Patrol Potential (Destiny)

by CruelLEGACEY , Toronto, Sunday, April 05, 2015, 14:31 (3311 days ago)

I've talked before about how I think Patrol mode has the most untapped potential in Destiny. I had this little moment today that reaffirmed how cool Patrol can be, even with things exactly as they are right now.

I was patrolling around the Cosmodrome, working on some bounties (kills Crota's sword knights & generate orbs) while also doing a patrol mission (scan a cave). I entered the Mothyards just as a public event started. Then, the Blades of Crota invaded the world.

It created a really cool little situation where I found myself weighing options and risks. "Do I have time to scan this cave before the public event starts? Do I go straight for the event and risk missing the Blade of Crota bounty? Do I skip the cave and go straight for the blade? Or do I try to do it all?"

I ended up scanning the cave, then killing the blade, then joining the public event in time. Nothing super challenging, but the chaos of the moment added a layer of decision making that is often lacking from Destiny. Had I been a lower rank, it might have even been overwhelming, which to me is a good thing. Patrol mode needs some danger, some drama once in a while. All it took was to have several normal patrol mode events occur at the same time.

The moral of my little story: I think Patrol mode could be greatly improved even without adding anything to it. We just need MORE of what's already there. More public events, more patrol missions, more bounties that lend themselves to patrol mode.