, I feel that the reason people are beginning to pull back and return to playing other things is because Bungie's taken away the one thing they had left in a game that was close to prospering again: a player's autonomy.

 

What made the original Destiny great was that feeling of autonomy. That idea that what you felt you were doing mattered to your progression as a player, even if this "progression" was nothing more than pocketing a god-roll Grasp of Malok, or obtaining a new legendary ship, or completing Challenge Mode for Aksis (which is goddamn hard with a team that doesn't understand it). Every single thing I felt I was doing felt like it was right to do. I'd look to get a Palindrome that was essentially a Fatebringer substitute. I'd strive to complete those Nightfalls under a gold standard each week. I'd live for those glorious raid moments, and I'd hope to prosper in the Trials of Osiris... because that's what it meant to be a Destiny player. You simply held onto your devotion for the game in the hopes that your grinding would be worth it.

 

Somehow, though, I feel Bungie missed out on that point. There's a lot of things that can equate here to this fact. A few particulars, to which a lot of people have already stated, would include:

1.) No random perks on weapons, and no random rolls. - Different rolls and different perks on weapons are what made the original Destiny's experience unique, frankly, because you never would have the same gun as another person. I mean, yes, people practically abused the system to find god-rolls, which WERE the same. But you could, in theory, have introduced multiple rolls with different chances that, of which, could be considered god-rolls in the same right. So, by that logic, it panders to multiple play styles while giving back the uniqueness of the system to the players. Outright abandoning that system for preset perks already given to us wasn't the answer we wanted. Given, I'm fine with a number of the guns in Destiny 2 - as in, I like being able to use essentially what I want whenever - but there's just a certain integrity you gotta hold up.

2.) No real point after reaching 305. - Let's face it, the endgame sucks. I played Destiny 1 because I was hooked to that grind. It took me a lot of time to reach 335 in Year Two, and I still played after reaching that Light because I knew that I could still grind more to get new loot options that felt like they were worth getting. Running Heroic King's Fall was great, because I knew I would want to amass all the armor together, and perhaps reach as far as getting all weapons. Hell, if I was lucky, I could have even gotten new exotics that would further expand my arsenal and grow me closer to a complete collection of exotics. What's even greater than that was that this didn't change through and through, and still is this way today on the game. But, Destiny 2 breaks all integrity and... it just feels wasted. Good on you for getting the raid completed, your Trials win, or your weekly Milestones (that are increasingly becoming useless) finished, but what's left after that? Getting all the raid gear is harder now with coins being given more than actual rewards. The Heroic raid doesn't even give you new raid weapons. What's worth doing?

 

I just get so angry thinking about all this stuff, y'know? I really, really do. Bungie leaves a lot to be desired here, guys. There is so much they could have done... and they simply didn't do it. I find it very hard to stay dedicated to a game that makes no effort to keep me interested... and, I mean, it's Destiny! I wouldn't want to abandon this series on a whim, but it upsets me that they wouldn't choose to alleviate simple things. If you're going to go as far as to make the game feel like its predecessor, the least you could do is give this new version of the game what made the last version good. I mean, I want Grimoire back (perhaps viewable online and in-game this time). I want meaningful Raid encounters. I want more Crucible selections, I want more unique PvE experiences and encounters. Above all, I just want to see that Bungie cares about this game and their fans. Because, frankly, it seems more like they'd seek to change it in a way that is counterproductive to what they've established.

 

 

But... at the end of the day, this is all coming from me. A man, with a computer, who is willing to call out the shortcomings of a game that he sees. So... I'd hand the discussion over to you guys. What's your thoughts on Destiny 2 as of late? Be sure to reply down below, if that's something you want to do.

 

As always, per aspera ad astra. Eyes up, Guardian.

 

-The Meh

 

EDIT: Yes, I saw the Curse of Osiris trailer, and it's not half bad... even though it showed barely anything past Osiris, his Ghost, new areas and what looks to be the returning areas of Mercury (briefly on both) and pretty much just Ikora... or maybe there was more than that and I just kinda felt underwhelmed by it. Wouldn't blame myself. Though, I'd like to see what comes of this Expansion... and I really hope it turns out good. That's what the game needs right now. (Link to the trailer's gonna be here for ya if you want to watch it yourself)

[Lenne]

I merged the two topics with the original Destiny thread.

 

<3

[Matuzz]

Yeah after the first 100 hours Destiny 2 hasn't had really anything to offer. Never bothered to do a challenge modes or Prestige Raid as there really wasn't any reward for doing it. Not having Strike scoring or Heroic Strikes with strike specific loot is just sad. I also have to say that while vanilla Destiny Strikes were a bit bullet spongy they had SO much more character to them than Destiny 2 strikes. I don't think I can even name a single Destiny 2 strike... :/

 

I'm really hoping that Curse of Osiris and Season 2 will turn Destiny 2 around but from what I have seen so far it seems to not be the case. It's enough to bring me back for some more Destiny 2 action but I don't think it has that Destiny 1 end game lasting effect.

[Lenne]

So Destiny 2 is available via PS+ so I am downloading it, but I read some of the replies to the Tweet announcing the PS+ games for this month and a lot of them stated something along the line of: Yeah sucks having to buy the dlc in order to play the game properly.

Can any of you confirm? @The Meh @Matuzz

[Inconcievable]

10 hours ago, Lenne said:

So Destiny 2 is available via PS+ so I am downloading it, but I read some of the replies to the Tweet announcing the PS+ games for this month and a lot of them stated something along the line of: Yeah sucks having to buy the dlc in order to play the game properly.

Can any of you confirm? @The Meh @Matuzz

Well, Destiny 2 locks certain content behind the DLC paywall after a while. Most of it's just "you can't play Trials of the Nine/Iron Banner", among other things. Buying the DLCs to get ahead and allow yourself that access would probably help out better.

 

...besides, Forsaken's about to come out. You'd be better off just buying the full version that comes with the Expansions and Forsaken.

 

But I don't know certain details with the actual PS stuff. Gladly hearing about it being free, yeah, but... let's be honest, I think that's just a smart move on their account to garner Forsaken interest.

[Lenne]

1 minute ago, The Meh said:

but... let's be honest, I think that's just a smart move on their account to garner Forsaken interest.

yep, yep. I will boot it up tomorrow and will see, but I guess as long as I can play the campaign it should be good, right?

[Inconcievable]

4 minutes ago, Lenne said:

yep, yep. I will boot it up tomorrow and will see, but I guess as long as I can play the campaign it should be good, right?

Oh, yeah, definitely. They'll let you play the main Campaign, for sure. Not that it's all too much to call home about, but you'd get access to it.

You played the original Destiny, right? I forget if you did.

[Lenne]

2 minutes ago, The Meh said:

You played the original Destiny, right? I forget if you did.

Only a tiny bit, but after a week or two of me buying it my internet startetd to eff up for a year straight... it was a dreadful time and I also just deleted the game then.

[Inconcievable]

On 9/3/2018 at 1:49 PM, Lenne said:

Only a tiny bit, but after a week or two of me buying it my internet startetd to eff up for a year straight... it was a dreadful time and I also just deleted the game then.

That's unfortunate. Year 2 of Destiny may just have been its greatest. You sure missed out...

...hell, Age of Triumph in general was good, long after in Year 3...

 

Getting off track. How's the game been treating you now? (Destiny 2 of course)

[Matuzz]

Haven't got Forsaken yet. May purchase it if it comes to sale. I quit Destiny 2 shortly after Warmind DLC.

[Matuzz]

On 10/13/2018 at 12:59 PM, Matuzz said:

Haven't got Forsaken yet. May purchase it if it comes to sale. I quit Destiny 2 shortly after Warmind DLC.

They are giving Destiny 2 for free on PC so I made the switch to PC and came back to Destiny. Got the Forsaken DLC to have new content and to be able to skip the vanilla and Osiris / Warmind campaigns. Got to level 50 and now I have been playing PvP and trying to get good rolls on my weapons and armor.

 

https://destinytracker.com/d2/profile/pc/Matuzz-21297

[Inconcievable]

So, genuinely pining to play Destiny 2 lately. Fun as that is.

 

Somehow I miss the world, I guess? Maybe I want to experience the annual pass stuff? Shadowkeep looks good for once? It's strange.

 

I definitely feel like playing it, though.