Anomaly is back! We knew it, but I forgot. It’s still a goddamn shitshow, and it still rules! Bust out your Last Hope and hold down those hallways!

The Legendary Lost Sector was cool. I’ve always liked Lost Sectors, and the added challenge (however brief that will be the case) is great.

The new event seems neat. Haven’t managed to actually finish it yet.

The Bunker is fucking awful. That UI is a travesty, and I still don’t have a clue how I’m supposed to progress the fucking thing. Where do chips come from, besides buying them for way too high of a price?

EDIT: I forgot! The mission to clear the bunker was cool. Shame the game turned back into Chore Simulator 2020 immediately afterward.

A bunch of people on reddit have started referring to Bungie as the “Monkey’s Paw” of game developers, and I found that so hilariously spot-on that it had me chuckling for a solid 5 minutes :)

Players: “Hey Bungie, is there any chance we could get the option to turn off the stat tracking on our emblems?”

Bungie: - Wipes out stat data that a bunch of players really cared about, all so that they could add emblem features that, while cool, nobody had asked for -

Players: “Hey Bungie, Ritual Weapons just aren’t as exciting as Pinnacle weapons.”

Bungie: - Removes Ritual Weapons -

Players: “This ‘new 6-man matchmade activity’ thing that you do every season is getting kinda stale...”

Bungie: - Creates a non-matchmade activity that only supports fireteams of 3 -

Players: “WE WANT TRIALS BACK!!!”

Bungie: - Brings Back Trials as a power-enabled activity in a game with an XP-based power level booster that rewards players who spend hours each day grinding bounties in lost sectors over actual PvP skill - (<thank god the community outcry around that got their attention and encouraged a change... Trials would have been DOA).

Players: “Remember those IKELOS weapons from Warmind? We’d love to see some more gear with that aesthetic!”

Bungie: - Dedicates an entire new season to Rasputin, no new IKELOS weapons -

Players: “Any chance we console players could get access to some of the customization options that PC players have? Like FoV, or ADS vs Hipfire stick sensitivity?”

Bungie: - Changes console settings menu to look like the PC menu, making it slower to navigate, without adding any of the customization that players wanted -

The list really goes on and on :)

I say all this with a smile on my face. But I really don’t know what Bungie is thinking anymore. I jumped in to check out the new season yesterday... well I’ll put it this way: I ended up spending 3 hours in the crucible yesterday, because there’s so little to the new PvE content that I figured I’d just work on my comp ranking. We’ll see how the season plays out, but I think at this point I’d have to say that my days of purchasing Seasons Passes from Bungie are done. Their priorities just aren’t in line with what I look for anymore.

That said, I here now is a really good time to try to speed run Zero Hour and the Whisper mission... they’re apparently quasi-power enabled, meaning we can now smash a lot of the enemies real quick. Anyone interested in going for the Zero Hour Time Trial triumph for the emblem?

The Legendary Lost Sector was cool. I’ve always liked Lost Sectors, and the added challenge (however brief that will be the case) is great.

Wait, this is doable? I went in there and got my face smashed in cause the LL was 1000...

The Legendary Lost Sector was cool. I’ve always liked Lost Sectors, and the added challenge (however brief that will be the case) is great.

Wait, this is doable? I went in there and got my face smashed in cause the LL was 1000...

It’s tough, but doable with a fireteam.

It is tough, but not impossible.

Did they tweak the way the power curve works? It felt like the enemies hit hard, but we still hit just as hard, which is actually a really great feeling. I didn’t feel underpowered in terms of damage output, sitting right at 960. Previously a 40 level deficit would have been almost insurmountable.

A bunch of people on reddit have started referring to Bungie as the “Monkey’s Paw” of game developers, and I found that so hilariously spot-on that it had me chuckling for a solid 5 minutes :)

Players: “Hey Bungie, is there any chance we could get the option to turn off the stat tracking on our emblems?”

Bungie: - Wipes out stat data that a bunch of players really cared about, all so that they could add emblem features that, while cool, nobody had asked for -

Players: “Hey Bungie, Ritual Weapons just aren’t as exciting as Pinnacle weapons.”

Bungie: - Removes Ritual Weapons -

Players: “This ‘new 6-man matchmade activity’ thing that you do every season is getting kinda stale...”

Bungie: - Creates a non-matchmade activity that only supports fireteams of 3 -

Players: “WE WANT TRIALS BACK!!!”

Bungie: - Brings Back Trials as a power-enabled activity in a game with an XP-based power level booster that rewards players who spend hours each day grinding bounties in lost sectors over actual PvP skill - (<thank god the community outcry around that got their attention and encouraged a change... Trials would have been DOA).

Players: “Remember those IKELOS weapons from Warmind? We’d love to see some more gear with that aesthetic!”

Bungie: - Dedicates an entire new season to Rasputin, no new IKELOS weapons -

Players: “Any chance we console players could get access to some of the customization options that PC players have? Like FoV, or ADS vs Hipfire stick sensitivity?”

Bungie: - Changes console settings menu to look like the PC menu, making it slower to navigate, without adding any of the customization that players wanted -

The list really goes on and on :)

I say all this with a smile on my face. But I really don’t know what Bungie is thinking anymore. I jumped in to check out the new season yesterday... well I’ll put it this way: I ended up spending 3 hours in the crucible yesterday, because there’s so little to the new PvE content that I figured I’d just work on my comp ranking. We’ll see how the season plays out, but I think at this point I’d have to say that my days of purchasing Seasons Passes from Bungie are done. Their priorities just aren’t in line with what I look for anymore.

That said, I here now is a really good time to try to speed run Zero Hour and the Whisper mission... they’re apparently quasi-power enabled, meaning we can now smash a lot of the enemies real quick. Anyone interested in going for the Zero Hour Time Trial triumph for the emblem?

I'd be interested. It also would be nice to finally get my whisper catalyst.

The Legendary Lost Sector was cool. I’ve always liked Lost Sectors, and the added challenge (however brief that will be the case) is great.

Wait, this is doable? I went in there and got my face smashed in cause the LL was 1000...

As others have said, the lack of Extinguish (and the fact that it's not a Darkness Zone) means that a team of 3 is pretty okay. (I mean, I bet we could put together a team of 3 that couldn't get through it... but I found it hard but not impossible.)

The Bunker is fucking awful. That UI is a travesty, and I still don’t have a clue how I’m supposed to progress the fucking thing. Where do chips come from, besides buying them for way too high of a price?

Chips only come from buying them, unfortunately. However, if you're smart about how you buy them (thanks, Zero!), it's not nearly as painful.

Spend your first 90 bits on the Cost Reduction: Tier 1 upgrade. Spend the next 150 on Cost Reduction: Tier 2. And spend the NEXT 300 on Cost Reduction: Tier 3.

Now the cost of an upgrade is 60/120/240, instead of 90/180/360.

Still expensive, but significantly less.

I know you don't like playing Chore Simulator, but I found the extra bounties (the ones that cost 3000 Glimmer, and reward 10 bits) are all "Kill X things with Y" bounties - just switching up my weapons while I play normal stuff finishes them.

Other than the Seraph Tower events and the Legendary Lost Sector, I haven't found any in-world activities that drop bits, so the bounties are the only way to earn them. (I thought it would be like Fractaline last season, where any activity has a chance to drop stuff... but I played a LOT yesterday, and didn't see any drops in strikes, crucible, etc. Maybe I was just unlucky?)

Chore Simulator 2020 isn't a totally unreasonable name for what we have right now. ;)

I ended up with 2 Chips, and I’m not sure how. I didn’t buy them. Did they give you one or two for the mission or lost sector?

I’m not fond of having to manage bounties, but I do like that they are giving you multiple options. Kill Taken Boss or kill a Guardian in the Crucible with a Linear Fusion Rifle. Still not perfect, because I don’t like having to swap weapons around for bounties (especially in Crucible), but it’s manageable.

I’ll be playing for a bit, if only to get ready for Trials, but I hope there’sa few good surprises they didn’t put on the roadmap.

Chore Simulator 2020 isn't a totally unreasonable name for what we have right now. ;)

For me, Destiny has gotten to a place where I have no idea what to do or what anyone is even talking about. I'm totally lost.

But I do enjoy just picking up some quests and bounties and casually doing them, as I unlock seasonal tiers and shooting aliens in the face. So, I think my days of being a "Destiny Player" are over...but I still enjoy playing Destiny.

"Chore Simulator 2020" sounds pretty relaxing.

- No text -

- No text -

I still think Destiny is fun as hell. I love just jumping in and doing whatever. That’s hard for me to do, personally. It’s really hard for me to turn off the part of my brain that sees 100 season pass levels to grind out and and just goes full steam ahead on doing so.

It’s also a bummer to pay ten dollars for what feels like a bunch of bounties. I know that’s extremely reductive. Designing the Bunker area and the new Public Event was probably not some minor undertaking.

It’s a difficult thing to balance, even in my thoughts. It’s a bummer to sign in a play for two hours and feel like I’ve already seen everything. There was literally no more “new” content for me to do. But on the other hand, I’d all the Lost Sectors were just open from the start, I’d have done those too, and still be bummed that I blew through all the new stuff in an evening.

I just personally find it very difficult to keep my expectations in check. I keep expecting more. I don’t want to be hard on Bungie unnecessarily—I don’t think you can realistically expect all that much for $10. But, at the same time, I still feel like they keep managing to under deliver.

I had enough fun last night to keep playing, but it sure seems like Trials is going to be the thing that keeps me around.

- No text -

That said, I here now is a really good time to try to speed run Zero Hour and the Whisper mission... they’re apparently quasi-power enabled, meaning we can now smash a lot of the enemies real quick. Anyone interested in going for the Zero Hour Time Trial triumph for the emblem?

Sure! On top of that... I have yet to finish Zero Hour Heroic and get the catalyst... SOOOOOOooooo... ;D. Seriously though, I'd be up for a "Zero Hour Time Trial triumph for the emblem".

A day alone isn't enough for me, but I will gladly say the obvious: I LOVE going into new spaces. It's SOOOO much fun. Walking/Slideing into the Bunker was all...

If Bungie could just take the Concept of "Gone Home" and Firehose it into Destiny, that be sweet.

For me, Destiny has gotten to a place where I have no idea what to do or what anyone is even talking about. I'm totally lost.

But I do enjoy just picking up some quests and bounties and casually doing them, as I unlock seasonal tiers and shooting aliens in the face. So, I think my days of being a "Destiny Player" are over...but I still enjoy playing Destiny.

Everything here is how I’m feeling.

In other news, I’m really enjoying the “long reads” that Bungie has been posting this week. I’d read a Destiny novel in a heartbeat, although I find the postdoctoral linguistic style of the recent posts to be a bit cumbersome.

Back in the day, one of the members could spam Directory and Inventory to keep the timer from starting, which would allow the other two fireteam members to get pretty far before loading had to be done.

I learned a lot of words these past 3 days, but these posts are enthralling af

I was totally lost on what to do with the bits and how the new public event works. I eventually figured them out but I wasn't having fun stumbling around in the UI.

Tommy's Matchbook is a fun exotic, especially on my warlock with a healing rift. So I did have fun being a robot space wizard gangster.

I think the only thing I actually care about is the Eververse hunter armor. Which means there is no reason for me to worry about bounties except for the bright dust ones. Outside of that I guess I will just wander around shouting "I believe you, but my tommy gun don't!"

They fixed that.

That said, I here now is a really good time to try to speed run Zero Hour and the Whisper mission... they’re apparently quasi-power enabled, meaning we can now smash a lot of the enemies real quick. Anyone interested in going for the Zero Hour Time Trial triumph for the emblem?

It’s insanely easy, I’ve been Sherpa-ing people who don’t have the weapons continuously since yesterday.

Although Heroic Whisper seems very iffy. On any enemy with a shield, you don’t get the damage buff, which means almost all enemies after the first sections. With Match Game enabled, it’s significantly tougher. Also, the bosses are very damage-resistant. I was doing 1% sniper damage compared to the enemies in the platforming areas.

No issues in Zero Hour though, I’m down for running that over and over.

That said, I here now is a really good time to try to speed run Zero Hour and the Whisper mission... they’re apparently quasi-power enabled, meaning we can now smash a lot of the enemies real quick. Anyone interested in going for the Zero Hour Time Trial triumph for the emblem?

Sure! On top of that... I have yet to finish Zero Hour Heroic and get the catalyst... SOOOOOOooooo... ;D. Seriously though, I'd be up for a "Zero Hour Time Trial triumph for the emblem".

What days/times work for you guys?

I ended up running it over on PC last night as part of a 2-man fireteam... me and a guy who had never beaten it before (he’d done a couple practice runs to learn the jumping section and the maze, but that’s it). It’s HILARIOUS right now. Everything just explodes when you touch it. Those giant solar-shielded heavy shanks? Mountaintop 1-shots them :D We beat it with 8.5 minutes to spare. He’d never even seen the boss room before.

So yeah, count me in to run through it with you guys (or anyone else who needs wants to). My schedule is unpredictable these days, but I’m usually able to carve out some time in the later evenings most days.

I don’t need to do it, but if anyone needs an extra I’d love to jump in.

Generally when ever Kerm can be on, I'm able to be on as well. So... there ya have it.

I still don’t have the Outbreak catalyst so I’ll be up for it over the next three weeks, I imagine.

- No text -