Have you played Mass Effect 3? (Destiny)

by slycrel , Wednesday, June 10, 2015, 18:25 (3267 days ago) @ CruelLEGACEY

First of all, great post across the board :)

Thanks! FWIW I don't see your post as being particularly negative. It's a good discussion to have, and I share some of your concerns from the player perspective.

So yeah. All that said, the PoE wasn't for us raiders. It was raiding for the guys who could get a couple buddies together here and there rather than coordinate a 6 person team. I like it, and as a hobbyist game dev, I admire what they've done. But it wasn't quite what I was looking for for PvE "endgame" content.

This is the one part where I think I feel differently than you. I'm totally down with the idea of a 3-player arena mode as end game content. I just don't think Bungie did a particularly good job designing Prison of Elders. Saying "it's not for us" doesn't work for me, because I feel like it's kinda giving them a pass on something that I would love to see them improve in the future.

Don't get me wrong here... I think I'm closer to your view than you realize, I guess I'm just putting a positive spin on things. As I mentioned above, I think this is Bungie exploring new territory. I think they got some things very right (ToO for example, is mostly great!) and some things... not wrong, but not what people really wanted. Less fun than expected is the best way I can sum up that. I am giving Bungie a pass of sorts, because of their history with destiny. They've proven they listen to the community and their goal isn't just making a complex slot machine -- it's about the experience too. I'm trusting this is their first foray into this area and that they're learning from it. I expect PoE v2 will be much, much better, and for the pendulum to swing more in the raider's favor, with more general player involvement like this included, in the next big update.

I bring up Mass Effect 3 because of its multiplayer component. Have you tried it?

4 player cooperative arena/survival missions. 10 waves, objectives dispersed throughout some of the waves (hold the capture point, escort the data drone, eliminate the target enemy, etc), with a "reach and defend the extraction zone" phase at the end. You unlock different characters, each with their own skill tree and power progression. You earn random weapon and equipment drops, upgrade your stuff, etc.

Sounds familiar, right? ;p

Except it's AWESOME. I sunk hundreds of hours into ME3 multiplayer. So again, I'm totally on board with PoE in concept. I just wish it was closer to my favorite arena modes in execution :)

I've not played ME3. I want something like this too! I don't feel like PoE is about fighting the swarms of enemies. I feel like all the little guys are just distractions to make it harder -- not actually what you worry about in general. Almost an annoyance. But I'm not sure that's what the goal is/should be. They should be interesting fights in their own right. I think this can only get better with improved/customized AI and better level/event design. Again, I guess I keep coming back to PoE as a proof of concept. It's fun-ish, but could be so much more.

If ME3 style gameplay is what Bungie was aiming for, they missed the mark. They at least hit the target, but it's admittedly a pretty big target. I'll be giving them the benefit of the doubt that that wasn't the primary goal, though it's possible it's just a fail. They've done it before, they'll do it again. Commendations anyone? =)

You're right that raiding seems to be missing in the big picture. With TDB dropping and making VoG "obsolete" that was a pretty big fail. They've done it again, sort of, made the raids obsolete, but with a backdoor by allowing etheric light. I hope they get this stuff straightened out to keep a smoother ride for raiding in general.

I'll be interested to see if next year etheric light will go away for a while and make a comeback later on for upgrading all gear to year 2 levels. =)