That’s a real bummer. (Criticism)

by CruelLEGACEY , Toronto, Thursday, December 20, 2018, 11:31 (2198 days ago) @ Cody Miller

You look at all the milestones and see a list of chores. I look at it and see a list of opportunities to do fun things with my friends.

A chore is still a chore if you do it with a friend.

If the activity in question isn't fun, then sure. The reason I'm having such a great time with Destiny lately is that the majority of the activities I'm doing are activities I legitimately enjoy. The level-up system does influence my decisions to a certain degree, but there are now so many different activities that offer powerful rewards that I can almost always do whatever I'm in the mood to do and level up my character at the same time. And as Cheapley pointed out, Bungie has started to become less restrictive with the way the end-game activities build upon each other. With how the various bounty and quest systems now overlap, I can often do 1 activity and make progress towards 2-4 different goals all at the same time. Running the Blind Well last night earned me the powerful Dreaming City reward, plus I upgraded a Black Armory weapon frame, while also earning materials to use for the Dawning quest. None of which would matter if I wasn't also having fun doing the actual activity... but I was. We had a great time.

So I do think that ultimately, that is the line that will make or break the game for many people. Of course, the time issue is another big one that we've talked about a lot. The only thing I'll add to that part of the discussion is that the raids, while still a big deal, are far from the only compelling activity in the game anymore. There was a time in D1 where I legitimately felt that VoG or CE were the only activities I actually enjoyed doing. But that isn't the case for me when it comes to D2. I still have a blast jumping into Escalation Protocol, patrol/story missions in the Dreaming City, a few rounds of Gambit and/or crucible, running nightfalls, Shattered Throne, etc. None of this ever feels like a chore to me, yet I've already hit 650 on my Titan, with my Hunter and Warlock not far behind. Again, I'm in a position right now where I have the time to put a lot of hours into the game, but they're hours that I'm enjoying and more importantly, they are hours that I'd be playing even if leveling up wasn't a thing. So for me, its not a case of sinking hours into doing stuff that I don't want to do. Destiny 2 right now has the best selection of content that the franchise has ever had, IMO. And the vast majority of that content is accessible without requiring massive time commitments, with a few notable exceptions. But even those exceptions aren't as big a problem right now as they would have been in the past. Last Wish is still a highly active activity on LFG sites because it still provides powerful rewards. It isn't like previous years where a new update makes all the old content "obsolete".