"We're Listening." (Criticism)

by Kermit , Raleigh, NC, Friday, January 19, 2018, 04:43 (2534 days ago) @ CruelLEGACEY

Increasingly, I feel like I'm living on a different planet than most people.

Increasingly, I feel like Bungie is living on a different planet than most people.

If people want to shoot into a cave for hours on end, what’s the harm? It’s honestly hardly different in terms of effort than actually playing the game.

It changes what is normal progression and makes that activity the default if you want to progress at a normal rate. Not to mention you're no longer engaging in an imaginative simulation where you're the hero fighting for humanity. You're a dog with your paw on the lever. I guess it comes down to whether we see loot is a bonus we get while we're having fun, or we're pushing buttons to get loot.

I agree with everything you are saying. I do also see where Cheapley is coming from, though. The scenario of:
"I'm kinda bored with Destiny, so I'll stop playing for a while" -> "hey, they've added some new loot to Destiny, I'll jump back in and check it out" -> "oh, they've made the loot a bit of a grind to get and the activities are no more fun than they used to be and I just need to repeat a bunch of stuff I'm already bored of"
is a scenario I can relate to. And that's not a big knock against the game at all... it's just easy as Bungie fans to get excited about coming back when Bungie adds new stuff to the game. And when loot is really the main thing being added, well, that's where the excitement can easily get focused.

For me, the issue is more that I care far more about new gameplay content, and what Bungie has added to D2 so far was extremely disappointing to me. I was looking forward to a fresh batch of fun gameplay so that I could continue to have fun playing the game and treat loot like little bonuses I get along the way, but there's nothing in CoO that I find remotely fun, with the exception of the Raid Lair (which is exceptional... I adore it... but its just not something I have time to jump into as often as I'd like).

For the record, I don't begrudge anyone who doesn't find D2 fun. One of the great things about D2 is that it lets you quit and come back without losing your "place in line" as it were.

I won't assume this is true of cheapLEY, but I find myself fighting to stay positive and wonder how much of our perception of D2 hinges of the negativity in the air. I think it's tougher than ever to have clear individual perceptions. Without going into a rant, I'll just say that social media has democratized information but hasn't necessarily improved the quality of that information. Also, what we hear everyday we start to believe.

Kermit