Apparently once you hit 350, decoding engrams is no longer a viable way to significantly increase your light. For the PS4 crew getting ready for the raid, the way to do it seems to be running SIVA strikes, CoE, and Archon Forge. We should all do these thing together the coming days!

@Cozmo23 has responded with the following and has confirmed it's not a bug, but rather a middle ground the designers intended.

"As stated in the Patch Notes once you hit 350 Light you are going to have a 50% chance to get +1 Light items. So you are right, it's not optimal to sit at the Cryptarch solely decrypting Engrams. I talked with the Designers and they wanted to find a balance between letting you progress using your stored up Engrams, while also encouraging you to go play Activities to earn better gear. Go run some Strikes, play Supremacy, and check out Archon’s Forge to increase your Light."

https://www.reddit.com/r/DestinyTheGame/comments/53olgw/legendarys_engrams_seem_to_be_bugged_atm_at_ll/

- No text -

Apparently there's a strange tipping point for engrams. Even if you're over 350 Light, you won't reliably get >350 from engrams until all your gear is 350.

Not sure if thats intentional, and cant verify until I get a higher LL helmet, but thats what Ive heard.

Apparently there's a strange tipping point for engrams. Even if you're over 350 Light, you won't reliably get >350 from engrams until all your gear is 350.

Not sure if thats intentional, and cant verify until I get a higher LL helmet, but thats what Ive heard.

My light level is 347, and I just got a 351 hand cannon from a faction rep pack. TIME TO GO BUY SOME BOOSTERS! ;p

Apparently once you hit 350, decoding engrams is no longer a viable way to significantly increase your light. For the PS4 crew getting ready for the raid, the way to do it seems to be running SIVA strikes, CoE, and Archon Forge. We should all do these thing together the coming days!

We have friends in town this week; I played a bit yesterday morning, before they arrived, but I'm not sure if I'll get a lot of time this week to play otherwise.

But I have to say, even though we've gone through this before, I'm surprised (and a little saddened) by the idea that getting more than 15 levels above where you were YESTERDAY (well, 15 hours before this post was written) needs to be gamed.

I think I'll look forward to a much slower progression - one that's really only allowed to me because I'm not AROUND to be sucked into the current feel. (That is: if I were playing this week, I'd be doing exactly the same thing - and that makes me sad.)

Apparently once you hit 350, decoding engrams is no longer a viable way to significantly increase your light. For the PS4 crew getting ready for the raid, the way to do it seems to be running SIVA strikes, CoE, and Archon Forge. We should all do these thing together the coming days!

We have friends in town this week; I played a bit yesterday morning, before they arrived, but I'm not sure if I'll get a lot of time this week to play otherwise.

But I have to say, even though we've gone through this before, I'm surprised (and a little saddened) by the idea that getting more than 15 levels above where you were YESTERDAY (well, 15 hours before this post was written) needs to be gamed.

I think I'll look forward to a much slower progression - one that's really only allowed to me because I'm not AROUND to be sucked into the current feel. (That is: if I were playing this week, I'd be doing exactly the same thing - and that makes me sad.)

I would feel the same way, but after about 4 hours of play all that's even left to do is level up. There is hella little to do in this expansion compared to TTK. Yesterday afternoon I'm sitting there with no active quests, and no quest icons. After you play the story missions and the new strikes, nothing is left but the raid.

Apparently there's a strange tipping point for engrams. Even if you're over 350 Light, you won't reliably get >350 from engrams until all your gear is 350.

Not sure if thats intentional, and cant verify until I get a higher LL helmet, but thats what Ive heard.

My light level is 347, and I just got a 351 hand cannon from a faction rep pack. TIME TO GO BUY SOME BOOSTERS! ;p

O_o

Apparently once you hit 350, decoding engrams is no longer a viable way to significantly increase your light. For the PS4 crew getting ready for the raid, the way to do it seems to be running SIVA strikes, CoE, and Archon Forge. We should all do these thing together the coming days!

We have friends in town this week; I played a bit yesterday morning, before they arrived, but I'm not sure if I'll get a lot of time this week to play otherwise.

But I have to say, even though we've gone through this before, I'm surprised (and a little saddened) by the idea that getting more than 15 levels above where you were YESTERDAY (well, 15 hours before this post was written) needs to be gamed.

I think I'll look forward to a much slower progression - one that's really only allowed to me because I'm not AROUND to be sucked into the current feel. (That is: if I were playing this week, I'd be doing exactly the same thing - and that makes me sad.)

I would feel the same way, but after about 4 hours of play all that's even left to do is level up. There is hella little to do in this expansion compared to TTK. Yesterday afternoon I'm sitting there with no active quests, and no quest icons. After you play the story missions and the new strikes, nothing is left but the raid.

I... I can't even.

Until yesterday, I hadn't had a quest icon visible in the director for almost a year. And I haven't had any leveling even AVAILABLE for more than 6 months (all 3 chars at 335). And yet I STILL found stuff that brought me back to play nearly every single day.

I wasn't lamenting the quantity of new content - I was lamenting the single-minded attitude towards it. My wife chewed me out at one point on our recent camping trip - I was trying to optimize the driving home, and at one point complained that she was asking for too many roadside stops. She reminded me that the POINT was the roadside stops. It was supposed to be about the journey, not the destination. Something you get told in all sorts of aspects of your life, all the time, but rarely internalize. I was just commenting on seeing it again.

Yeah, I know, you're raiding in a week and a half or something, and want to be sure you've got an appropriate light level. So it IS the destination, for you. And that makes me sad. That's all.

Apparently once you hit 350, decoding engrams is no longer a viable way to significantly increase your light. For the PS4 crew getting ready for the raid, the way to do it seems to be running SIVA strikes, CoE, and Archon Forge. We should all do these thing together the coming days!

We have friends in town this week; I played a bit yesterday morning, before they arrived, but I'm not sure if I'll get a lot of time this week to play otherwise.

But I have to say, even though we've gone through this before, I'm surprised (and a little saddened) by the idea that getting more than 15 levels above where you were YESTERDAY (well, 15 hours before this post was written) needs to be gamed.

I think I'll look forward to a much slower progression - one that's really only allowed to me because I'm not AROUND to be sucked into the current feel. (That is: if I were playing this week, I'd be doing exactly the same thing - and that makes me sad.)

I would feel the same way, but after about 4 hours of play all that's even left to do is level up. There is hella little to do in this expansion compared to TTK. Yesterday afternoon I'm sitting there with no active quests, and no quest icons. After you play the story missions and the new strikes, nothing is left but the raid.

I... I can't even.

Until yesterday, I hadn't had a quest icon visible in the director for almost a year. And I haven't had any leveling even AVAILABLE for more than 6 months (all 3 chars at 335). And yet I STILL found stuff that brought me back to play nearly every single day.

I wasn't lamenting the quantity of new content - I was lamenting the single-minded attitude towards it. My wife chewed me out at one point on our recent camping trip - I was trying to optimize the driving home, and at one point complained that she was asking for too many roadside stops. She reminded me that the POINT was the roadside stops. It was supposed to be about the journey, not the destination. Something you get told in all sorts of aspects of your life, all the time, but rarely internalize. I was just commenting on seeing it again.

Yeah, I know, you're raiding in a week and a half or something, and want to be sure you've got an appropriate light level. So it IS the destination, for you. And that makes me sad. That's all.

No, the raid is the journey. And sometimes to prepare for a journey we have to do stuff that we might not like.

The rest of the game just isn't very good IMO. Raid and Crucible is what keeps me playing. (And I am raiding friday)

You completed the entire Rise of Iron progress book in two days?!

To be fair, the only reason you can't complete the book in two days is because of time-gated content.

You completed the entire Rise of Iron progress book in two days?!

You mean that book of stupid grindy activities that are no better than bounties? No.

Knowing we have a limited time to level before the Raid, we've blazed through it. I wouldn't normally play for 13 hours straight.

Apparently once you hit 350, decoding engrams is no longer a viable way to significantly increase your light. For the PS4 crew getting ready for the raid, the way to do it seems to be running SIVA strikes, CoE, and Archon Forge. We should all do these thing together the coming days!

We have friends in town this week; I played a bit yesterday morning, before they arrived, but I'm not sure if I'll get a lot of time this week to play otherwise.

But I have to say, even though we've gone through this before, I'm surprised (and a little saddened) by the idea that getting more than 15 levels above where you were YESTERDAY (well, 15 hours before this post was written) needs to be gamed.

I think I'll look forward to a much slower progression - one that's really only allowed to me because I'm not AROUND to be sucked into the current feel. (That is: if I were playing this week, I'd be doing exactly the same thing - and that makes me sad.)

I would feel the same way, but after about 4 hours of play all that's even left to do is level up. There is hella little to do in this expansion compared to TTK. Yesterday afternoon I'm sitting there with no active quests, and no quest icons. After you play the story missions and the new strikes, nothing is left but the raid.

I... I can't even.

Until yesterday, I hadn't had a quest icon visible in the director for almost a year. And I haven't had any leveling even AVAILABLE for more than 6 months (all 3 chars at 335). And yet I STILL found stuff that brought me back to play nearly every single day.

I wasn't lamenting the quantity of new content - I was lamenting the single-minded attitude towards it. My wife chewed me out at one point on our recent camping trip - I was trying to optimize the driving home, and at one point complained that she was asking for too many roadside stops. She reminded me that the POINT was the roadside stops. It was supposed to be about the journey, not the destination. Something you get told in all sorts of aspects of your life, all the time, but rarely internalize. I was just commenting on seeing it again.

Yeah, I know, you're raiding in a week and a half or something, and want to be sure you've got an appropriate light level. So it IS the destination, for you. And that makes me sad. That's all.

Speaking purely for myself, I have no doubt that I will continue to spend time with friends in Destiny, and continue to have a good time. I don't think that negates Cody's point, however. After playing the TTK content for a year, I was very much looking forward to having a batch of new content to enjoy playing over and over for the next while. I had the day off work yesterday, so I was able to spend about 8 hours playing RoI over the course of the day. In that time I was able to complete all the new quests, bounties, and activities available to me. It's not a big deal, but this expansion does feel surprisingly light on content, and I went in with low expectations. But that's not really the part that I find disappointing. For me, after only a brief time with all the new content, I didn't want to do any of it anymore. The new Patrol zone, the story missions, Archon's Forge... I'm already "done" with them. Of course this is totally subjective. I'm sure some people will love Archon's Forge or the new patrol zone. I'm just a little bummed that after waiting all this time for a "new" activity to help mix things up a little, I feel like I'm doing the exact same activities with a different skybox in the background (to be fair, that skybox is worth the price of admission alone. The art team has really outdone themselves!)
I guess I have similar preferences to Cody in terms of Destiny: for me, the Raid and Trials are the real draw to the game. I still have high hopes for both of those activities coming up. I just keep running into the issue I've talked about many times; the activities I really enjoy require a whole bunch of grinding to get to them, and I wish I enjoyed the grinding more, or alternatively, I wish the grinding wasn't necessary.

I was able to spend about 8 hours playing RoI over the course of the day.

You and Cody spent eight hours playing a game, and you complain that you've run out of content? This is really Destiny's biggest problem: people that have that "race to the finish" mentality, who blast through content in one sitting, then complain that they've got nothing new to do.

Destiny is a social game, one meant to be played with friends, or done in bits (the missions and challenges are pretty short). Eventually, once you're done with the story, quests, challenges, bounties, Strikes, and what have you, you're all geared up for a huge raid. Yay! Once you complete the Raid, you'll be ready for something like Iron Banner, or Trials, or really just playing with friends to help them get loot, or to tackle challenges together. Fun!

People that blast through content in a race to the finish line, then complain about the lack of content, really cause me to appreciate my Facepalm emote. And here's Cody talking about how to "Optimize leveling" so you can play as little of the game as possible, while always complaining about "not getting to enjoy his purchase"... There's a word for that, but I don't want to shatter anyone's safe space.

Sammy and I only played through the story missions yesterday, after which she got off and I helped Speedracer work on a couple of his quests (one that I haven't even started) before getting off myself. I'd say that I'm really enjoying the purchase. Heck, we spent half an hour trying to get Sammy up the side of the mountain, and Sammy's profanity-laden rage made RoI worth the price of admission on its own.

If you look at Metal Gear Solid 4, without cutscenes, there is only three hours or so of gameplay (should we count long, scripted slogs, or a 15-minute fight scene?). It's stupidly short, and it doesn't have a whole lot of replay value. And yet, people didn't cry about repetitive encounters, or a lack of content on a $60 purchase.

In that time I was able to complete all the new quests, bounties, and activities available to me. It's not a big deal, but this expansion does feel surprisingly light on content, and I went in with low expectations. But that's not really the part that I find disappointing.

For me, after only a brief time with all the new content, I didn't want to do any of it anymore.

And let me guess, you did these things alone? Heck, you hopped on and held Speedracer's hand to all of the Khvostov parts instead of letting him figure it out on his own (and I mean, I already knew more or less where they were thanks to a review post, but I didn't feel rushed to go get them right away).
Once you remove the exploration, the fun, the clues, the co-operative nature of everything... It's all just busy work to get to point B from point A with as little veering as possible.

And oddly enough, people like Cody do this, and yet they don't want anybody to even think about a Raid spoiler until they've gone through it themselves (after which, they sure are eager to spoil it for everyone else).

If you've blasted through all the content, that's great for you, I hope you feel like a winner in that non-existent race, but don't turn around and cry that gee, there's no more road left, and here's some tips to help everyone get to this finish line faster.

I guess I have similar preferences to Cody in terms of Destiny: for me, the Raid and Trials are the real draw to the game. I still have high hopes for both of those activities coming up. I just keep running into the issue I've talked about many times; the activities I really enjoy require a whole bunch of grinding to get to them, and I wish I enjoyed the grinding more, or alternatively, I wish the grinding wasn't necessary.

If you already know that you only like Raid and Trials, then you paid $30 for Raid and Trials. That's what you'll get, and so you have nothing to complain about, right? But if you feel entitled to having fun, then maybe you should see that sitting in front of the screen for eight hours makes you your own biggest problem.

Korny, I feel like you're not actually reading the words I am writing. Maybe I'm just not explaining myself very well.

I was able to spend about 8 hours playing RoI over the course of the day.

You and Cody spent eight hours playing a game, and you complain that you've run out of content? This is really Destiny's biggest problem: people that have that "race to the finish" mentality, who blast through content in one sitting, then complain that they've got nothing new to do.

I'm not racing to anything. I'm sitting down and playing the game I just purchased... a game that I am hoping to replay again and again with my friends. Destiny, by its very nature, is designed to have you replay the same activities over and over. I do not, nor have I ever had any problem with that.

The disappointment I am expressing is regarding the quality of the content. I have made countless posts over the past 2 years saying that Destiny actually has plenty of stuff to do... I just don't think most of that content is good enough.

Destiny is a social game, one meant to be played with friends, or done in bits (the missions and challenges are pretty short). Eventually, once you're done with the story, quests, challenges, bounties, Strikes, and what have you, you're all geared up for a huge raid. Yay! Once you complete the Raid, you'll be ready for something like Iron Banner, or Trials, or really just playing with friends to help them get loot, or to tackle challenges together. Fun!

Totally agree.

People that blast through content in a race to the finish line, then complain about the lack of content, really cause me to appreciate my Facepalm emote. And here's Cody talking about how to "Optimize leveling" so you can play as little of the game as possible, while always complaining about "not getting to enjoy his purchase"... There's a word for that, but I don't want to shatter anyone's safe space.

I'm not Cody. (I'm going to cut out your paragraph about MGS for the same reason ;p)

In that time I was able to complete all the new quests, bounties, and activities available to me. It's not a big deal, but this expansion does feel surprisingly light on content, and I went in with low expectations. But that's not really the part that I find disappointing.

For me, after only a brief time with all the new content, I didn't want to do any of it anymore.

And let me guess, you did these things alone? Heck, you hopped on and held Speedracer's hand to all of the Khvostov parts instead of letting him figure it out on his own (and I mean, I already knew more or less where they were thanks to a review post, but I didn't feel rushed to go get them right away).
Once you remove the exploration, the fun, the clues, the co-operative nature of everything... It's all just busy work to get to point B from point A with as little veering as possible.

I asked Speedracer if he wanted me to show him where to go, and he said yes. Maybe wandering aimlessly around the Cosmodrome looking for collectables is fun for you... if so, great!

And oddly enough, people like Cody do this, and yet they don't want anybody to even think about a Raid spoiler until they've gone through it themselves (after which, they sure are eager to spoil it for everyone else).

Cody has explained in other comments that for him, the raid IS Destiny. It is the reason he plays the game. He has also stated many times that the experience of a blind run is his absolute favorite part of the game. He has ALSO explained that rushing to gear up is not his ideal situation... he's said many times that he would prefer to wait and take his time. His concern is that the longer he waits, the more difficult it will be for him and the rest of his raid team to remain spoiler free. You don't have to care about remaining spoiler free the way he does (I don't care about it myself), but there is absolutely nothing wrong with his desire to make the most out of the part of the game that he looks forward to above all else.

If you've blasted through all the content, that's great for you, I hope you feel like a winner in that non-existent race, but don't turn around and cry that gee, there's no more road left, and here's some tips to help everyone get to this finish line faster.

Again, I'm not racing. When did I ever say I was racing? I had 8 hours to myself, which NEVER HAPPENS in my life anymore, so I spent my time playing the new game I just bought and was excited to play.

I guess I have similar preferences to Cody in terms of Destiny: for me, the Raid and Trials are the real draw to the game. I still have high hopes for both of those activities coming up. I just keep running into the issue I've talked about many times; the activities I really enjoy require a whole bunch of grinding to get to them, and I wish I enjoyed the grinding more, or alternatively, I wish the grinding wasn't necessary.

If you already know that you only like Raid and Trials, then you paid $30 for Raid and Trials. That's what you'll get, and so you have nothing to complain about, right? But if you feel entitled to having fun, then maybe you should see that sitting in front of the screen for eight hours makes you your own biggest problem.

You just completely skipped over the part where I explained my complaint: the part of the game I enjoy REQUIRES dozens of hours of grinding before I am able to play it. If I could pay $30 and go straight to the raid and trials, that would be awesome!

OR, since the game is built in a way that I need to play a whole bunch of other stuff before I can get to the part I enjoy, I wish that other content was more fun. Again, none of my complaints are about the amount of content (in either direction). It's about the quality of the content, and the fact that I MUST repeat a whole bunch of it over and over to get to the activities I enjoy.

And here's Cody talking about how to "Optimize leveling" so you can play as little of the game as possible, while always complaining about "not getting to enjoy his purchase"... There's a word for that, but I don't want to shatter anyone's safe space.

Not sure I ever said what you just quoted, but whatever.

The reason I have to optimize leveling is because Bungie releases the raid stupidly early, does not have a path the the raid, both story wise and light wise like in TTK, and because it looks like early is the only chance to get the required group without being spoiled.

Again, I don't care that much about the rest of the game. But in terms of stuff to actually do that's kind of fun, this is a huge step down from TTK.

And here's Cody talking about how to "Optimize leveling" so you can play as little of the game as possible, while always complaining about "not getting to enjoy his purchase"... There's a word for that, but I don't want to shatter anyone's safe space.

Not sure I ever said what you just quoted, but whatever.

The reason I have to optimize leveling is because Bungie releases the raid stupidly early, does not have a path the the raid, both story wise and light wise like in TTK, and because it looks like early is the only chance to get the required group without being spoiled.

Again, I don't care that much about the rest of the game. But in terms of stuff to actually do that's kind of fun, this is a huge step down from TTK.

i managed to survive 9 months without having Star Wars Ep 7 spoiled, you can go two weeks without having a raid spoiled.

And here's Cody talking about how to "Optimize leveling" so you can play as little of the game as possible, while always complaining about "not getting to enjoy his purchase"... There's a word for that, but I don't want to shatter anyone's safe space.

Not sure I ever said what you just quoted, but whatever.

The reason I have to optimize leveling is because Bungie releases the raid stupidly early, does not have a path the the raid, both story wise and light wise like in TTK, and because it looks like early is the only chance to get the required group without being spoiled.

Again, I don't care that much about the rest of the game. But in terms of stuff to actually do that's kind of fun, this is a huge step down from TTK.

i managed to survive 9 months without having Star Wars Ep 7 spoiled, you can go two weeks without having a raid spoiled.

Just wanted to point out that Cody is concerned about keeping an entire group of 6 spoiler free, which is more difficult than staying spoiler free himself :)

i managed to survive 9 months without having Star Wars Ep 7 spoiled, you can go two weeks without having a raid spoiled.

Just wanted to point out that Cody is concerned about keeping an entire group of 6 spoiler free, which is more difficult than staying spoiler free himself :)

It's the ultimate team based mechanic!

i managed to survive 9 months without having Star Wars Ep 7 spoiled, you can go two weeks without having a raid spoiled.

Just wanted to point out that Cody is concerned about keeping an entire group of 6 spoiler free, which is more difficult than staying spoiler free himself :)

It's the ultimate team based mechanic!

LOL

I asked Speedracer if he wanted me to show him where to go, and he said yes. Maybe wandering aimlessly around the Cosmodrome looking for collectables is fun for you... if so, great!

It's fun if I'm with friends. It's not fun if I look at a guide, the zoom to the spots and head off to the next step. Like I said, Destiny is a social game.

You just completely skipped over the part where I explained my complaint: the part of the game I enjoy REQUIRES dozens of hours of grinding before I am able to play it.

Except you're grossly exaggerating about that too. Just doing the story missions and a bit of Engram decoding boosts you up to the 350-ish area. Trials won't be back for over a week, and there's days to go before the Raid, which only needs you to be 360 to complete. Is that such a crazy goal that requires "dozens of hours"? I'm 348 after last night, and my Vault is still stocked with Exotics that I haven't bothered to decode (really, nothing new interests me loot-wise outside of the Raid sniper and Pulse Rifle).

I'm sure you can survive with regular playtime. Worst-case scenario, you don't haaaaaave to play Trials the day it comes back, or the Raid the minute it drops. That's that "racing" mentality at play (as much as you deny it).

OR, if the game is built in a way that I need to play a whole bunch of other stuff before I can get to the part I enjoy, I wish that other content was more fun. Again, none of my complaints are about the amount of content (in either direction). It's about the quality of the content, and the fact that I MUST repeat a whole bunch of it over and over to get to the activities I enjoy.

I too wish I could skip the intro of Skyrim and go right into the final fight to save the world and feel like a Hero. That's what the game is all about right? Feeling like a world-saving hero is the part that I enjoy, so if I can skip the rest of the game, then that's what I'd love to do...
I dunno, man. I think a little perspective helps out a lot. Try to play a differnet game, like Neverwinter (free!) which has tons of content, but requires some pretty huge grinding (you have to buy resources that let you decrypt engrams).
Or play Rainbow Six Siege, where every match is like a more thinking-heavy round of Trials.

I asked Speedracer if he wanted me to show him where to go, and he said yes. Maybe wandering aimlessly around the Cosmodrome looking for collectables is fun for you... if so, great!

It's fun if I'm with friends. It's not fun if I look at a guide, the zoom to the spots and head off to the next step. Like I said, Destiny is a social game.

Like I said... for you. I would much rather spend that time doing an activity I enjoy, with my friends.

You just completely skipped over the part where I explained my complaint: the part of the game I enjoy REQUIRES dozens of hours of grinding before I am able to play it.

Except you're grossly exaggerating about that too. Just doing the story missions and a bit of Engram decoding boosts you up to the 350-ish area. Trials won't be back for over a week, and there's days to go before the Raid, which only needs you to be 360 to complete. Is that such a crazy goal that requires "dozens of hours"? I'm 348 after last night, and my Vault is still stocked with Exotics that I haven't bothered to decode (really, nothing new interests me loot-wise outside of the Raid sniper and Pulse Rifle).

If I'm exaggerating, it's only because my understanding is that the raid is level 385. Am I wrong about that? If it is at 385, then I'm not exaggerating at all.

I'm sure you can survive with regular playtime. Worst-case scenario, you don't haaaaaave to play Trials the day it comes back, or the Raid the minute it drops. That's that "racing" mentality at play (as much as you deny it).

I never said anything about needing to play it the moment it comes out. Once again, you're arguing with words I never actually said. And besides, dozens of hours of grinding over a month vs dozens of hours of grinding over 6 months is still the same amount of grinding.

OR, if the game is built in a way that I need to play a whole bunch of other stuff before I can get to the part I enjoy, I wish that other content was more fun. Again, none of my complaints are about the amount of content (in either direction). It's about the quality of the content, and the fact that I MUST repeat a whole bunch of it over and over to get to the activities I enjoy.

I too wish I could skip the intro of Skyrim and go right into the final fight to save the world and feel like a Hero. That's what the game is all about right? Feeling like a world-saving hero is the part that I enjoy, so if I can skip the rest of the game, then that's what I'd love to do...

Sigh. You're just going out of your way to be a pain in my ass now (<3)

Let's run with your Skyrim example, even though it is total BS. If I play Skyrim start to finish, and after 80+ hours I decide that the ending was awesome and the entire thing leading up to it was nowhere near as good, then that is totally fair criticism. What is wrong with me saying "hey I love this part of the game, I wish it wasn't tucked behind all this other stuff that isn't nearly as good". You're trying to spin my criticism as some form of entitlement, when all it is is a critique! I'm not saying "Bungie, change this" or "Bungie, do that". I'm expressing an opinion.

I dunno, man. I think a little perspective helps out a lot. Try to play a differnet game, like Neverwinter (free!) which has tons of content, but requires some pretty huge grinding (you have to buy resources that let you decrypt engrams).
Or play Rainbow Six Siege, where every match is like a more thinking-heavy round of Trials.

The type of game is irrelevant to my point. I've played and loved long, slow-paced, methodical games that take their time building to an amazing payoff. I also enjoy competitive multiplayer games, traditional single-player FPS games, Bioware RPGs, action platformers, racing games... whatever. Doesn't matter what kind of game it is... if the game requires me to spend a bunch of time doing stuff that isn't fun (IMO) in order to get to the parts that are fun (again, IMO), than I have a problem with the game because of it. I'm not rage-quitting destiny or anything like that. I'm expressing my point of view that Bungie continues to add lots of content to their game of varying quality. Stop acting like I'm being a dick for expressing an opinion ;)

i managed to survive 9 months without having Star Wars Ep 7 spoiled, you can go two weeks without having a raid spoiled.

Just wanted to point out that Cody is concerned about keeping an entire group of 6 spoiler free, which is more difficult than staying spoiler free himself :)

It's the ultimate team based mechanic!

Definitely the hardest one.

i managed to survive 9 months without having Star Wars Ep 7 spoiled, you can go two weeks without having a raid spoiled.

Just wanted to point out that Cody is concerned about keeping an entire group of 6 spoiler free, which is more difficult than staying spoiler free himself :)

It's the ultimate team based mechanic!

Definitely the hardest one.

Nah, still Golgoroth ;)

Cody has explained in other comments that for him, the raid IS Destiny. It is the reason he plays the game. He has also stated many times that the experience of a blind run is his absolute favorite part of the game. He has ALSO explained that rushing to gear up is not his ideal situation... he's said many times that he would prefer to wait and take his time. His concern is that the longer he waits, the more difficult it will be for him and the rest of his raid team to remain spoiler free. You don't have to care about remaining spoiler free the way he does (I don't care about it myself), but there is absolutely nothing wrong with his desire to make the most out of the part of the game that he looks forward to above all else.

I would be 100% more comfortable if the No Seeing Eye dogs had filled up with 6 (or more) confirmed. I am nervous because there were only 3. The thing Korny forgets about is that it requires 5 other people to do the raid. What they do, their schedule, etc can really impact YOUR enjoyment of the raid.

I feel like if I can't do the raid blind the first time, with everybody in the group blind, then it's not worth doing at all. I really feel that way. I'm racing to gear up because right now that seems to be the only way to do it. This is not ideal. You think I WANT this?

Except you're grossly exaggerating about that too. Just doing the story missions and a bit of Engram decoding boosts you up to the 350-ish area.

This is bullshit. After I was done with the story missions I was 339. They gained me a whopping 6 levels. This was including some quest rewards that had high light levels at the time.

If I'm exaggerating, it's only because my understanding is that the raid is level 385. Am I wrong about that? If it is at 385, then I'm not exaggerating at all.

Raid is 360 to start.

Except you're grossly exaggerating about that too. Just doing the story missions and a bit of Engram decoding boosts you up to the 350-ish area. Trials won't be back for over a week, and there's days to go before the Raid, which only needs you to be 360 to complete. Is that such a crazy goal that requires "dozens of hours"? I'm 348 after last night, and my Vault is still stocked with Exotics that I haven't bothered to decode (really, nothing new interests me loot-wise outside of the Raid sniper and Pulse Rifle).

I think you're guilty of grossly exaggerating too Korny. I'm at 339 (with weapons I don't like) at the end of the story missions, nowhere near 350.

I would be 100% more comfortable if the No Seeing Eye dogs had filled up with 6 (or more) confirmed. I am nervous because there were only 3. The thing Korny forgets about is that it requires 5 other people to do the raid. What they do, their schedule, etc can really impact YOUR enjoyment of the raid.

I feel like if I can't do the raid blind the first time, with everybody in the group blind, then it's not worth doing at all. I really feel that way. I'm racing to gear up because right now that seems to be the only way to do it. This is not ideal. You think I WANT this?

Only a mere 4 days later is the "Late Blind Run"... Convince Guardian & Argent to stay pure for 4 more days & we've got 6. Just sayin' ;-)

Sadly, the scheduling of "No seeing eye dogs" just didn't work out (for me). (Also, why Slycrel scheduled a trip out of town when he did I'll never understand.) ;-)

Except you're grossly exaggerating about that too. Just doing the story missions and a bit of Engram decoding boosts you up to the 350-ish area. Trials won't be back for over a week, and there's days to go before the Raid, which only needs you to be 360 to complete. Is that such a crazy goal that requires "dozens of hours"? I'm 348 after last night, and my Vault is still stocked with Exotics that I haven't bothered to decode (really, nothing new interests me loot-wise outside of the Raid sniper and Pulse Rifle).

I think you're guilty of grossly exaggerating too Korny. I'm at 339 (with weapons I don't like) at the end of the story missions, nowhere near 350.

I'm also forced to remember King's Fall, where the level requirement to start the raid was not sufficient to finish the raid, and we all had to grind the first half of the raid for several weeks until we got the right drops and were able to level up high enough to beat Oryx. Hopefully this new raid doesn't fall into the same pattern.

Except you're grossly exaggerating about that too. Just doing the story missions and a bit of Engram decoding boosts you up to the 350-ish area. Trials won't be back for over a week, and there's days to go before the Raid, which only needs you to be 360 to complete. Is that such a crazy goal that requires "dozens of hours"? I'm 348 after last night, and my Vault is still stocked with Exotics that I haven't bothered to decode (really, nothing new interests me loot-wise outside of the Raid sniper and Pulse Rifle).

I think you're guilty of grossly exaggerating too Korny. I'm at 339 (with weapons I don't like) at the end of the story missions, nowhere near 350.

I dunno. Did run into some neat luck though, because when I was 341, I started getting 347 drops (definitely above five levels from my own) and such. Sammy and I started out by buying a 350 Ghost, then running the missions, while equipping every single Blue that dropped for us. After finishing them, I claimed my faction rewards, decoded some Engrams, ran a couple of missions with Speed and Cruel, and ended up at 348, with most of my gear being 350. Considering that I'm only twelve levels below the raid recommendation after only a few hours of playing (haven't run the strikes or a single crucible match), I'd still say that "dozens of hours" is a bit of an exaggeration.

I would be 100% more comfortable if the No Seeing Eye dogs had filled up with 6 (or more) confirmed. I am nervous because there were only 3. The thing Korny forgets about is that it requires 5 other people to do the raid. What they do, their schedule, etc can really impact YOUR enjoyment of the raid.

I feel like if I can't do the raid blind the first time, with everybody in the group blind, then it's not worth doing at all. I really feel that way. I'm racing to gear up because right now that seems to be the only way to do it. This is not ideal. You think I WANT this?

Only a mere 4 days later is the "Late Blind Run"... Convince Guardian & Argent to stay pure for 4 more days & we've got 6. Just sayin' ;-)

Sadly, the scheduling of "No seeing eye dogs" just didn't work out (for me). (Also, why Slycrel scheduled a trip out of town when he did I'll never understand.) ;-)

I'm going to strongly consider this :-)

Don't ditch me bro.

Don't ditch me bro.

What do I do if I can't hit 360 by Friday?

I'd rather have 6x 355 than 5x 360.

If you're super far behind we might have to figure something else out, but Ive 354 with no extreme amount of play.

Except you're grossly exaggerating about that too. Just doing the story missions and a bit of Engram decoding boosts you up to the 350-ish area.

This is bullshit. After I was done with the story missions I was 339. They gained me a whopping 6 levels. This was including some quest rewards that had high light levels at the time.

I went from 333 to 341. Decent jump but still a ways from 350

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Save engrams/rank up packages until then.

At least the heroics (or whatever that playlist is called now) will.

I'm at 355+ for nearly ever piece of gear except for my 350 artifact. It's the only thing holding my progression up right now. Any clue where we can get higher level artifacts to drop?

All of my legendary artifact drops have come from decoding random blue engrams. Currently at 351.

Maybe Eris rank ups? Random blue decodings should work, but I don't know how high those will go.

I'm at 355+ for nearly ever piece of gear except for my 350 artifact. It's the only thing holding my progression up right now. Any clue where we can get higher level artifacts to drop?

Engrams from the Archon's Forge can go above 355.

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They are only grindy because you make them so. I didnt realize we even had a book until I completed my first entry. Really they are almost just giving you the gear for playing the game. If you consider "Win a match with a 1.0 KD ratio" grindy then that explains why everything is so grindy to you!

Not trying to bust your balls or piggy back on the arguements, but the Rise of Iron book inst Grindy. I finished almost 3 of them just from playing the game how i have wanted to the past 2 days.

Edit: I understand a 1.0 KD might be an issue for some people who arent particularly good in the crucible, but for Cody, that is not grindy.

Edit: I understand a 1.0 KD might be an issue for some people who arent particularly good in the crucible, but for Cody, that is not grindy.

I dunno man, we stomped him pretty hard last week ;p

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I'm at 355+ for nearly ever piece of gear except for my 350 artifact. It's the only thing holding my progression up right now. Any clue where we can get higher level artifacts to drop?

I believe PoE also drops higher level stuff now too. Meaning, the high score reward. I don't know about actual drops in PoE

They are only grindy because you make them so. I didnt realize we even had a book until I completed my first entry. Really they are almost just giving you the gear for playing the game. If you consider "Win a match with a 1.0 KD ratio" grindy then that explains why everything is so grindy to you!

Not trying to bust your balls or piggy back on the arguements, but the Rise of Iron book inst Grindy. I finished almost 3 of them just from playing the game how i have wanted to the past 2 days.

The particular K/D one I got my first game of supremacy, with a 3.0. So no that's not grindy. But ones like 20 patrols on plague lands? Pure grind.

I'm at 355+ for nearly ever piece of gear except for my 350 artifact. It's the only thing holding my progression up right now. Any clue where we can get higher level artifacts to drop?

I believe PoE also drops higher level stuff now too. Meaning, the high score reward. I don't know about actual drops in PoE

Actual drops are capped at 335. The card rewards can go to 365.

They are only grindy because you make them so. I didnt realize we even had a book until I completed my first entry. Really they are almost just giving you the gear for playing the game. If you consider "Win a match with a 1.0 KD ratio" grindy then that explains why everything is so grindy to you!

Not trying to bust your balls or piggy back on the arguements, but the Rise of Iron book inst Grindy. I finished almost 3 of them just from playing the game how i have wanted to the past 2 days.

The particular K/D one I got my first game of supremacy, with a 3.0. So no that's not grindy. But ones like 20 patrols on plague lands? Pure grind.

The way I tend to look at that stuff is that its a nice little bonus reward for people who spend time doing those activities. Its not a grind unless you go out of your way to make it one.

That said, this little chain started because someone said "you've already finished everything in the book?" or something along those lines. I don't think "finishing the book" is a measure for "completing" rise of iron, because as you pointed out, many of the requirements within the book are just replaying certain activities over and over.

The way I tend to look at that stuff is that its a nice little bonus reward for people who spend time doing those activities. Its not a grind unless you go out of your way to make it one.

This. Not everything in the game was designed to just fly through. I really look at the Book more like an elongated set of bounties that will eventually fill up. If im close to an unlock, sure ill chase a few down. I dont consider that grinding to myself.

That said, this little chain started because someone said "you've already finished everything in the book?" or something along those lines. I don't think "finishing the book" is a measure for "completing" rise of iron, because as you pointed out, many of the requirements within the book are just replaying certain activities over and over.

Agreed. The book isnt what I would consider "content". I mean sure by definition, but its not like a strike or anything. To me it's a cool way to earn some gear. Also how nice of them to give it to us on release instead of holding it above our heads before a future expansion.

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I got 2 exotic drops from CoE last night, both level 334. My Guardian was level 349 at the time.

The way I tend to look at that stuff is that its a nice little bonus reward for people who spend time doing those activities. Its not a grind unless you go out of your way to make it one.

This. Not everything in the game was designed to just fly through. I really look at the Book more like an elongated set of bounties that will eventually fill up. If im close to an unlock, sure ill chase a few down. I dont consider that grinding to myself.

That said, this little chain started because someone said "you've already finished everything in the book?" or something along those lines. I don't think "finishing the book" is a measure for "completing" rise of iron, because as you pointed out, many of the requirements within the book are just replaying certain activities over and over.

Agreed. The book isnt what I would consider "content". I mean sure by definition, but its not like a strike or anything. To me it's a cool way to earn some gear. Also how nice of them to give it to us on release instead of holding it above our heads before a future expansion.

This is the crux of the issue for me.

These things are treated as content, when it really isn't. For me, an exotic quest is more along the lines of Black Spindle and less along the lines of Super Good Advice. If you look at RPGs and JRPGs, often entire dungeons are constructed around getting a certain item. Raiding Charlemagne's Vault sounds like a fantastic way to get Thorn. Not getting void kills in the crucible.

A lot of what we are being asked to do is along the lines of being boring and grindy. It is always better as a player to do one cool thing rather than do a bunch of simple things.

I got 2 exotic drops from CoE last night, both level 334. My Guardian was level 349 at the time.

CoE drops are capped at 335. Exotic engram drops are not capped it seems judging by Munky's haul.

Card rewards can go higher.

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I can't say for sure yet, but outside of CoE, I'm finding the opposite to be true. Everytime I go back to the Temple after running strikes for a while, the blue engrams I decode seem to max out at 340. But if I've picked up any blue items not in engram form, they are often at or slightly above my current level (sitting at 352 right now).

Legendary items and engrams have both been dropping at or above my current level.

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I must have decode a good 10-15 engrams after doing 6-7 strikes and they were all 340. The regular blues that dropped where random, but most were above me light level.

These things are treated as content, when it really isn't. For me, an exotic quest is more along the lines of Black Spindle and less along the lines of Super Good Advice. If you look at RPGs and JRPGs, often entire dungeons are constructed around getting a certain item. Raiding Charlemagne's Vault sounds like a fantastic way to get Thorn. Not getting void kills in the crucible.

A lot of what we are being asked to do is along the lines of being boring and grindy. It is always better as a player to do one cool thing rather than do a bunch of simple things.

Just keep in mind, YOU aren't being asked to do any of it. You are choosing to do it. And you are also choosing how to do it.

I agree that more exotic quests like you mentioned would be fantastic ideas. This was a topic of conversation when TTK came out. Yet here we are, Start of year 3, and its not like that, at least to you if not anyone else.

I agree that more exotic quests like you mentioned would be fantastic ideas. This was a topic of conversation when TTK came out. Yet here we are, Start of year 3, and its not like that, at least to you if not anyone else.

I think what qualifies as a 'quest' should be re-examined in Des2ny.

I can't say for sure yet, but outside of CoE, I'm finding the opposite to be true. Everytime I go back to the Temple after running strikes for a while, the blue engrams I decode seem to max out at 340. But if I've picked up any blue items not in engram form, they are often at or slightly above my current level (sitting at 352 right now).

Legendary items and engrams have both been dropping at or above my current level.

Blue engrams top out at 240.

Legendary Engrams top out at 265.

Exotics at 385.

Item drops that are not engrams are not subject to this limit, which is why the only way to advance is to play the strike playlist or Forge of Archons, since those drop items and not engrams. It is also incredibly stupid to limit your progression to these activities, when TTK had post story quests and missions that would do the same thing in a much more fun way.

At what point do they start dropping? Pretty much 95% of what I get out of strike bosses are rare engrams right now...

I must have decode a good 10-15 engrams after doing 6-7 strikes and they were all 340. The regular blues that dropped where random, but most were above me light level.

I am at 357 Light. All blues decode to 340, all Blue items (already decrypted) are usually at or above my light level by a few points.

Legendaries are usually a bit below, or a point above my light level, but Sublimes seem to have a mind of their own. At 352, I had one decrypt to 308, and the next one decrypted to 357. Who knows.

Legendary Crucible drops (which drop more often, it seems) are pretty consistently above my light by a few points, and reward packages have pretty much all been above my Light.

But yeh, Heroic strikes just drop so much loot, you're gonna level up pretty fast.

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