Is it worth buying Destiny? (Destiny)

by Korny , Dalton, Ga. US. Earth, Sol System, Monday, April 25, 2016, 15:02 (3228 days ago) @ Kermit
edited by Korny, Monday, April 25, 2016, 15:06

YMMV indeed. I don't think the story content added by TTK is woefully short. The raid, for instance, is much bigger than previous raids. The quest system, and improvements to the so-called grind, make it a different game than it was at release, and that's what your question was, right, comparing it to Destiny at release? It's a different (and better) game now.

Yep, comparing it to Destiny at release was a big part of my question. It was much, much more than a "so-called" grind to me. So even though it's been improved, I'm trying to figure out if it's actually at an acceptable level now. It's hard for me to relate when people say Destiny wasn't even that grindy to begin with.

I'm of the opinion that Destiny is grindy only if you let it be. If I'm doing something I consider a grind (and I'm not getting paid for it or acquiring a new skill), I try to stop doing it. I don't consider grinds fun by definition. When I'm not having fun, I stop. If you borrowed a copy long enough to play the original story, and perhaps experience a bit of that first plateau in progression that existed in Destiny 1.0, congrats, you experienced what is generally agreed to be the worst version of Destiny. The narrative is much improved, and the plateaus in progression much shorter, unless you're one of those people who obsess over not being at max light. (I understand the drive to get there, but I don't relate to the desire to get there ASAP, especially since getting close is good enough for all practical purposes. If I don't get within spitting distance of 335 until the week before the fall expansion comes out, that's perfectly fine with me. I like Destiny better when I feel like I don't lose out when I put it down for a while. That's how I feel now.)

Check my heat-map:

Year 1 of Destiny, I was the first person here who had every single exotic and all characters at 30. I played 3-7 hours a day. I loved the grind, and once I had everything, I continued to play because I loved the game. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I completely started over by buying it on Xbox, and then got all of those characters maxed out.

Year 2? I never hit 320 with any character, didn't get half of the new exotics, and post-update only play Destiny a handful of hours a week (the only three times that I played it the past couple of weeks were the HUDless Vault of glass (zero loot incentive), some CoO on Xbox, and last night's Oryx challenge and CotE (I only got on because of an invite). Do I enjoy Destiny less in Year 2? Not at all (heck, I'm even happier with my Warlocks post-nerfs), I just have zero desire to grind for anything. When I play it, I pop a 3-of-coins for luck, and focus on fun. The game is lots of fun on its own merits, and I haven't ever felt like I'm behind my friends (or like I can't participate in any event). I think the game is better for that, and while I'm still a huge fan of the grind, I know that most folks are probably not, so Destiny 1.0 was definitely a bad game for them, but I feel that the current Destiny is the ideal Destiny for them.

I agree with other posters, though--the game was worth it at launch. Bungie nailed the gameplay, and the gameplay is the thing. Destiny didn't deliver in some ways that I'd come to expect Bungie games to deliver, but it still delivers the best co-op experience I've ever had. If that's not your thing, and you're looking for an engrossing single-player experience, play Reach. (I played a level the other night on a whim, and I'm convinced, it's the best game overall that Bungie has released. It should be remembered though, as the culmination of everything Bungie learned about making Halo games. They're still learning to make Destiny.) Destiny delivers a different experience, and despite its shortcomings, I've never considered it to be not worth buying.

I loved Destiny at launch, but being a huge Warframe fan going in, all of Destiny's shortcomings have stood out like a sore arm, and have only gotten worse as WF has made significant improvements/additions by the month, while Destiny has taken far too long to get the wheels chugging. With that in mind, I've never found Destiny to be less than worth the price of admission, because the gameplay and social aspect are the main draws, and it does both extremely well (which is why we're happily running completely obsolete content for fun).
Above all else, Destiny is a game where you should hop on with a group of friends and have fun. If you go at it solo, you're going to have a bad time all around (just ask those lone wolves during Iron Banner's Rift games).

That's interesting to me that you like Reach / the Reach campaign so much. It was my least favorite of the Bungie Halo games (still miles better than Halo 4/5, though). I do very much agree with your point that they're still learning to make Destiny, which is why trying to figure out the current state of things.

And they've made a lot of progress. Let me be clear: I didn't say Reach had the best campaign. I said it was the best game overall. I think it is.

We all know that ODST was the best campaign, but I agree that Reach was the best package. Everything from the art to the Bnet integration was a huge and near-perfect package that nobody has quite been able to replicate.

It's clear to me that you and I look for different things when considering if a game "worth it". So even though I can't really relate to your post, I appreciate the input nonetheless. :)

Yes, it's clear to me, too. I used to be a door-to-door salesman when I was young. I learned a lot about life, about people, and about what it means to be a good salesman. (One hint: a good salesman doesn't try to sell to people who don't need or want what they're selling.) I don't think you need or want Destiny. If you have to think about it this much, you shouldn't buy it. You seem to have little interest in the social aspects of the game, which says to me you're not interested in the aspects that make Destiny special. It's not another Halo. Based on your comments, I suspect you want it to be. (That's understandable. Many of us wanted it to be that.) Destiny is a living game best consumed with others, and you've already missed things you can't experience anymore. I think the range of experiences it offers currently is an incredible value for the price, but I don't know if I'd feel that way just based on it's single-player activities. Bungie has made a new game that probably doesn't align with your interests in the same way their older games did. It's fine to walk away.

+1