Raiding, to blind or not to blind (Destiny)

by Kermit , Raleigh, NC, Friday, June 28, 2019, 01:23 (1985 days ago) @ cheapLEY

And why the scare quotes around "trying" things? Of course you're trying things--that's what you do to figure out how to open the combination lock that is most rooms in Destiny raids. I mean, it's okay if you don't like puzzles, but they have always been a staple of the fantasy genre.

Because the puzzles are beginning to make less and less sense. Vault of Glass felt mysterious and awesome, and, even if it’s maybe a stretch, the Relic felt like it fit. It was created by a Guardian for the team that came after to get the job done. The Sword in Crota’s end made sense. Even the person in the shadow realm or whatever for Oryx, while I couldn’t tell you what’s actually happening, felt like it fit.

Why the hell do we have to stand on random plates to damage Shuro Chi? Why does she even go to those spots if she can become vulnerable there? Why am I calling out random symbols? Who put them there, why does this room even actually exist.

Previous raids felt like cool excursions into enemy territory. And while they may have been abstract, the mechanics felt like we, the Guardians, we’re doing something, making something happen (by using the Relic, or by stealing a Sword from a Hive Knight). Some of the more modern raids are getting really abstract, and it feels like we, the Guardians, are reacting to things built for us, rather than making things happen. They feel like places that are built exclusively to be raids, and not like real places that might exist in the universe. They feel like playgrounds more than dangerous excursions into enemy territory.

I will say that Scourge of the Past was a refreshing change of pace on that front, and feels much more like an old Destiny raid in a way that I really love, and the mechanics feel like real things that make sense within the context of the world, unlike basically anything in Leviathan or The Last Wish.

EDIT: Just to add, it feels less like actually figuring out a puzzle and more like flipping random switches until something happens. Is there a glowy thing? Okay, shoot it, stand on it, or throw something we don’t have yet at it. Who the hell knows why, though.

I think that's a legitimate criticism, and one that becomes harder to combat with each new raid because fresh mechanics are harder to come up with even without considering the need for them to feel like that they naturally arise from the setting or narrative. Funny that you mention Shuro Chi, because from a gameplay perspective I think it's one of the better, more dynamic raid battles. The Dreaming City is just such a gorgeous location I can forgive a lot. I think with Leviathan they leaned into the playground metaphor with the lore.