Loot cave (Destiny)

by Kermit , Raleigh, NC, Monday, September 22, 2014, 07:48 (3521 days ago) @ Grizzlei
edited by Kermit, Monday, September 22, 2014, 07:54

It's depressing to finally catch up with some friends in Destiny and they're standing there like manniquins shooting into a damn cave. If I'm by myself I go sit in the cave.

Why exactly do you care what they're doing?

I did that only once, actually, and I thought of it as my little way of patching the game until Bungie could get to it.

I care because it corrupts the game. I'll be in slightly less awe when I see someone with awesome stuff because I'll now assume that they farmed their kit. Iron Banner events will no longer be based on the most dedicated players having the best gear, but on crap like this.

Bungie has given us a multitude of ways to have fun, and what this says is that none of those ways are as much fun as shooting red bars in a cave. I don't get it. I saw a local friend online with whom I haven't played games since Halo 2 LANs. I eagerly joined him. He excitedly tells me where to stand to get AWESOME loot drops. He's a 20. I asked him if he's finished the story. No, he hasn't. He's been doing this the last few days. I left the party, depressed.

I don't get grinding. I don't pick bounties that will take me forever (mostly Crucible) or that I won't have fun earning. I like the ones that will make me focus on a skill I need to develop, like getting headshots. I like the mini-game of stacking certain things like bounties and consumables, and I like how the weeklies and dailies prompt us to re-visit (and perhaps rediscover) content we might not have otherwise chosen--same with Reach and challenges. I'd replay a level I didn't usually play, and find things to appreciate in it that I hadn't appreciated before. I pick missions as a way to add a little narrative (and points) to my explorations. The rewards are secondary to enjoying what's I'm doing.

Beyond the push to be first to complete a raid, I also don't get the frustration about getting to 26. I guess if you don't enjoy playing the regular game, and you want to play the Raid, that's one argument. But it seems there are lots of challenges below the raid that might be fun if you take advantage of them.

I anticipate that I'll get to 26 eventually. It might be a while. There might be two raids to play by then, maybe three. It's okay. What's the freaking rush? I see myself playing this game for a while, especially if I have people to actually play with, rather than standing around farming loot. How is that fun? Where's the pride in that?

One criticism I've heard that I might agree with if it's true is that the random drops are too random. If I make the shot that takes down a boss, then I'd like the odds to be slightly better that I get something cool. Maybe the algorithm does account for such things, but that would facilitate more of what Bungie says they were going for, that our special gear will have stories associated with them. That's cool! I love my pulse rifle now, and I didn't even use one in the retail game until the mysterious robot girl gave it to me.