+1 & 2¢ (Destiny)

by INSANEdrive, ಥ_ಥ | f(ಠ‿↼)z | ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ| ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, Wednesday, December 30, 2020, 16:37 (1424 days ago) @ cheapLEY

I agree wholeheartedly with your observations cheapLEY, both from the post I quote here and your main post above it. That said, I do have something to add.

I don’t want to say that I’ve lost hope, because that’s not really what it is. More that I’ve just come to terms with the game that Destiny is. It will never reach the potential I see in it unless they actually completely ditch the power grind, and I see the chances of that as basically zero. Destiny not being the game I wish it was isn’t the same thing as believing it won’t get better.

I just look at the history of Destiny and every single new thing is met with “If wasn’t for X, this would be great.” I think it’s time for folks to stop making excuses and accept that Bungie is just making the thing they want to make. Which isn’t to say that they’re completely happy with it and think it’s perfect. But come on, all of these problems with sunsetting and the economy of upgrades and rewards were completely foreseeable and they did it anyway. Maybe it was necessary to build the game better going forward, but they did not do nearly enough to make that a compelling argument. And I say that as someone who likes Beyond Light as much as any previous era of the game, if not more.

I risk waxing philosophically, if there has been one constant in the life of Destiny the Game, it's been how much it changes. And the longer this series goes, the more and more we should expect what was once thought sacred to suddenly be on the chopping block. The game may be free to play, but it seems to me more and more that it would be best to think of Destiny as a AAA game in a perpetual "early access" state. I say this knowing full well that some change is to be expected. In most cases, if a game is updated it's still the game it was, just polished more with stability or content to play within that world. Conventionally, there are no soft "eras" of the game within the game.

As I recollect, Taken King was the first time Destiny found what it needed to be. And naturally, we all thought that this was the start of Destinies continual improvements, as the formula had finally been cracked. All Bungie needed to do was what they did before! Bungie had finally found their footing! Instead, we've found our selves on a metaphorical elevator in the Tower of Terror without realizing it. Sometimes it goes up and sometimes, suddenly, it goes down. In other words even if it reaches a fabled potential, it seems that it will then in time undo that potential. Perhaps it's because the grass is always greener? I wonder who here has made that mistake more, we the fans, or Bungie?

Well, Bungie did say it was going to be a "living game", but I don't think any of us could of expected such a statement to be so meta.

The way I see it is that it’s still trying to straddle the line. He says it’s only for hardcore players. I think that’s largely true. The material economy is a great example of that. But, on the other hand, other than like GM Nightfalls (and champions, obviously), nothing in the game is difficult enough to make build consideration necessary. But unless they completely refine the upgrade system (and mod availability, as SkillUp stated), they can’t make that necessary because then new and casual players wouldn’t be able to play at all. I think every service game faces the same problem, and I’m not sure anyone has really figured it out , but Destiny in particular really seems to struggle with it. It doesn’t feel good from either perspective, I don’t think.

It recently came to light that a member of DBO didn't know much about Champions, in part due to the mod system requirement. Before this, I would have expected that all of us who at least post here (as I have recently seen some new names in the clan that I don't yet recognize,) would understand the ins and outs of this game. I can only imagine how "Destiny the Game" at this point may feel to someone who really is coming into the game alone. That hill outside the wall may be more or less the same, but it sure is different now, yeah? (Which also compounds into the above observation.)