I remain skeptical (Destiny)

by CruelLEGACEY , Toronto, Monday, June 12, 2017, 15:00 (2512 days ago) @ electricpirate

Their discussion really sold me on the new system. I wanna rock two side arms and a shotgun and just wade in.

I liked that part of it, but I really fear the builds are going to feel really samey.

Primaries in D1 ended up all being very similar. Outside of some very long range for scouts, and some very tight range for ARs, they all basically worked in this very narrow band. They also all had this very similar kind of damage pattern in PVE, where they would all kind of wear down enemies at the same rate. The introduction of those secondaries with big damage spikes really made the whole system work well.

I'm worried about PVE combat feeling kind of mushy in the end without those big damage spikes to deliver to the large scale enemies. Now, they do mention that the "power" weapon slot is still being tweaked, but I'm worried that there will be a *lot* of builds, but not a lot daylight between any of them.

I'll approach with an open mind once it's in my hands, but I'm not thrilled about the change.

I keep thinking about this, and the more I do, the less I think I'll enjoy it (I really should just STOP thinking about it until I play the game and actually see what it's like, lol).

The thing that confuses me about the whole idea behind "freedom slots", as it was described on the podcast, is that they talk about adding variety while completely ignoring the (seemingly) greater variety that is being taken away. Yes, being able to run with a hand cannon and a scout rifle at the same time gives you some flexibility. But not as much flexibility as running Hand Cannon + Sniper Rifle, or Scout Rifle + Shotgun, or any of the current possible combinations.

Then there's the whole issue of "opportunity costs". Forcing players to choose between using a sniper rifle or using a heavy machine gun is a huge limiting factor. Imagine trying to get through the toughest encounters in Destiny right now with such limitations in place (it can be kind of fun once in a while, after you've already mastered the encounters and you're looking for even more challenge... but not all the time).

And John on the Podcast seems to acknowledge this. He said something about your choice of power weapon forcing you to commit to more defined role within your fireteam. Which can work in some cases, but Destiny 1 certainly doesn't play in a way that rewards that sort of specialization. Most of the more challenging encounters in the game require players to do a little bit of everything.

I'll be very interested to see how the power weapon dynamic shakes out, especially towards the end game. If the bosses are as bullet-spongy as Destiny's bosses tend to be, we might see certain classes of power weapons drastically out perform others.