Year 1 Highlights: What are your favorite memories from DY1? (Destiny)

by CruelLEGACEY , Toronto, Friday, September 04, 2015, 13:43 (3465 days ago)

In the midst of all the excitement over The Taken King, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at our first year with Destiny and pick our favorite or most memorable moments. I'll kick things off:

The Alpha/Beta

Playing Destiny for the firs time was a revelation for me. Bungie seemed to be having difficulty talking about the game in the months before launch, and the footage I'd seen didn't have me buzzing with anticipation. But that all changed when I jumped into the Alpha for the first time and got to see and feel the game for myself. I spent hours just walking and driving around Old Russia, exploring every corner, tunnel, and cave. Even after launch, the joy of exploration would end up carrying me through the early game. If you had asked me a year ago, I would have said that exploration was the reason I played Destiny; the combat was fine, but little more than something do to while I traveled around new worlds.

Then I hit 26 and raided for the first time, and everything changed ;)

VoG with DBO

I've been a lurker at HBO and DBO for years, but had never posted on a regular basis until late september/early october of last year. That's when I decided I wanted to try the raid for the first time, so I came here looking for a fireteam.
I was a bit nervous when I first posted. I didn't have great gear, and more importantly I couldn't use my mic while playing at night. So I needed a group who would be patient in explaining things to me, and tolerant of me screwing up because I had no way to ask questions or call for help. Things couldn't have gone better. The Vault of Glass was the first time Destiny's combat mechanics really jumped into the foreground for me. The sense of teamwork and coordination on top of the mystery and wonder of the setting... it was incredible. Best of all, Cody, Cyber, Speedracer, Korny, and Kalamari were super helpful and a blast to play with. I was hooked. Since then, meeting and playing with people from DBO has been my favorite thing about this game. I feel very fortunate to have such a fantastic group of friends to hang out with every night. Plus I get to do it while sitting on the couch in my underwear! You're welcome for that mental picture, by the way ;)

Flawless Raider

For most of the month of October, the DBO PS4 Raiders banged our heads against the Vault of Glass with the hopes of earning the Flawless Raider trophy. 3 or 4 nights per week, we'd group up and run the raid for a few hours. While it didn't seem possible at first, progress was made. Each time through we'd do a little better. Our nerves were tested. The Gorgons' cave became a struggle to hold on to sweat-covered controllers. The jumping puzzle was renamed "the widowmaker". On several occasions we got so close it physically hurt.

And then one day Cyber, Cody, Speedracer, Korny and I partied up. We couldn't find a 6th person to join us, so we figured we'd just do a couple practice runs.

Bam, said the lady!

Since that glorious moment, I've been lucky enough to participate in 2 more successful Flawless Raider runs. Each time it has been a thrilling and exhilarating experience. If you haven't given it a shot yet, I highly recommend it. There's nothing else quite like it in Destiny. Well, almost nothing...

The Lighthouse

With the lack of a new raid in House of Wolves, I was worried I might burn out on Destiny. Prison of Elders didn't click with me, while strike playlists and standard crucible just aren't enough to keep me hooked. Then I played Trials of Osiris. Ooooooooh baby!
So intense, and so satisfying. Coming out of the Trials with a flawless ticket is an amazing feeling, and getting to see the lighthouse is the perfect reward.

So that's my list. How about everyone else?