I'll take another crack at it, then... (Destiny)

by Korny , Dalton, Ga. US. Earth, Sol System, Thursday, March 31, 2016, 19:50 (3252 days ago) @ CruelLEGACEY

Just wanted to say that I love a lot of what you are saying, but I think you may have missed a bit of my point (or I didn't communicate it clearly enough).

Everything you are saying about the journey, about facing enemies greater than you are, about going into the crucible against better equipped players and defeating them anyway... I agree that all of that stuff is awesome. But I don't think any of it is dependent on a "leveling up" system. IMO, everything you described could be done without dealing with 1-40 ranks or the light level system. Our guardians could still grow in power, unlocking new abilities as we play. We could still gain health through better armor and do more damage through better weapons.

So I agree that everything you described is a positive, but I don't think any of those positives are due to the leveling system :)

"do I enjoy leveling up in Destiny?"

Yes, because from 1-39, the gear that you get, combined with RNG, is often less than ideal, so you have to depend on teamwork, communication, and skill more than when you've got a fully leveled character with the top-tier loot in the game. Do I enjoy improving the Light level of each individual piece of gear? No. It's just a way to increase the grind in the game, but thankfully you don't have to be above 300 for 90% of the game, and you don't have to be above 311 for the hardest challenge in the game.

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

Rank adds challenge, Light Level doesn't add anything worthwhile outside of slowing the pace at which people max out, and it causes a huge chunk of the Sandbox to become less and less useful, forcing players to grind for a few specific pieces of gear.. I dun like it.

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

Gives more causal folks a slightly more balanced field when playing with/against min-maxers who grind day in and day out, but a lot of that is negated thanks to the Light Level that hurts more casual players. Fortunately there are several paths that they can use to work their way up (As my short time on your account proved).