Destiny 2: Welcome To A World Without [My] Light?

Destiny 2 has made quick a few announcements and press releases now. Which are great, it’s awesome to see what content they have in store for the anticipated sequel. Except the more I hear, the more concerned I get with what their vision is for what Destiny will be rather than is.

Firstly, what does it mean to be a Guardian? That’s the question many ask and it’s supposedly being answered, but at the same time they’re cutting out what is seen as fat. Grimoire is being scrapped and from what the interviews have said, it sounds like the old system was a mistake. Sure it wasn’t perfect, but being able to read up on the game’s lore away from the console was great for the daily commute. Of course being at the console and reading or listening to it would be a cooler/nicer experience. But are we able to reach a centralised library of lore? Nothing’s been said on that front. But don’t worry, characters like Mara Sov aren’t appearing, she didn’t die from Oryx’s circle of destruction from his ship. It’s not like she’s the Queen of the Awoken. No, no: “we see it in the way people that cosplay”. There’s a difference between leaving something on the shelf and Bungie acknowledging something. Right now, that interview with PCGamer read like Destiny’s story was a series of statements that were dumb, so instead of doing something about them, we’ll just leave them hanging.

The overall feel is that Destiny is the internet meme of “it’s just a beta”, it’s rather alarming at how quick they want to drop that it even existed in some regards. One thing that separates Destiny as a shooter from other shooters is that it’s bloody fast pace. Comparing it to Halo is the difference between a moped and Super bike. First thing gone is the speed in PvE and PvP from all of the gameplay shown. Same goes for the heavy power play with supers, grenades and melees with the original. Obviously there’s a lot that goes into balancing games and the overall pace of them, but with how it was originally constructed and where it’s going gunplay means very little if everything else doesn’t mesh. Which brings us nicely to PvP and it’s rather radical change.

An ugly contest where everyone was the winner.

Crucible is now 4vs4 from now on, cool but why 4? Strikes are still 3 Guardians only, for a game that’s supposed to be “inclusive” what’s my fourth mate supposed to do when we do our strikes runs/marathons? This just doesn’t mesh well, especially from a lore standpoint. Typically a fire team will consist of a Hunter, Titan, and Warlock (raids tend to have two Shadow Shots and one weapons of light at least). Whilst not a heavy PvP player, I acknowledge that it’s more skill than abilities when it comes to being actually good (although I do love to cheese as much as possible sometimes). So slowing the pace to an extent is understandable, especially from the weapon changes being two primaries and one special/heavy weapon. But why would I use a shotgun over say a rocket launcher or sniper as my typical go to? Having that special weapon was my enemy ripper when needed. Obviously I can still run a shotty. But being able to dynamically choose weapons on the fly was great, but I guess that’s being removed for certain activities. What activities? No idea, Bungie currently is keeping their cards close, almost unnecessarily.

What would be great is actual information on what you’re doing rather than the how. Weapon randomised perks are gone: okay, fine, that makes sense assuming the current upgrade system is returning. Which isn’t confirmed, along with loads of other things. Story? Up in the air. Progression? “We’re giving it meaning”, what is that supposed to mean? There’s no context being given which is more infuriating. Maybe all of these doubts, concerns and worries are for naught. But I doubt a beta will quell those feelings. Having stuck through thick and thin for the most part, this is becoming rather streamlined unncessarily to the point it’s this way or no way. Because if there’s one thing that this community needs more is the repetitive “must have X weapon” list people list on LFGs...