Skill Up's pretty fantastic Warmind review. (Destiny)
by Korny 
, Dalton, Ga. US. Earth, Sol System, Sunday, May 13, 2018, 10:19 (2185 days ago)
Don't be fooled by the thumbnail (looking at you, Kermit), as always, Skill Up is great at explaining his position and views, and provides some really constructive criticism.
His ultimate perspective is that the DLC is worth the money, but not worth your time.
He breaks down every single aspect of the DLC and the major update, which I'm sure Bungie was hoping that reviewers would simply consider the two part of the same package (but thankfuly almost all of the ones that I've seen know the difference, given the 56 metascore that it has so far).
He has some really great thoughts on the strengths and shortcomings of the content, and how it contrasts with similar changes that were done to improve D1.
Main criticisms revolve around the fact that the grind is poorly implemented (revolving almost entirely on old content and checking off of milestones), enemies and missions are dull, storytelling is super weak (which reminds me, did you hear that the identity of the Exo Stranger's been solved?), Ranked Crucible was rushed, and the fact that the only non-recycled strike is a Playstation exclusive.
Remember back when he said that he was done with Destiny 2? Well, he saw Josh Hamrick's tweet apologizing for Destiny's state, and highlights it in this video as the driving force behind why he came back to give Destiny 2 another chance.
Unfortunately, (and as I totally called) the D2 ship looks like it won't be righted until the fall update, where they address more of the self-imposed issues and call it part of the DLC (again). It's disheartening, and I'm not 100% sure that I'll even bother at that point, given how much Bungie coasts between major updates, where other games (such as The Division) prioritize fixing their games without sneaking in user-unfriendly features, and the devs don't just lie through their teeth (remember how Bungie delayed Strike-exclusive content under the pretext that they wanted more time to ensure that the content was "super cool" and "lived up to the difficulty it will take to earn", and then we got scraps worth of content, such as a Ghost with worse perks than what you could buy from Eververse? And the content was exclusive to Nightfall, killing a reason to do Heroic strikes, which now have no purpose since they drop worse gear than you have).
At least the reworked exotics are fun.
Never did bother with that raid lair either, now I have another to slap on the list.
Looked at thumbnail. Not going to watch.
by Funkmon , Sunday, May 13, 2018, 10:45 (2185 days ago) @ Korny
- No text -
Skill Up's pretty fantastic Warmind review.
by cheapLEY , Sunday, May 13, 2018, 11:15 (2185 days ago) @ Korny
Never did bother with that raid lair either, now I have another to slap on the list.
That’s a shame. Even if there’s no chance of you doing it blind, you should make a FTB event and play through it. It really is great.
Those two last encounters
by ZackDark , Not behind you. NO! Don't look., Sunday, May 13, 2018, 12:30 (2185 days ago) @ cheapLEY
Bravo, just bravo
Why are folks so wrapped up in wanting new enemies?
by cheapLEY , Sunday, May 13, 2018, 20:05 (2184 days ago) @ Korny
On it's face, I get it. We all want new and interesting.
But Destiny already has more enemy variety than any other game I can think of. Destiny doesn't really need a new enemy. There's already five races with completely distinct playstyles. Would adding a sixth really be a significant improvement? I just don't get this particular criticism.
I watched the video. I fundamentally disagree with large parts of it, but it's presented well. He is a good reviewer, in the sense that he knows how to support his points.
Why are folks so wrapped up in wanting new enemies?
by Korny , Dalton, Ga. US. Earth, Sol System, Sunday, May 13, 2018, 23:46 (2184 days ago) @ cheapLEY
On it's face, I get it. We all want new and interesting.
But Destiny already has more enemy variety than any other game I can think of. Destiny doesn't really need a new enemy. There's already five races with completely distinct playstyles. Would adding a sixth really be a significant improvement? I just don't get this particular criticism.
I don't think it's about adding a sixth enemy faction so much as either updating the existing ones with new tricks or units. As it stands, Destiny 2 units are usually bland to fight against, so an encounter in this room is the same as an encounter in the next. Minors and majors have little to distinguish them from one another. Blind Legion is identical to the Sand Eaters, the Skyburners, Dust giants... The only improvement between D1 and D2 has been the Red Legion's handful of unique troops in the form of doggos (which you only see in a handful of story missions, strikes, and a public event or two), Gladiators (also limited), Flamers, and Psion snipers. All of the existing units are no better, smarter, or more interesting than they have been since 2014 (except the Scion bounce, which, outside of a raid mechanic, is pretty meh, and the ability for Vex Goblins to shield each other, which is probably more frustrating than interesting.
The hive is an enemy that we've seen get zero improvement since The Dark Below (if you don't count Taken as Hive), and now they've gotten all of two units. A knight with a shield, and a sniper. Yay.
I've seen devs completely overhaul enemies, introduce new troops, improve artwork, animations, and behavior, all through updates. A sequel is a whole different thing, and in that regard, D2 has continued to disappoint. You'd think Frozen Hive would add a neat twist to the faction. Maybe with attacks that can slow you down, or enemies that can blend into the environment, or that actually use their environment in any way for a change. People want interesting gameplay. The raids have shown that enemies with interesting mechanics go a long way, while simply shooting endless mooks that just stand/float there can only be fun for so long.
Why are folks so wrapped up in wanting new enemies?
by Cody Miller , Music of the Spheres - Never Forgot, Monday, May 14, 2018, 09:19 (2184 days ago) @ Korny
Worse is that all your smarts and muscle memory carry over into new enemies. So there’s nothing new to learn or master, which is why instead of being exciting it just feels like the same thing.
Skill Up's pretty fantastic Warmind review.
by Cody Miller , Music of the Spheres - Never Forgot, Tuesday, May 15, 2018, 03:46 (2183 days ago) @ Korny
(which reminds me, did you hear that the identity of the Exo Stranger's been solved?)
That has to be the most anti-dramatic way to do that I have ever seen. Not anticlimactic; anti-dramatic.