Our Beta experience (Destiny)
by Oholiab 
, Sunday, July 27, 2014, 22:09 (3860 days ago)
Not sure anyone really cares, but here goes.
I'm a very casual gamer. I'm in it for a captivating story and the fun times I get to have with friends and family. Bungie games have fit the bill for me ever since playing Marathon over LocalTalk. Needless to say, I've been excited for Destiny, and have managed to get my kids even more excited. Side note: as a father of young gamers, I'm excited that Destiny is rated Teen.
The beta was a lot of fun to play, especially with my kids. I was amazed at how vast the playable space was in Old Russia. I'm still not even sure we explored all of it. We enjoyed the seamless movement between so many varied indoor and outdoor environments. We also enjoyed running into other Guardians on their own missions, although they seemed few and far between (perhaps a result of Destiny's availability on four platforms, with no cross-gen networking?) We found ourselves hanging out waiting for Public Events (my daughter would yell, "it's a public event!"), but we were disappointed that we were often alone in them, occasionally being joined by one other Guardian. I hope that changes in the full game.
Sparrows were a thrill, my son said it was like riding an imperial speeder during a podrace. I hope there are race game types.
We did a lot of exploring. Someone else mentioned that the immediate enemy respawns in this mode killed the immersion, and I would agree. The kids didn't care: more chances to kill enemies.
We walked on the moon! I can't verbalize how powerful an experience that was. I got chills... I can't want to go to other real places. I think the choice to locate the story in our own solar system was brilliant.
This game is deep. Almost too deep for a casual gamer like me. I walked away with a lot of questions about mechanics. What do the colors and symbols associated with the weapons mean? Why am I collecting spin metal leaves? Can I pause the game? Is glimmer shared between the different Guardians we create? I didn't like having to constantly manage my inventory - I just don't have time for that style of gaming.
Contrary to the advice I received, I found myself rarely switching primary and secondary weapons. I was all about the hand cannon and sniper rifle. I wanted to collect less weapons and more upgrades to the weapons I prefer. The reload time on that hand cannon is excruciating! Taking off the head of a Fallen was as satisfying as a Grunt's birthday party. I also rarely used my super, something I confess I need to get in the habit of using more often.
Crucible. I really enjoyed the control game type, and the narration was great. My kids have been repeating it all weekend. I've always been terrible at PvP, but I couldn't get any kills in crucible unless I was atop a structure with my sniper rifle. Not sure what other people were using on me, but I was dead in two shots. That tank on the moon seemed way too powerful.
Tower. I was skeptical of the emotes, but I found them useful and entertaining, perfect for the social construct of the tower. My daughter loved this area the most, which is not surprising. She likes to dance with other Guardians, so I bought a more powerful shotgun.
Story: I wanted longer missions that felt more connected to the overall story. Like I said at the outset, I'm a story guy at heart, so I found having to go back to the tower or to orbit was distracting. However, I wanted to be able to explore after a mission. Why did I have to go back to orbit after 30 seconds? Why not let me opt in or out of orbit, and automatically go into explore mode if I stayed put? Also, I have always abhorred boss battles. Bungie games have always made end-of-level moments feel like they were not boss battles (Tartarus being the only exception I can think of). However in Destiny, it seemed like a lot more stories ended in boss battles. Finally, I hope in the final release you can turn off the hit points and scoring in story mode. Again, it hurt the immersive experience for me.
Bottom line: we had a lot of fun, and we are looking forward to September! But I need a full manual on how to play this game!
Our Beta experience
by Grizzlei 
, Pacific Cloud Zone, Earth, Sunday, July 27, 2014, 22:24 (3860 days ago) @ Oholiab
Sparrows were a thrill, my son said it was like riding an imperial speeder during a podrace. I hope there are race game types.
Sparrows and Pikes are some of the coolest video game vehicles. Really interesting maneuverability and abilities.
We did a lot of exploring. Someone else mentioned that the immediate enemy respawns in this mode killed the immersion, and I would agree. The kids didn't care: more chances to kill enemies.
I thought it was fantastic. Since ammunition for your special and heavy weapons can seem so sparse, they're a great method not only to stock up on ammo, but also test which weapons in these two classes you find most appealing to your play style at the time. Not to mention it's fun and relieves you of having to backtrack through these areas in the most boring way possible.
Contrary to the advice I received, I found myself rarely switching primary and secondary weapons. I was all about the hand cannon and sniper rifle. I wanted to collect less weapons and more upgrades to the weapons I prefer. The reload time on that hand cannon is excruciating! Taking off the head of a Fallen was as satisfying as a Grunt's birthday party. I also rarely used my super, something I confess I need to get in the habit of using more often.
Yeah, headshots in this game are very satisfying with the visual effects to the point that even in close quarters with a pulse rifle I'm trying to see the white mist flow from their necks.
For me the Supers are to be only used in that "oh fuck I'm about to bite it" moment or against Devil Walkers because it always seems so uncertain when your charge meter is going to be full again and you don't want it left empty.
Crucible. I really enjoyed the control game type, and the narration was great. My kids have been repeating it all weekend. I've always been terrible at PvP, but I couldn't get any kills in crucible unless I was atop a structure with my sniper rifle. Not sure what other people were using on me, but I was dead in two shots.
Foot combat is just a pain in the ass if you're new or unaccustomed to the gameplay or the map.
That tank on the moon seemed way too powerful.
Okay, well, I don't like you anymore. Go away.
Our Beta experience
by stabbim , Des Moines, IA, USA, Monday, July 28, 2014, 13:08 (3859 days ago) @ Oholiab
What do the colors and symbols associated with the weapons mean?
Well, the orange is solar damage, purple is void, and blue is arc. Weapons with none of those specified do kinetic damage (meaning they do damage by hitting you in the face). Some enemies are likely more resistant or more susceptible to certain damage types, but the specifics aren't very clear at this point. Arc damage seems to be very effective against shields, but who knows about the others?
If I had to guess, all enemies will probably be susceptible to kinetic damage, but won't take quite as much damage as they would if you hit them with a damage type that they're especially vulnerable to. So kinetic damage won't be the best against anything, but will have the (possible) advantage of being universally applicable to everything. Caveat: this assumption is based entirely on Borderlands.
Why am I collecting spin metal leaves?
They can be turned in to the crucible quartermaster in exchange for other currencies. I think this is supposed to be a way for players who aren't ineterested in the crucible (such as me) to get crucible points, and possibly other things. Didn't investigate it much myself because I didn't get anywhere near the amount required to turn in (40, I think). My guess is that you don't acquire crucible points nearly as fast that way as you would from actually playing crucible matches. There might be other uses for spinmetal, but I'm not sure.
Can I pause the game?
Nope. Better find a safe place to hide, or go to orbit.
Is glimmer shared between the different Guardians we create?
Yes. It was in the beta, anyway.
Our Beta experience
by Anton P. Nym (aka Steve) , London, Ontario, Canada, Monday, July 28, 2014, 13:17 (3859 days ago) @ stabbim
Why am I collecting spin metal leaves?
They can be turned in to the crucible quartermaster in exchange for other currencies. I think this is supposed to be a way for players who aren't ineterested in the crucible (such as me) to get crucible points, and possibly other things.
You can also turn in spinmetal to the Vanguard quartermaster (in the hangar) for cash and Vanguard rep.
-- Steve managed to reach level 1 rep with the Vanguard. (And level 3 with the Cryptarchs thanks to all those looted engrams.)