As someone who has had to level over a dozen(!) Guardians... (Destiny)

by Korny , Dalton, Ga. US. Earth, Sol System, Thursday, March 31, 2016, 19:24 (3252 days ago) @ CruelLEGACEY

"do I enjoy leveling up in Destiny?"

Yes. Most people are in a race to the finish line, trying to unlock the shiniest and end-tierest gear that the game has to offer, and I think that's the absolute worst way to experience a game like Destiny. I love the journey. In fact, today was an unexpected day off from work, so I hopped on to Sammy's profile and started to play on her Level 34 Titan (with a TDYK, Found Verdict, and BTRD). I went into Crucible with her low-stat gear and had a blast leveling up to 38.9 (saving that for one final Super exploit, lol). Pretty soon I'll be working on her level 24 Warlock, too, in case I want to play Trials on her account some day.

I think the big thing, for me, is that when you're leveling up, there are always risks, and so your successes and rewards are always more satisfying. Getting a high K/D when you're not using the broken weapons or Tier-4 recharge speeds felt awesome. Think of something like Skyrim. Completing a dungeon your first few times always feels rewarding and challenging. Going back into a cave when you're a level 81 and beating everyone with a stick just isn't as fun (heck, I modded my own enemy into the game to be terrifying, extremely challenging, and rewarding, then I let it loose on Sammy, lol).

tl;dr. It's not the top-tier gear/weapons that are fun, it's managing to succeed without them. And you shouldn't rush to the Endgame content, you should work to improve yourself on everything leading up to it.

"what does the rank and light level system really add to Destiny?"

That's where it gets weird. I could understand Leveling if the game worked like Borderlands, where your level directly impacts your encounters with enemies and teammates, loot drops, and AI behaviors, but it doesn't. I think this is one aspect where Bungie may have dropped the ball.

When I first played the Destiny Alpha, and we encountered the level 21 Ogre in the Skywatch, as well as the Hive inside the Grottos, those moments were great. We could fight enemies that could tear us to shreds, and though we had zero chance to take them on directly, with a lot of ingenuity and improvisation, it was possible to kill them. When I first ran by the entrance to the Vault of Glass while I was extremely underleveled, I struggled through an encounter with a Praetorian, but I couldn't beat him. I thought about how satisfying it would be when I could crush him with a single melee, inspiring any low-ranked folks that might be with me...
But ultimately being overleveled means nothing. No matter what you do in Destiny's Y2 content, you are always on level, or underleveled. This disappointment might seem to clash with my love of leveling up, but think about it like a climb. The climb is challenging, and that's where the fun is, but if you're climbing an endless wall, it feels pointless. You need to reach a peak, so that you can say that you conquered it, and move on to the next higher peak off in the distance.

A couple of weeks back, we took a friend through level 35 PoE (his first time in PoE at all), and we were having a blast, because we weren't holed up in a corner taking pot shots at the enemies, we were all over the map, combining Supers, dividing and conquering, and even soloing certain areas. Skolas was a peak, and we had conquered it, and then surpassed it.

Skolas was satisfying when we conquered the challenge while being underleveled. It was actually fun when we could kill him without resorting to desperate/cheap tactics.

Bungie was headed in the right direction with the House of Wolves Patrol events, where really high-level enemies would drop in areas where low-level players could be. That was around the time when I started playing on Xbox, and it was something special to be a part of, watching high-level people fight enemies that I couldn't hurt, then trying to mooch off them for the Ether Chests.

Should level be tied to Gear? No. the actual gear that you wear should be for Exotic purposes, unique perks (such as Raid gear), or aesthetics. You shouldn't have to wear a specific set of gear that you don't like to play the game the way that you want to play it.

Warframe does a thing where 99.9% of customization is cosmetic, and your character itself has up to 70 points available for perks. Different perks cost different amount of points, some stack, some can cost double, and some can't be used together. You could have four people all playing as the exact same character, looking identical (or completely different) but having a completely different set of strengths and weaknesses.

Destiny could easily adopt one of the mod mechanics where each perk has pros and cons:

Want extra Special ammo? Your Primary weapon might have 30% less ammo to make room for it.

Want the "Angel of Mercy" perk? Your melee and grenade charge will drain a bit with each revive.

Are you satisfied with 65 perk points instead of 70? then equip those Blue Rarity Gauntlets that you like the look of, or Infuse them up to Legendary status.

How to keep the system from being exploited? Drain your cooldowns when you mess with it in PvP/PvE, and lock it in for Trials and Iron Banner so that you can't swap perks around until you're back in Orbit (Exotics wouldn't suffer since that perk would be tied to the Gear. Now Endgame carries a heavier price.

"In what ways is Destiny better thanks to RNG?"

Definitely in the way that you're often having to play outside of your comfort zone. Sure, the grind is there to keep you playing longer, but that can be on your terms as well. Like I said, the journey is the fun part, and lots of stuff I wouldn't have bothered with if I was just handed a Hawkmoon and full set of Legendary armor on day 1, missing out on a lot of the challenges and experiences along the way. It's nowhere near perfect, but it's been improving greatly in the sense that there are more and more specific things that you can do to get guaranteed loot (and you don't have to do them all!). Looking for a Touch of Malice? There's a specific path to get it. Want to just play the game and roll the Exotic pool? Trade in your SCs for some 3oCs and roll away. Want to get a specific PoE weapon? Run the challenge mode with some buddies...

Some folks want everything handed to them on a silver platter, and some enjoy the chase. Some enjoy the chase, but don't want the prize to randomly drop at their feet, and I can understand that. It's as if they were climbing that mountain, and suddenly the top half fell off, leaving them at the new "top". That wouldn't be satisfying, so I can understand those folks, but I don't see it that way, I'm enjoying the climb itself.