Storytelling in Destiny 2 - Effects of Guardian Progression (Destiny)

by CruelLEGACEY , Toronto, Wednesday, July 27, 2016, 15:36 (3134 days ago) @ dogcow

I think this post has enlightened me a little on the disconnect I feel in Destiny. It's normal for ME to go back and replay missions in video games. It's perfectly normal for ME to assault the control room again with Master Chief as he always was and forever will be the same character with the same progression when I start that level. However, in Destiny, when I replay a mission there's this strangeness because I'm not replaying it with my guardian as he/she was when I first started that mission, my guardian has changed and already done X. With Master Chief I don't feel weird, but it does with my Guardian because HE/SHE has already done that and progressed past it. I guess it comes from a deeper connection I feel with the progression of my character...

I'm not saying this is a bad thing, just coming to a realization of a discomfort/disconnect/something that I have with Destiny and its mixture of RPG elements with the traditional shooter.

In a traditional RPG, the "grind" is done out in the open combat zones, not through story missions. This lets the player spend time levelling up without repeating the important story beats, which leads to the disconnect you're describing. Destiny is of course heavily skewed in the opposite direction. Things like Courtt of Oryx or the Taken Patrol invasions are little steps towards putting the focus back into patrol. I've always thought Destiny would benefit from a more fleshed out patrol mode with a greater range of challenges and activities. I feel like that is where we as guardians should be spending the majority of our time (makes sense within the in-game fiction, too). Having the option to replay missions or strikes is great, but I don't think it should be waited as heavily as it is now.