[The Problem of] Weapons Forever: The Problem (Destiny)

by cheapLEY , Thursday, February 27, 2020, 19:11 (1734 days ago) @ INSANEdrive
edited by cheapLEY, Thursday, February 27, 2020, 19:16

I understand everything you said, and I sympathize.

Their problem is a finite system in an “everlasting” world, and our problem (the responses I’ve seen as well as my own feelings) is the EFFORT we’ve already put in under that guise of "everlasting" guarantee

I've seen this sentiment a lot in the wake of the director's cut. I understand it, but I don't feel it. It really highlights a massive disconnect in the way I play Destiny and the way seemingly everyone else does.

I have lots of weapons I love to use. I love my Bygones and my Trust. Those two stand out above all others for me, but there are other weapons I love, too. My Patron of Lost Cuases is swiftly becoming a favorite. My Spiteful Fang is a lot of fun.

On the other hand, I won't terribly miss any of those things. Bungie will take away my Bygones and probably replace it with another Pulse Rifle that feels just like it. So what's it matter?

The other part of that is the effort. It's not any effort. It's just playing a fun video game. I don't raid so I can get the gun at the end. That's part of it sure, but I raid because it's a fun challenge to overcome. I play Crucible because it's fun, not so I can get Randy's Throwing Knife. I play Gambit . . . well, probably because Malagate talked me into it again, against my better judgment.

This has been a problem in Destiny since day one. They hyped up the story that your gear will tell. That story is underwhelming and almost always boils down to "I did this one activity way too many times because the game didn't drop the thing I wanted the first ten times."

The story isn't that I raided and got Divinity. The story is when Sammy figured out how to open the door out of the first room basically immediately and made us look silly. The story is the when we "beat" the first encounter in only to die unexpectedly and immediately in the gauntlet of Cyclops. The story is the time Blackstar got miffed because someone unintentionally showed me how to skip the platform puzzle in Vault of Glass and he didn't get to see me flail through it the first time, or the time we tricked the newbie into getting launched by the plungers in King's Fall, or the time we ran as a four stack with Le Monarque in Crucible, or the all-Necrochasm raids in D1, or . . . well, you get the point. None of those stories culminate in "then I got the thing to drop" at the end. That might happen, but it's irrelevant to the story of my Guardian, and the story of me having fun with friends in Destiny.

The problem is that, even though the game is still full of those fun things, it simply will not get out of it's way long enough to let them happen. No, sorry, I can't play Crucible right now, I already did my Powerfuls and all the Bounties for the day, and I need to keep grinding out XP. It fucking sucks, it bums me out.

This is a tangent now, but I'm really apprehensive about Trials. I want to play Trials really bad. I missed it in D1--I just didn't play Crucible then. I love Crucible in D2. It's a blast. I loved playing Comp when I was trying to get Luna's and Recluse. I am eager for Trials and can't wait to play. I am also dreading what it's going to be like three weeks after Trials launches. How much extra time am I going to have to spend grinding bullshit so that I can even be at a competitive power level? Just thinking about it makes me consider saying fuck it and writing it off. The game just wont' get out of it's own way and let people play what they want to play and how they want to play. It's really frustrating for me. The game is so, so good, but it's like it's afraid to try and just stand on its own merits, like it thinks I'll get bored if its not dangling a higher number to chase in front of me. The good parts of the game are good enough to put up with jumping through it's hoops, but only barely.