Better hooks (Destiny)

by Kermit , Raleigh, NC, Monday, December 05, 2016, 16:06 (2697 days ago) @ CruelLEGACEY

Makes the game feel less like a to-do list. Just play, have fun, you might get something cool.

I think I'd have an easier time feeling this way if the missions and strikes were the real draw to the game for me. But the part that makes Destiny replayable to me, aside from the few activities I love, are the guns themselves. That's why keeping them trapped behind RNG barriers can be so frustrating for me.

Jason Jones talked ages ago about the idea of having players replay stuff over and over, like many of us did with Halo, except we'd be getting cool little rewards along the way. I really like that concept. But for me, that's not how Destiny has panned out. I would never want to replay 95% of the content in the game, except that the cool toys I want to play with (guns and armor) require that I replay specific stuff, sometimes for months before I get to experience the content I want to experience.

I should specify that I absolutely do not fall into the "gotta collect it all" trap that some people fall into. I don't care about having everything. I just wish I had the ability to experience using the gear that excites me BEFORE I've completely burned myself out on the strikes/raids/whatever. More often then not it takes so long to get the cool gear to drop that I'm sick of playing large chunks of the game by the time I finally get the weapon I was hoping for.

What I'm hearing is that Destiny needs better hooks other than loot if we want the loot to be considered bonuses. Two suggestions: better narrative (having an emotional stake in or an understanding of what happens greatly increases the replayability of levels, at least for me), and better AI (in Halo enemies had behaviors you could relate to--in Destiny I often feel like I'm in a shooting gallery).