I'm just going to take a moment to state my appreciation for this hobby most of us here still love.

It seems like a lot of folks out there, not just here at DBO, have taken issue with the state of the game; and particularly the efforts that Bungie has made to engage the community with puzzles and their rewards. More on that in a bit.

I've spent several nights in the last few weeks playing with folks that had been on a bit of a sabbatical from Destiny and have recently picked it back up. Introducing them to the Gambit Prime armor grind and the Reckoning has been a lot of fun; and it's inspired me to make a goal out of chasing the Reckoner title. Playing older content like the Reckoning, Escalation Protocol, and the various Dungeons is still fun for me. It's even more fun when showing it off to folks that have drifted away from the game. There's tons of quality content that we've been over that still holds up gameplay-wise (despite awful dialogue in places). It's easy to see where experiments have been tried, and Bungie has for the most part learned from their mistakes.

We have lots of ways at our disposal of tailoring the experience we've been afforded. We have lots of things set out before us to chase, things that affect gameplay and things that don't. And yeah, the friends we made along the way matter, too. Every new bit of content isn't going to grip everyone or speak to everyone, and clearly the corridors of time puzzle was intended for the very segment of the community that sussed out the solution. And everybody not interested in that kind of nonsense still gets their shot at a new exotic. C'est la vie. New toys, and no need to keep up with the Joneses. Seems fair.

IMO the only thing Bungie should do differently with things like this in the future is not say or guarantee anything ahead of time. Release new Dungeons or puzzles like this as scheduled, but just don't publicize anything about them until 30 days left in the season, when folks might miss out. It's plenty of time for the slackers to get it in gear, and the discovery will have that much more of an effect for the bleeding-edge part of the community.

I'm grateful for the game and the community, though I lurk in several places a lot more than I engage beyond my immediate circle these days. It's hard for me to view where we are as a lull in content, or that the overall interest and enthusiasm in Destiny has cooled.

There's still no element of pay-to-play. There's still no obligation to spend money outside of the season pass at this point. There's for sure a honed feeling of FOMO that drives getting into all the latest content, but if you've the wherewithal to resist that, there's plenty of space to relax and play and engage in kind of an absurd variety of activities. Of course some folks will lose their taste for it over time, and we still have a story that demands an inordinate amount of effort to make sense of; but I'm thankful we have such a place to play.

TLDR - I still really love Destiny. And I'm glad you're here.

~m

I'm grateful I'm still able to raid without grinding too hard. I'm learning to accept that there are things I might not get. I might not earn a triumph t-shirt this year. That will hurt, but there are goals to achieve IRL, and you gotta pick.

Destiny rules. I still firmly believe that. I have lots of problems with the game, but it's baseline level of fun is extremely high. I think Bungie Halo is a far better franchise, better executed in every way, but I have far more hours in Destiny at this point, and I think it does take a certain number of concessions in making a "great" game to continually support a game like Destiny. But even given those compromises, Destiny straight up still has some of the best video game experiences maybe ever, in my mind. Raiding is incredible, and the dungeons are extremely cool.

It's the best platform for hanging out with friends online that I've ever experienced. There's so much to appreciate in Destiny. When I could manage to ignore the bullshit (the grind, the chase of whatever new thing), Destiny was incredible. I've said it before, and I'll continue to do so, but those nights when there was a full Xbox party with players hopping from random activity to random activity are incredibly special and fun in a way that no other game ever has been.

I am enjoying a good break from Destiny, but I am truly looking forward to jumping back in.