Why I like Omnigul (or I Put Too Much Thought Into My Games) (Destiny)

by Dagoonite, Somewhere in Iowa, lost in a cornfield., Friday, March 13, 2015, 04:04 (3338 days ago)

(WARNING! Massive tl;dr ahead! Short version at the end)

The Omnigul strike is, perhaps, my absolute favorite out of all of them. Sure, it's a longer strike, and when you just want to knock out the weekly/nightfall in short order it can be a pain. But really, it has a lot of things going for it.

I generally classify encounters in two primary types, with each one having a possible subtype. You have an aggressive encounter, a defensive encounter, and an encounter that is X masquerading as Y. Technically, there's a third primary type, and that's the breather.

Let's take a look at the encounters for Sepiks Prime to give an example of what I mean. The first encounter, where you're deactivating the mesh, is very much a defensive encounter. You're pinned into a location and must defend yourself. "But you pseudo-legendary Pokemon," you say. "Isn't that most of the main encounters?"

Yes and no. Yes, encounters lock you into a location, but they each have a feel to them. Deactivating the mesh is designed to allow you to feel like you're trenching in to defend yourself. You choose your best locations to defend, and then you go from there.

You're given a small breather (shoot a handful of enemies) before you're thrown into your next encounter. This is important, as it prevents things from being a complete grind, akin to a "boss rush mode" in fighting games. It allows you to appreciate the next encounter.

As you assault the tank, you're in a defensive encounter masquerading as an aggressive encounter. You see your enemy, you rush across the battlefield. You know that the prize is just ahead, and you have to push past it. Unfortunately, this miniboss is blocking your way. Though the emotional impact is of an aggressive encounter, it plays out very much like a defensive encounter. Most players rarely move from the areas that they excel at. Their entrenched positions make it play out like a defensive battle.

So then you have two more breather encounters -- the Fallen after the tank falls, and those before Sepiks itself is free to fight. From there, it's a defensive encounter once again. Players choose their preferred locations and don't move unless forced to. There's no desire to move, so it's very much defensive.

Each Strike focuses its encounters in different formulas. Cerberus Vae is Aggressive/Aggressive/Defensive/Defensive with long stretches of breathers, the Summoning Pits is aggressive until the defensive one at the end, similarly Nexus is almost purely aggressive until the end, and Winter's Run is Aggressive/Defensive/Aggressive/Aggressive/Defensive with a lot of breather and buildup.

So, let's look at Omnigul, shall we? Or first encounter is a defensive encounter posing as an aggressive one. You're pushed forward, encouraged to take out the Fallen. I've seen quite a few take the first half of the battle without spending any time in the bunker -- you push in, and just keep pushing until the Hive show up. At that point, I've only ever seen people fall back close to the bunker, or go inside of it for cover or to funnel enemies. This encounter favors a balance of aggression and defense, all without ever letting up on the pressure thanks to some smart spawning rules.

Once you beat that, you're given a brief breather before setting into an aggressive encounter posing as a defensive one. Much like against the tank in Sepiks, you're given an expansive battlefield. The difference being that instead of hunkering down, you have a continual need to push forward. Enemies come at you, but some of the more dangerous/annoying ones purposefully hang back to drive you forward. Instead of feeling like you need to stay put, you're constantly driven to push through the enemy. This is a welcome change from the previous encounter -- if handled differently, it could have felt like another case of second verse same as the first.

The change of enemies is also vital. In the first encounter, you're thrust from Fallen battle tactics into Hive battle tactics in short order. Going back to Fallen means another change of tactics, keeping things fresh and new instead of monotonous. Winter's Run also handles this well with the Vex and Fallen.

After that, you're given another breather before the next encounter. This encounter is pure aggressive, but with a few differences from previous encounters. First, you're given a brief transition from Fallen to Hive to allow your mind to switch gears. Again, this helps avoid repetition. Second, Eris' commentary helps set the mood with her seething "Omnigul!" Third, Omnigul.

This isn't like most encounters where the enemy spawns and is invulnerable for a few moments. No, you can attack her right away. Again, it keeps things fresh, preventing the formula you've gained from other strikes. Sure, you can't kill her, but that's besides the point. From here, you're constantly driven forward to remove the obstacles between you and her. You want to kill her. You want to eliminate every Hive baddie that stands in your way.

Naturally, this is what you do.

You might be ready to say that the last battle is defensive, or maybe aggressive posing as defensive. Nope, it's pure aggressive. Omnigul is the most flunky-dependent boss out there. She herself isn't the big threat, it's the fact that you have to fight through her goons to get to her. Most deaths/wipes in this one aren't due to Omnigul herself (unlike Valus Ta'aurc or Phogoth) but due to the flunkies.

The system for this is easy to follow, established by the previous encounter -- she screams, and you fall back to fight through again. Even this, though, is mixed up to keep it fresh, and keep jaded Guardians on their toes. The addition of Cursed Thralls halfway through makes you have to watch your flank. The addition of the boomer on the balcony keeps you from becoming complacent. Unless you're cheesing it, you must change your tactics or die.

(TL;DR summary starts here.)
So why is Will of Crota my favorite strike? 1) A variety of combat encounters keeps things fresh. 2) Abandonment of previous Strike conventions in ways that still fit within the game. 3) Smart spawns. 4) Engaging the player in ways other than pure combat.

(Did you read through it all? Huzzah! You get a chocolate chip cookie. The peanut butter ones are MINE.)