Just some more random thoughts. *Long post* (Destiny)

by cheapLEY , Sunday, September 17, 2017, 12:12 (2629 days ago)

It's still entirely too early to be making sweeping judgments, but I'm feeling less sure about this game as time goes on.

On paper, this game is nearly perfect and everything I asked for. It fixes almost all of the issues I had with Destiny. You can get to the raid with zero grinding, which is amazing. I no longer have to chase random rolls on weapons--the gear is just the gear and I don't have to worry about it. Loot rains from the sky at an astonishing rate.

And yet . . .

Something feels wrong, and I can't believe I'm saying it, but I think I miss the old ways (other than grinding to be equipped for the raid).

I think the issue is the soft cap. I'm at the point where doing the weekly activities for Luminous Engrams is the only way to progress (save the odd exotic drop here and there). I'm at 282 or something, and all my engrams not decrypt at 277, meaning they just sharded. I think they were aiming for having folks experiment with weapons that drop and then infuse them upwards, but so far, I haven't felt a need to do so. Weapons don't feel distinct. Every hand cannon feels exactly like every other hand cannon, every scout rifle like every other scout rifle, etc. The only real exception for that seems to be auto rifles, and that's really only because rate of fire differences are immediately noticeable there.

I hated random rolls on gear in Destiny 1, but, looking back, I think that's what made new weapons feel so different and so good to get. That's not as exciting or fun in Destiny 2, and it sort of sucks. I feel less inclined to switch up my loadout and experiment than I ever have.

I appreciate everything they've done with Destiny in an effort to make things more player friendly and accessible. I really do. I think maybe they overcompensated, though. After getting to 265, the game now just feels like a weekly checklist. I no longer feel rewarded for doing whatever I want to do--if it's not the weekly for a Luminous Engram, it just straight up doesn't matter once you hit that soft cap.

Luke seemed to indicate that they want people chasing cosmetics now, instead of RNG weapons, and I can respect that. But even that's not implemented well. I like the new shader system quite a bit, but the shaders themselves feel pretty lackluster (the Raid shader is real good, though!). None of the ships and sparrows look very cool, and there aren't very many of them. I've also been pretty underwhelmed by the armor I've earned on my Warlock and Hunter, and I just keep getting the same three sets over and over again, so there doesn't seem to be much variety there, either.

It's a loot game with a lack of good loot.

I think Destiny 2 is almost undeniable a better game than Destiny 1, but I think I still prefer Destiny 1. Maybe that's just the nature of a sequel. Even knowing how limited Destiny 1 was, it still feels like it was something special, where anything could happen. Destiny 2 is packed with more things to do, but as a result, it feels less mysterious and special.

Remember Urzok in Skywatch? That was amazing. I can't remember who I was playing with during House of Wolves, but we hit Urzok, a Pack of Wolves, and a Public Event all at the same time, and it was absolute madness. It still sticks out in my mind. Now Patrol areas feel like that is happening all the time. It's filled with things popping off left and right. And that was amazing during the first week. Now it just seems rote, and I'm not even sure I'd notice if an Urzok like event happened.

Don't get me wrong, I still love playing the game. As has always been the story with this game, it's incredibly fun to play moment to moment, and that trumps all of these issues, and will for quite a while, I bet. The Nightfalls have been excellent, the Raid is fantastic, and I'm actually really looking forward to replaying it quite a bit. I've even had some fun in the Crucible by myself, which literally never happened in Destiny 1.

I still look forward to playing this game every day, I'm still very happy with the game, and I have no doubt there is still plenty left to discover and some cool events to come, but it feel somehow less mysterious and special than Destiny 1, and I'm ultimately not completely sure how I feel about it.

P.S. Anyone want to try the Nightfall for Rat King this evening? (: