You should be. (Destiny)

by narcogen , Andover, Massachusetts, Thursday, September 03, 2015, 01:00 (3467 days ago) @ Cody Miller

Got it. Levels are practically irrelevant.

I am really afraid this is going to be a step back. If anything, our progression needs to be completely decoupled from gear, and paradoxically this new system seems to be even more gear focused than the current system.

I was listening to Claude's point on the most recent podcast, and his argument was this: Currently, there is no difference between a 33, and a 33 and three quarters, even though one has more light than the other.

Isn't that probably wrong? The current difference is light level, which comes with gear (armor). Armor with less light also has a lower defensive rating, which absolutely does matter to the amount of damage you take. So a low 33 is not just enduring the same penalty to the damage they deal to enemies as a high 33 when dealing with level 34 enemies, but is also taking more damage since one or more pieces of armor have lower defensive ratings.

Claude is right about there needing to be multiple 'gates'. The highest tier gate though, should offer you nothing, and once you reach that tier, you should not have to worry about progression at all; just your skill and the skill of your fireteam.

I think it is pretty clear that this is not, has not, and probably will continue not to be part of Bungie's design intention for the game, whatever else they may reconsider or rethink. Nearly every design choice they've made since acknowledging the Halo 1 pistol was an error is antithetical to the game you want them to make and thus far have decided not to make five times since then. Destiny, like Halo before it, is not merely a tool for measuring your skill at playing it. In fact, with the involvement of any RNG whatsoever, Destiny is decidedly less that kind of game than Halo ever was, and this was done quite intentionally. That you persist in assuming that Bungie is somehow blindly stumbling towards the ideal solution you've already described is not merely a waste of everyone's time, it's insulting both to those who have made the game and those who currently enjoy playing it, even if they also acknowledge that it is not perfect.

Further, the highest tier gate should not progress you at all; you should already be the max upon entering. In short, it should be completely about the experience and offer no gear at all, as well as have the most content.

Good grief. It's like you want a game all for yourself. You want a gate that offers nothing to anyone but yourself or like-minded individuals, and that only admits you and like-minded individuals, and you want most of the game to be behind that gate.

F that. Seriously.