"It's the best co-op game we've played so far by a longshot" (Destiny)

by Robot Chickens, Tuesday, December 20, 2016, 16:39 (3138 days ago) @ CruelLEGACEY

Then, as you alluded to, there's the end game. At a certain point, if I want to seriously participate in Destiny's end game content, I need to dedicate a substantial amount of time to being "productive", and that doesn't always jive with just doing "whatever" with my friends. And that's a real shame to me, because those end game activities are SO GOOD. I have a few buddies who play Destiny "casually" (ie very much the way you described your acquaintance) and they have just resigned themselves to the fact that they'll never get to play the raids there's too much work involved. But the raid itself isn't the thing that turns them off or intimidates them; it's the grind.

The thing is, they'll get to experience all of the endgame content, save the current raid, with zero grind and zero barriers to entry. It may not be as challenging, and it may not feel as worthwhile because of rewards, but it will still probably be fun for them.

I've finally hit that sweet spot with Rise of Iron where I can once again treat Destiny like a casual social experience. None of my characters are Max level, there's plenty of gear that I don't have, but I'm high enough level and have enough gear upgraded so that I can jump into any activity with any character at any time and have fun. And it feels great. I spent a couple hours doing WotM challenge mode on Sunday night and it was a blast. Chatting and laughing the whole way through. No worrying about light levels or having the right gear with the right perks or getting the right loot drops. I'm now passed all that stuff. When Destiny gets out of its own way, there's nothing that beats it.

I'm glad you're having fun again!

TL;DR - I think the "casual" approach is by far the best way to have fun with Destiny, and I wish it was easier to extend that approach to the end-game activities as well.