I still think the bungie.org community, for both Halo, Marathon, and Destiny is the best there is. I find discussions significantly more intelligent and substantial than elsewhere, and I find the people more tight knit and welcoming.

"...for both [lists three things]" Pictured: intelligent discussion incarnate.

Sorry, I had to. On a serious note, however, I do like this place a lot.

Edit:
Are there rewards for replaying missions on a harder level?

No. You literally get nothing for replaying story missions. The only exception is the daily story mission, which on 26/28 gives you upgrade materials.

I've been replaying story missions for fun (are we allowed to do that?), but I have wondered why there's not at least an experience boost for playing at higher levels given their philosophy of handing out rewards for completing activities.

Edit:
Are there rewards for replaying missions on a harder level?

No. You literally get nothing for replaying story missions. The only exception is the daily story mission, which on 26/28 gives you upgrade materials.

The rewards seem to be exclusive to the daily and weekly challenges.

I think a major problem is that the vault of glass is not open to you for weeks after you finish the campaign. Add to this the MMOishness of the game & suddenly people are feeling like they're grinding an MMO to get to new content instead of replaying missions in a game for fun with the added bonus of upgrading their stuff. IMHO the vault should have opened up around level 20-21 (MAYBE 22) to eliminate the grind, and then it becomes replaying because you want to, not because you need more-better gear/levels.

Edit:
Are there rewards for replaying missions on a harder level? I don't even know because I've been focusing on strikes & bounties to get my vanguard level up so I can buy some decent gear. (thank goodness for the queens event that have made it easy for me to get a chest piece (4 times in a row, grr) and a helmet.

Who said there would be new missions or (especially) new story?

That seemed to be the consensus among my friends and other's online that there would be some new story content in the event. I know it was a dumb assumption and nothing was promised, but it was still disappointing that it was just a rewash of old content.

I think that's the best way of putting it. It's just disappointment that Bungie chose to use an investment system paired with recycled content to hold player interest. Bungie has said time and time again that they want players to play destiny frequently, even saying a player should be asking "What do I want to do today?".

I don't think anyone is demanding more, we are just saying that the current method is not effective at holding our attention for the period Bungie desires. Most games do not entice you to do the same thing over and over when they run out of things to do; they just end.

My advice would definitely be to be more positive at the least. This is a fan site, and constructive criticism should be how you go about expressing negative feelings, not just saying the game is disappointing (not necessarily saying you haven't made constructive suggestions). I've learned a lot in my time at HBO and DBO. Not everybody gets along all the time, and there will be people that don't like you, car15. I'm sure if I'm involved in the community for a while, someone will eventually not like one of my opinions, and we might have an argument. Those arguments aren't the point of this community though. It's meant to bring people together.

I still think the bungie.org community, for both Halo, Marathon, and Destiny is the best there is. I find discussions significantly more intelligent and substantial than elsewhere, and I find the people more tight knit and welcoming.

So are you playing for the rewards then, or to get to that content? If it's the rewards, I think that's your problem. If you treat it like something to do to grind and work for more of something, of course it won't be as enjoyable. If it's the content, I can't really argue with that.

I think it's a little of both and it feels a bit strange. This game can be a lot of fun with friends at times, but at other times it can be grueling. For example, the other day I spent a half hour with two friends camped behind a wall taking pot-shots at the Nexus to finish the nightfall strike. Did I do that for fun? No. And it's not something I'm particularly interested in doing again, but there were in-game benefits for doing so. Other times however, I'm having a great time, the raid is a perfect example of doing a challenge just to beat it.

Who said there would be new missions or (especially) new story?

That seemed to be the consensus among my friends and other's online that there would be some new story content in the event. I know it was a dumb assumption and nothing was promised, but it was still disappointing that it was just a rewash of old content.

Replayability =/= New Content

Replayability and new content are two separate ideas that seem to be getting confused in this title. It appears that Bungie had an idea with Halo that we played it over and over again because the skulls, commendations, and armor pieces are what hooked us (after Halo 2). They took that model and designed an entire game around it. The loot was never supposed to be a reward you got for being proficient in the game, it is supposed to be a reward you earn for replaying your favorite aspects of the game. You get marks and rep by playing Destiny how you want to play (PvE or PvP, strikes, missions, patrols) and you buy the reward you want. However, replayability does not equal new content, and running the same strikes and missions ad nausea does not a great game make. A fun game, certainly. The RNG loot was supposed to be a way for you to keep getting (not earning) gear for playing what you want. Instead of modifying existing missions, I think they should have new missions, strikes, patrols, Raids, etc., with those modifiers as the core experience. Scrap the level of the content all together. Add new content that is more difficult. Change the boss mechanics of the new content. I thought this is what the Queen's Wrath event would be. Instead, we got more modified existing missions.

Destiny is not an MMO

A problem was born the first time someone referred to Destiny as an MMO. I can clearly see why we never heard Bungie say "Destiny is an MMO." Shared World Shooter is exactly what it is. When reviewed in the context of a shooter, it is truly magnificent. When reviewed in the context of an MMO, it is terrible. When reviewed in the context of an MMOFPS, it's just okay.

I have a picture in my head of the development team sitting in a conference room after the "Destiny is an MMOFPS" isea took off. The entire team is groaning, and screaming "It's not an MMO! We've never said it's an MMO!" The MMO moniker creates entirely new expectations that are outside the scope of the vision of Destiny.

Put plainly, and perhaps in an unsatisfying manner, the expecations a lot of people had about Destiny were not realized. It's not MMO enough, or it's too MMO for a FPS. I don't know what the middle ground is, or if there is one.

I don't know how you reconcile these two items. I don't know how you make Destiny better, without changing the vision for the game. Is it possible that Bungie's ideas on what brought us back to H3, Reach, and ODST were wrong?

I'm having fun with this game, despite these two things. I have noticed; however, it has been easier for me to not play in the last few days. Perhaps I played too much, too fast in the hope that I was "missing something" regarding content. I think I'm starting to see that I was not.

the reverse could be true as well. Those criticisms could drive generally positive players to hold a higher standard up to the game and seek better experiences in the future. Dialogue helps drive improvement, but neither side can be isolated. There is no single standard of what makes a perfect game.

I'm one of the first who will defend Destiny. I have what I feel is a better grasp of what kind of game Destiny is, because of previous experiences with this type of game. I love Destiny, and know what potential it has...

But the more I read Cody's posts, the better I can understand the negativity towards the game (he's been at it for years, and I've been reading those posts intently), and I find myself agreeing with him more and more. Destiny has many, many shortcomings, and hearing the perspective of someone who can articulate them passionately and constructively helps me see them better, and has even been useful for me to articulate my own criticisms of the game.

I still love Destiny (it's most of what I used to fantasize about as a "perfect game" when I would play Halo at the age of 13-14), and still disagree with many of his opinions, but hey, I'm not closing my brain off to what I don't want to hear, nor will I look down on his perspective if it doesn't mesh with mine.

Eh, I can see just a little validity in the argument that *BO is not welcoming simply through the fact that it does seem to be such a tight knit community. For me, as a lurker of HBO since the Halo 3 days and mostly lurking DBO until release day, I find that the problems getting into this community are mostly on me. My problem is that I'm a rather quiet/shy individual, so I tend to keep my mouth shut even when I might have something to contribute. However, if I want to make friends here, I have to speak up and engage in discussion with others.

It's a shame that you're shy. I remember a guy on HBO who had trouble talking to people, but he was, I felt, a valuable member of the community. No idea what became of him, but I wish him the best. Hopefully you don't feel intimidated, even if some people around here make it a point to give others a hard time.

I've learned a lot in my time at HBO and DBO. Not everybody gets along all the time,

Cody and I have pretty much always been at odds when it comes to our opinions, and I have often directly challenged his views... yet he's one of the people that I always enjoy playing Destiny with.

I give Avateur a lot of crap, and sometimes make flat-out degrading posts, but we always had a blast playing with each other in Halo, and I think he's a pretty awesome guy when he's not crying about stuff...

And Schooly and I are polar opposites, IRL as well as in games... But he's actually a pretty kind of okay guy, and though he's a small guy, he has a big heart, and I respect him for that.

I think the rapport that people have in this community may be somewhat confusing and off-putting to others, and may make it seem hostile at times, but having been a part of the BO community for a decade, I'd say that I haven't found many other communities as civil as this one, though a few bad apples do occasionally drop in, but those either roll off or get tossed fairly quickly.

Unfortunately, that kind of thing has to happen as a dialogue. One person being negative doesn't necessarily even know why he doesn't like the game, but if he comes to a discussion forum and compares his experiences with other players who are similarly disappointed in the game, maybe they can all figure it out together.

While this is part of dialogue, I think that misses a lot of it. Dialogue typically refers to discussion among disagreeing parties, because it is used to resolve a problem, not just establish it. Sure, multiple players could determine how to put their negativity toward the game into words together, but by listening to and considering the viewpoints of those who disagree with them, perhaps they could learn a new perspective and come to a greater appreciation of the game. Of course, the reverse could be true as well. Those criticisms could drive generally positive players to hold a higher standard up to the game and seek better experiences in the future. Dialogue helps drive improvement, but neither side can be isolated. There is no single standard of what makes a perfect game.

You don't speak for all newcomers, I bet. You've been abrasive. Let some stuff blow over. Lay off the rants and tone down the curses. Tell us something funny that happened while you were playing Destiny. Don't focus on WINNING THE ARGUMENT as your raison d'etre. Think about why you are here. Do you like Bungie or Destiny or the people here? I should hope, but maybe not.

This is fan site with a long history of not being as rough and tumble as most other corners of the internet. It's a great place, really, but it may not be to your taste, and that's okay. Many others have made missteps (myself included). People in this thread have been given "breaks" when things got out of hand. Surprised? We're not perfect, but I bet you won't find a more interesting, more articulate, and dare I say welcoming group. That's kind of the expectation here, but you get what you give.

Eh, I can see just a little validity in the argument that *BO is not welcoming simply through the fact that it does seem to be such a tight knit community. For me, as a lurker of HBO since the Halo 3 days and mostly lurking DBO until release day, I find that the problems getting into this community are mostly on me. My problem is that I'm a rather quiet/shy individual, so I tend to keep my mouth shut even when I might have something to contribute. However, if I want to make friends here, I have to speak up and engage in discussion with others.

My advice would definitely be to be more positive at the least. This is a fan site, and constructive criticism should be how you go about expressing negative feelings, not just saying the game is disappointing (not necessarily saying you haven't made constructive suggestions). I've learned a lot in my time at HBO and DBO. Not everybody gets along all the time, and there will be people that don't like you, car15. I'm sure if I'm involved in the community for a while, someone will eventually not like one of my opinions, and we might have an argument. Those arguments aren't the point of this community though. It's meant to bring people together.

So you could achieve a fair amount in short order then have full ammo, including heavy, for starting other things.

No wonder bungie nerfed it, it was too convenient for the players.

PS the nearest available faction beacons ask us to reduce the numbers of enemies in the area. We were doing the same, futile, tasks that the game always asked us to perform only we were making it more beneficial for us and were subverting the slow pace that bungie seems to feel will give their game durability. Or maybe they are behind in content generation.

When I say the tasks are futile it's because the enemies respawn constantly and the area never remains changed.

PPS shooting into a cave does get boring but so does the rest of the game. Its
's the companionship of other players that makes things fun.

I'm just poking fun. It's good-natured. Unlike others here, I'm not a condescending asshole 100% of the time.

Wow. You're not actually demonstrating your good nature, you know.