Interesting points, but... (Destiny)

by squidnh3, Monday, November 06, 2017, 15:39 (2363 days ago) @ Schooly D

Mostly just the weekly raid group at this point. PvP occasionally, but it just isn't close to as much fun as D1 was.

This is something I find really interesting, but it makes sense on further reflection. Destiny 2 is a much better game than D1 was during most of its lifetime, but despite that people are having less fun in D2 than D1.

A couple of possibilities:

1. For all the weeping and gnashing of teeth about D1's interminable grind and cruel RNG, it succeeded in motivating people and keeping them playing. And since "it's not the game that matters, it's whom you're playing with" is one of the most widely-acknowledged truths in gaming, people had fun even if they were motivated to play by negative emotions as long as they had similarly-coerced friends.

2. This is a consequence of D2 essentially being expensive DLC. D1 was terrible, but it was fresh at least. As the months rolled on that freshness waned, and while D2 was a shot in the arm in this regard it's not enough to reinvigorate the franchise. I'd wager a lot of the loyalists here feel like they're still playing the same game they were two years ago (even if they might not admit it): go to planets, shoot Vex, shoot Cabal, shoot Hive, shoot Fallen, return to Tower so you can get loot you weren't hoping for.

I was actually just talking about PvP being less fun.

PvE I'd say is just about the same level of fun for me. It's never what kept me playing D1 - I still haven't finished all The Taken King stories on my alts. I will say though, similar to your point 1: with the quicker path to the Raid (and less valuable rewards or incentive to replay as a result), I would guess that player Raid completion percentage is down in D2. D1's more drawn out investment system might have been worse for some individual players, but it was probably better for the overall community.