I think Solstice is gonna make me cry. :(

Well, really, it's the frickin' blue helmet that's killing me.

100 EAZ minibosses. Who the FUCK thought this was a reasonable number?

Yeah, someone found a cheese - and if you can manage it, it cuts down the total time to a bit over an hour (for this ONE thing). But the cheese requires

1) a full fireteam (not an option for me these days; I'm getting online at 10 or 11 Pacific, and so far there hasn't been anyone online doing this stuff at that hour), and

2) one particular variant of the EAZ bosses (a variant I've never seen, in more than 30 EAZ runs).

Since getting blue armor, I've done 11 EAZ runs. I've managed to tag 35 minibosses. That number might be higher... if the trend didn't seem to be me spawning in after the miniboss phase was over (someone does the minibosses, then quits out, Destiny thinks it's a good idea to have me join in progress to a game that I can't actually earn anything in). This has happened in the last 3 runs I've had. I'm pretty scared it's gonna be this way for the forseeable future.

I get JIP EVEN WHEN I STAY IN THE QUEUE AFTER A GAME ENDS. This is STUPID.

We have 4 weeks, exactly, to finish Solstice of Heroes. I'm out of town for 2 of those weeks, with no access to an Xbox. (This is actually good; real life is definitely more important than this stuff.) I enjoy completing Bungie challenges... but they're making it harder and harder every day.

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Seems like you have a pretty unpredictable schedule.

I'll be going decently late tonight (until like midnight central, which is usually about when you get on), and probably way late tomorrow night. I'm still in green armor, so if you see me online, I'm up for pretty much anything--chances are I'll need it, too.

I thought 10 strikes seems sort of ridiculous, to be honest, but 100 minibosses? Bungie sure knows how to turn a pretty fun idea and event into a freaking chore. That number would be fine if they didn't ask you to spend like 95% of your time doing other stuff that's not the cool unique activity that'll only be around for a few weeks. Seriously, who comes up with this shit?

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Seems like you have a pretty unpredictable schedule.

It is predictable that a game with millions of players will have unpredictable schedules. :)

It is increasingly difficult to feel like one is really part of the Destiny community as a player without what appears to me to be a ever-increasing time commitment.

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Seems like you have a pretty unpredictable schedule.

It is predictable that a game with millions of players will have unpredictable schedules. :)

It is increasingly difficult to feel like one is really part of the Destiny community as a player without what appears to me to be a ever-increasing time commitment.

You could always quit your job and stream. I’d watch you. I believe you can do it.

It sounds like the annual pass was the perfect time for me to exit.

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It is increasingly difficult to feel like one is really part of the Destiny community as a player without what appears to me to be a ever-increasing time commitment.

Before the event began, I briefly flirted with the idea of trying to get the Legendary armor on all three classes so that I could have my Voidstreak Sparrow back, but now that I've seen what's required, there's no way in hell that I'm doing that. The apparent lack of respect for our time and attention only serves to push me further away from this game and community, which saddens me.

I don't want Destiny to be homework. I don't want it to be the only game I have time or energy to play. I don't want to feel small and ineffectual when I do play because I am unable or unwilling to dedicate dozens of hours a week (or more) to playing the game. If Destiny isn't willing to play nicely with a busy life/work balance, then it doesn't deserve to be played.

Bungie needs to dial some of the knobs back a bit. The game's grind is over-tuned right now and it's not a good balance. Someone at Bungie* is getting over-zealous about trying to force players to stick with Destiny through grind mechanics and it's starting to feel a bit like an emotionally abusive relationship. I have no desire to be part of that.

*Previously I'd question whether Activision was calling these shots, but there's nobody to blame but Bungie now. :-\

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I have a free open weekend and I am not spending one second of it on Destiny specifically because the requirements are so freaking high. It feels like Bungie is trying to place Destiny into that same "gotta keep playing or else" role that Fortenite is in, but I do not want that. I do not want that at all.

If this keeps up, I will give up on Destiny entirely. Instead of Bungie being generous in how it rewards my time, it feels more and more like they think nobody will play their game unless they make every single thing take 50 hours. It's ridiculous and I've just about had it.

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It's almost never been easier to access actual new content. Here's what it seems like Bungie's plan is:

Substantial New Content (Raids, etc) - Relatively quick to level for with the massive amount of leveled drops.

Medium New Content (Exotic Weapons) - Relatively quick to obtain, with a little extra grind thrown on for a catalyst or themed sparrow.

Minor New Content (Cosmetic Sparrows, some Triumphs) - Relatively involved grinding with lots of playing of specific activities.

I don't see this as disrespectful on Bungie's part. In fact, I think it's a great balance between players with limited time and hobbyists.

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Look, I think this grind is pretty silly and extreme. Bungie screwed this one up.

But it’s for a set of armor and a sparrow. I think it’s hilarious that the typical power grind is apparently fine, but this grind for a sparrow is just the worst thing to happen.

I hate the grind in Destiny more than just about anyone except for Cody, and I’m still really enjoying the game right now. I just got immediately wrote off getting that sparrow and moved on.

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Look, I think this grind is pretty silly and extreme. Bungie screwed this one up.

But it’s for a set of armor and a sparrow. I think it’s hilarious that the typical power grind is apparently fine, but this grind for a sparrow is just the worst thing to happen.

I hate the grind in Destiny more than just about anyone except for Cody, and I’m still really enjoying the game right now. I just got immediately wrote off getting that sparrow and moved on.

The time limit is an issue too. If it were just a grind that last theoretically as long as the life of D2, then there are no issues. But when you consider the time allotted to do these tasks, it's just not feasible to do unless you dedicated ALL of your time to it, which is ridiculous.

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The time limit is an issue too. If it were just a grind that last theoretically as long as the life of D2, then there are no issues. But when you consider the time allotted to do these tasks, it's just not feasible to do unless you dedicated ALL of your time to it, which is ridiculous.

Exactly. Which is why I decided not to bother with it. I'll pick and choose the grinds I want to participate in. I could tell from the start it's not something I'll want to tackle.

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Look, I think this grind is pretty silly and extreme. Bungie screwed this one up.

But it’s for a set of armor and a sparrow. I think it’s hilarious that the typical power grind is apparently fine, but this grind for a sparrow is just the worst thing to happen.

I hate the grind in Destiny more than just about anyone except for Cody, and I’m still really enjoying the game right now. I just got immediately wrote off getting that sparrow and moved on.

The time limit is an issue too. If it were just a grind that last theoretically as long as the life of D2, then there are no issues

Then there are NO issues?

Would in-game character Titles or Seal/Medallion/Pin qualify as these theoretical "quests" that last as long as the the life of the game?

I'm still disappointed at how these were added to the game after release and required re-treading old content that had already been played and searched up/down. A number of these Titles/Seals have been trapped behind timegated or RNG based quests or items. For as much as I have played (quite a bit, 1 character, but not as much as some with 3) I still don't have an in-game character Title or any of the Seal/Medallion/Pins unlocked. The deadline was extended once and is approaching now again. Time is running out for these and I still don't have the time to put towards them, then there's the cost of all the different Reward items+shipping.

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Look, I think this grind is pretty silly and extreme. Bungie screwed this one up.

But it’s for a set of armor and a sparrow. I think it’s hilarious that the typical power grind is apparently fine, but this grind for a sparrow is just the worst thing to happen.

I hate the grind in Destiny more than just about anyone except for Cody, and I’m still really enjoying the game right now. I just got immediately wrote off getting that sparrow and moved on.

The time limit is an issue too. If it were just a grind that last theoretically as long as the life of D2, then there are no issues. But when you consider the time allotted to do these tasks, it's just not feasible to do unless you dedicated ALL of your time to it, which is ridiculous.

I won't go too far to defend a shitty grind, but this really isn't as bad as it seems at first glance. I got to blue armor in two nights of around three hours each. I expect getting from blue to legendary will be about the same. That's a total of 12 hours over the course of four weeks.

The time is only a small part of what's wrong with the quest, though. It's more just that it's boring. Strikes are fun. Having to do ten of them in a row is not. 25 Patrols on the EDZ is so mindnumbingly boring that I'm considering stabbing myself in the leg just to see if I can still feel anything.

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but this really isn't as bad as it seems at first glance.
25 Patrols on the EDZ is so mindnumbingly boring that I'm considering stabbing myself in the leg just to see if I can still feel anything.

I'd hate to see what you would do to yourself if the grind was bad.

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but this really isn't as bad as it seems at first glance.
25 Patrols on the EDZ is so mindnumbingly boring that I'm considering stabbing myself in the leg just to see if I can still feel anything.

I'd hate to see what you would do to yourself if the grind was bad.

Lol, fair enough.

25 Patrols is just asinine. I did like six and said screw it and went to play Crucible instead. Those patrols will take a while.

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That’s why you don’t do all of any step at once. Almost everything step can be paired with other steps and if you match them up it cuts down on your time investment substantially.

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25 Patrols doesn't really pair well with anything, though. Getting Arc Orbs or whatever it is, maybe knocking out some of the daily bounties. You can sneak in some Heroic Public Events when they pop up. It's still shitty, though.

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Yeah. So you do 2-3 of them waiting for a public event. Or getting your enemy type kills and matching that with your ability kills and matching subclass orbs during a different PE. And then if you don’t have another ready to go play a strike or Gambit and pair as much up with that as you can. The EAZ stuff has separate issues which have been discussed in depth. 25 patrols in a row is exhausting. 2-5 over the course of a week isn’t that bad.

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Yeah, it's a Sparrow, but it's a Sparrow that I'd actually really like to drive around. I held onto my Voidstreak for the entirety of its time in D1. I've been rocking a Jade Rabbit emblem for as long as I can remember. I'd love to have that Sparrow, but it's just not going to happen for me. I normally don't care about the endgame cosmetics that I have to miss out on, but this one burns a bit.

My work/life balance over the past 5-6 months has made it so that I am perpetually behind in Destiny content, and I'm constantly slipping back, inch-by-inch. For the first time since Vault of Glass, I had to bail out of my blind raiding group for Crown of Sorrow because I just couldn't make the power level requirements in a reasonable amount of time. Let me tell you, that made me feel shitty and "less-than." My team wanted to try for a raid jacket this time around, and the real-life timing of content just didn't leave me in a place where I could make the attempt. And I sure as hell didn't want to hold them back from taking a shot at it. I would have preferred to level more slowly and do the raid after a few weeks of catching-up. But my inability to play the way I wanted to was a direct result of Bungie pushing incentives for us to play Destiny relentlessly.

I've barely touched The Menagerie. My Chalice has two sockets unlocked and one power-up activated. I'm trying to work through my Exotic quests, and that's been mostly fun, albeit a little grindy at times. (Don't get me started on the flat-out-unmentioned requirement to get a Not on My Watch medal in Gambit for Lumina… oi.) Reckoning and Gambit Prime? Similar situation. I still have a Middling Synth and I don't think I'm going to level it up. I finished most, but not all, of the Black Armory content.

All told, I'm feeling more and more that the carrots Bungie dangles are out of reach for my level of comfort when it comes to time spent playing Destiny. Maybe it's just me that has changed. But little things like the 100 minibosses requirement (with an uncertain classification for "miniboss" in there) serve to reinforce the feeling that Destiny is pushing itself on us just a bit too hard sometimes.

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I get it, really, I do.

The raid situation sucks. The Last Wish was the last one I did blind. I skipped out on Scourge of the Past and Crown of Sorrow, after starting doing Blind Runs for King's Fall. It stings, and the power level aspect of Destiny should be ripped out. It's an awful system with no redeeming qualities.

I would be happy to see them increase the grind for things like this sparrow if it means making the rest of the actual good content on more even footing for everyone. I don't see that happening, unfortunately.

They seem to have a really difficult time finding a good balance. It's like they just pull the numbers for these quests out of nowhere. I really don't understand how they come up with them. Some of the exotic quests are truly fun. I finished the Malfeasance quest a few weeks ago, and I think it was a great quest (after it got tuned, admittedly). It made you put in some effort, but it was some super difficult or long process. The recent Thorn quest was good. Truth is a little grindy in it's 3 Nightfall and 60 Rocket Launcher kills requirement. I just don't see what purpose that serves. We all know how to shoot Rocket Launchers already.

I'd love to see them make some more divergent quests, steps where you can choose how to make progress instead of being pushed into very specific activities to do very specific things, things that often ruin the experience for matchmade teammates because the quest step all but requires you to ignore the actual goal of whatever activity you're in. I'm guilty of it, too. I needed to get elemental orbs from EAZ. I ran a few, and I quit the second I was done, in the middle of a run. I didn't (and don't) feel even a little bit bad about it, because Bungie's quest design is so bad that it's hard to give a shit when literally everyone else is just doing whatever the hell they want instead of trying to complete any actual objectives.

I would say that I'm not sure they're all that interested in finding a good balance--they know that, for the most part, the people playing Destiny still are all in on it, and most of the community seemingly wants this sort of stuff. But New Light and the free players means that they obviously still want to be bringing players in. I don't know that this is the sort of stuff new players are likely to be looking for. What the hell do I know, though?

It's a real shame, though. This game is really fun when it gets the hell out of its own way and just lets people play.

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Truth is a little grindy in it's 3 Nightfall and 60 Rocket Launcher kills requirement. I just don't see what purpose that serves. We all know how to shoot Rocket Launchers already.

This is the key.

Quests should ideally be a task that is novel. Something you've either never done or don't know if you can even do it. Something you'd have fun doing.

When Bungie designs a quest such as the one you reference above, the fault is laid clear. The goal is not to give you something fun to do. The goal is to make you spend time.

In fact, just putting a step that says "wait 3 hours" would be better. That way you wouldn't have to partake in any mind numbing repetition.

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In fact, just putting a step that says "wait 3 hours" would be better. That way you wouldn't have to partake in any mind numbing repetition.

So what you're telling me is that Warframe got it right, yet again? (:

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Truth is a little grindy in it's 3 Nightfall and 60 Rocket Launcher kills requirement. I just don't see what purpose that serves. We all know how to shoot Rocket Launchers already.

This is the key.

Quests should ideally be a task that is novel. Something you've either never done or don't know if you can even do it. Something you'd have fun doing.

I only partially agree with this. New and fun task? Sure. Don't know if you can even do it? Great idea until 30% of the community has to train 10 hours just to pull it off, if they even do. Shooting people with rockets might be boring to you, but at least it a threshold that people are sure to be able to meet.

When Bungie designs a quest such as the one you reference above, the fault is laid clear. The goal is not to give you something fun to do. The goal is to make you spend time.

This true for anything you don't find fun. I find blowing people up with rockets fun. You don't find Destiny fun. No wonder you believe their design choices are bad.

In fact, just putting a step that says "wait 3 hours" would be better. That way you wouldn't have to partake in any mind numbing repetition.

Which would suck because then I wouldn't get to play public events with my friends where we are all blowing stuff up with rockets. That was fun. Also, this took about 20 minutes to do.

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This true for anything you don't find fun. I find blowing people up with rockets fun. You don't find Destiny fun. No wonder you believe their design choices are bad.

I mean, at least he's honest about not being here for any other reason than to gripe about a game he doesn't play?

In fact, just putting a step that says "wait 3 hours" would be better. That way you wouldn't have to partake in any mind numbing repetition.

Which would suck because then I wouldn't get to play public events with my friends where we are all blowing stuff up with rockets. That was fun. Also, this took about 20 minutes to do.

Same. I didn't mind focusing my play on Rocket usage, in this particular case. Nor do I take issue with most of the other tasks that they set with regard to weapon types, precision kills, grenade kills, etc. I find it fun to be challenged to play a little out of my comfort zone, and I do find it fun to tweak and optimize a build in order to maximize my efficiency in completing those tasks. But here's the But: It is absolutely infuriating to make that kind of effort on the task(s) at hand, only to have to run counter to a different set of wickets active in the EAZ, with a 12-hour shelf life on bounties no less, and then have to reoptimize for that. It becomes too much work just to do what the game is promising rewards for, to say nothing of just playing for fun. And this is precisely why I gave up on Bad Juju at 15 tributes.

This could be addressed by lengthening the window of the seasonal event, or simply designing taskers on the armor to include some or all of the daily EAZ requirements. And I understand things like DIM exist, but I shouldn't be required to rely on third-party functionality to hit the wickets required for a seasonal event.

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Which would suck because then I wouldn't get to play public events with my friends where we are all blowing stuff up with rockets. That was fun. Also, this took about 20 minutes to do.

Same. I didn't mind focusing my play on Rocket usage, in this particular case. Nor do I take issue with most of the other tasks that they set with regard to weapon types, precision kills, grenade kills, etc. I find it fun to be challenged to play a little out of my comfort zone, and I do find it fun to tweak and optimize a build in order to maximize my efficiency in completing those tasks. But here's the But: It is absolutely infuriating to make that kind of effort on the task(s) at hand, only to have to run counter to a different set of wickets active in the EAZ, with a 12-hour shelf life on bounties no less, and then have to reoptimize for that. It becomes too much work just to do what the game is promising rewards for, to say nothing of just playing for fun. And this is precisely why I gave up on Bad Juju at 15 tributes.

This could be addressed by lengthening the window of the seasonal event, or simply designing taskers on the armor to include some or all of the daily EAZ requirements. And I understand things like DIM exist, but I shouldn't be required to rely on third-party functionality to hit the wickets required for a seasonal event.

I agree that when simple tasks become hard to do, no because of actually game skill, but because of UI tracking then that becomes a problem that needs to be solved. We should be able to effortlessly be able to do these things while we are playing the game right?

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Which would suck because then I wouldn't get to play public events with my friends where we are all blowing stuff up with rockets. That was fun. Also, this took about 20 minutes to do.

Same. I didn't mind focusing my play on Rocket usage, in this particular case. Nor do I take issue with most of the other tasks that they set with regard to weapon types, precision kills, grenade kills, etc. I find it fun to be challenged to play a little out of my comfort zone, and I do find it fun to tweak and optimize a build in order to maximize my efficiency in completing those tasks. But here's the But: It is absolutely infuriating to make that kind of effort on the task(s) at hand, only to have to run counter to a different set of wickets active in the EAZ, with a 12-hour shelf life on bounties no less, and then have to reoptimize for that. It becomes too much work just to do what the game is promising rewards for, to say nothing of just playing for fun. And this is precisely why I gave up on Bad Juju at 15 tributes.

This could be addressed by lengthening the window of the seasonal event, or simply designing taskers on the armor to include some or all of the daily EAZ requirements. And I understand things like DIM exist, but I shouldn't be required to rely on third-party functionality to hit the wickets required for a seasonal event.

I agree that when simple tasks become hard to do, no because of actually game skill, but because of UI tracking then that becomes a problem that needs to be solved. We should be able to effortlessly be able to do these things while we are playing the game right?

Absolutely. At the very least, a UI enhancement that highlights weapons/gear your build allows progress on would eliminate a lot of this work. Say you have solar precision kills as a requirement on a bounty/piece of gear/triumph. Equipping a solar weapon capable of precision kills would give it some kind of highlight on your character screen, and when you mouse over it for detail, the UI will convey that to you. Or, when selecting among the gear on your character, the game will give some kind of indication that that piece of gear will help with tracked triumphs or bounties. Another example would be Skullfort. Need melee kills, or Arc Melee kills? Skullfort will get a little shimmer in your inventory, or something similar to the elemental check you can do when you hold down the trigger to have all the elements of your gear displayed. Something that aids in the optimization process, because not everybody is a gearhead, and arguably Destiny is going to become less casual friendly with all of the tweaking and tuning Shadowkeep is going to allow for.

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This true for anything you don't find fun. I find blowing people up with rockets fun. You don't find Destiny fun. No wonder you believe their design choices are bad.

I mean, at least he's honest about not being here for any other reason than to gripe about a game he doesn't play?

I'm actually hoping I can play again one day when bad decisions are reversed.

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This true for anything you don't find fun. I find blowing people up with rockets fun. You don't find Destiny fun. No wonder you believe their design choices are bad.

I mean, at least he's honest about not being here for any other reason than to gripe about a game he doesn't play?

I'm actually hoping I can play again one day when bad decisions are reversed.

I hope you can play again one day as well. I just hope those "bad decisions" aren't good decisions in my book :D

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It becomes too much work just to do what the game is promising rewards for, to say nothing of just playing for fun. And this is precisely why I gave up on Bad Juju at 15 tributes.

This could be addressed by lengthening the window of the seasonal event, or simply designing taskers on the armor to include some or all of the daily EAZ requirements. And I understand things like DIM exist, but I shouldn't be required to rely on third-party functionality to hit the wickets required for a seasonal event.

~m

If I understood your complaint correctly, you'll be happy to know Bad Juju isn't time-gated at all. The Hall of Tribute isn't tied to Moments of Triumph.

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It becomes too much work just to do what the game is promising rewards for, to say nothing of just playing for fun. And this is precisely why I gave up on Bad Juju at 15 tributes.

This could be addressed by lengthening the window of the seasonal event, or simply designing taskers on the armor to include some or all of the daily EAZ requirements. And I understand things like DIM exist, but I shouldn't be required to rely on third-party functionality to hit the wickets required for a seasonal event.

~m

If I understood your complaint correctly, you'll be happy to know Bad Juju isn't time-gated at all. The Hall of Tribute isn't tied to Moments of Triumph.

I mean, you could say that the bounties that make things cheaper is time gated. And unless you are rich, you can't get Juju without buying those things right?

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It becomes too much work just to do what the game is promising rewards for, to say nothing of just playing for fun. And this is precisely why I gave up on Bad Juju at 15 tributes.

This could be addressed by lengthening the window of the seasonal event, or simply designing taskers on the armor to include some or all of the daily EAZ requirements. And I understand things like DIM exist, but I shouldn't be required to rely on third-party functionality to hit the wickets required for a seasonal event.

~m

If I understood your complaint correctly, you'll be happy to know Bad Juju isn't time-gated at all. The Hall of Tribute isn't tied to Moments of Triumph.

I mean, you could say that the bounties that make things cheaper is time gated. And unless you are rich, you can't get Juju without buying those things right?

Some of the tributes are bought from the Calus statue, others are unlocked via Triumphs. So you could complete the triumphs through gameplay and get enough tributes for Bad Juju without spending any in-game resources.

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It becomes too much work just to do what the game is promising rewards for, to say nothing of just playing for fun. And this is precisely why I gave up on Bad Juju at 15 tributes.

This could be addressed by lengthening the window of the seasonal event, or simply designing taskers on the armor to include some or all of the daily EAZ requirements. And I understand things like DIM exist, but I shouldn't be required to rely on third-party functionality to hit the wickets required for a seasonal event.

~m

If I understood your complaint correctly, you'll be happy to know Bad Juju isn't time-gated at all. The Hall of Tribute isn't tied to Moments of Triumph.

I mean, you could say that the bounties that make things cheaper is time gated. And unless you are rich, you can't get Juju without buying those things right?

Some of the tributes are bought from the Calus statue, others are unlocked via Triumphs. So you could complete the triumphs through gameplay and get enough tributes for Bad Juju without spending any in-game resources.

Yep, sure could. And yeah, for those upthread, I do realize it doesn't expire. But the grind is too long and too expensive. I lost interest. I'd rather finish masterworking my Outbreak Prime...

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I haven’t done a Heroic Zero Hour yet, but would love to. Hit me up if you’re looking to do a run sometime.

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I haven’t done a Heroic Zero Hour yet, but would love to. Hit me up if you’re looking to do a run sometime.

Yeah, man. Love to. Gonna need a Nevin-or-Korny caliber player to lead the way. I'm only meh at it, but thanks to Lion-Ram Pants, I don't feel like dead weight!!

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I haven’t done a Heroic Zero Hour yet, but would love to. Hit me up if you’re looking to do a run sometime.

Ditto. Would love to tag along if there's room.

-Disciple

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Which would suck because then I wouldn't get to play public events with my friends where we are all blowing stuff up with rockets. That was fun.

What would prevent your from doing that? Just go do it…

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Which would suck because then I wouldn't get to play public events with my friends where we are all blowing stuff up with rockets. That was fun.

What would prevent your from doing that? Just go do it…

Because bounties like this remind me that everyone using rockets is fun. I could go do that, but I often forget the little things like this. It's like Shotty/Snipers in Halo, I probably never would have thought to run that combo, but it's super fun when someone brings it up or makes it a playlist.

Just because something is possible and fun doesn't mean I remember to do it, it can get everyone else to do it. But if there is a bounty to do it... sometimes that makes things fun without expecting it.

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Yep, it's just a sparrow. And (unlike last year) they've made it so that the armor that you earn doesn't instantly become useless the day after the event ends - that's nice.

But there's a disconnect between how the event is being presented and how it FEELS. And that disconnect is new.

When you start, you visit Eva, and she tells you that she wants you to celebrate all that you've done for humanity since the Red War. She talks about meditating on your triumphs, and reliving your glory - and then she sends you off to do a huge number of mind-numb ing activities.

This doesn't feel like a celebration - this feels like a 10th grade end-of-term exam.

In contrast, last year, the bulk of the 'meditation' was reliving old missions, updated to be harder and more complicated than the originals. (I found myself running 1AU for something a little while ago, and I was disappointed by the lack of enemies and the ending fight... and I realized I missed the Heroic version we played during last year's Solstice.) I don't think I'm annoyed that it takes more time to earn this year's armor than last - I think I'm annoyed that it's time spent considerably less enjoyably than last year.

And I'm REALLY annoyed that there are activites that are straight-up broken - the one that started this thread is a good example. My experience (of joining in progress to runs that have already been stripped of the necessary content) is apparently quite common - there are many people on reddit echoing it. (One guy has run 13 EAZ missions, and hasn't seen a miniboss section yet. That's the most extreme example I found.)

I guess that's my real problem - this doesn't feel like a celebration, it feels like a chore.

(For what it's worth, it's a chore I'm gonna skip. I got the armor on my Warlock, but that's the last armor I'm gonna get. And on one level, that actually makes me sad.)

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and it's starting to feel a bit like an emotionally abusive relationship. I have no desire to be part of that.

Man where have I heard that before…

(Not the finest post considering I came back, but now I AM gone).

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Since getting blue armor, I've done 11 EAZ runs. I've managed to tag 35 minibosses. That number might be higher... if the trend didn't seem to be me spawning in after the miniboss phase was over (someone does the minibosses, then quits out, Destiny thinks it's a good idea to have me join in progress to a game that I can't actually earn anything in). This has happened in the last 3 runs I've had. I'm pretty scared it's gonna be this way for the forseeable future.

I get JIP EVEN WHEN I STAY IN THE QUEUE AFTER A GAME ENDS. This is STUPID.

We have 4 weeks, exactly, to finish Solstice of Heroes. I'm out of town for 2 of those weeks, with no access to an Xbox. (This is actually good; real life is definitely more important than this stuff.) I enjoy completing Bungie challenges... but they're making it harder and harder every day.

My first three matches were JIP after the miniboss phase. I got lucky and matched with a duo on my fourth match that seems to be in it for the long haul (I'm dropping into my 5th round with them right now).

If you're on later and want to run some more, I'll definitely be down. This flat out sucks dropping in solo right now.

-Disciple

Edit: Yep. Lost my duo. Next match dropped in at the final boss phase.

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Yeah, someone found a cheese - and if you can manage it, it cuts down the total time to a bit over an hour (for this ONE thing). But the cheese requires

1) a full fireteam (not an option for me these days; I'm getting online at 10 or 11 Pacific, and so far there hasn't been anyone online doing this stuff at that hour), and

2) one particular variant of the EAZ bosses (a variant I've never seen, in more than 30 EAZ runs).

Another trick, as long as you shoot the miniboss once, when it gets defeated it will count. In some games with blueberries, I snipe one shot and I then focus one one closer to me. Lots of roof hopping. If you'd like, I can stay up and help.

We have 4 weeks, exactly, to finish Solstice of Heroes. I'm out of town for 2 of those weeks, with no access to an Xbox. (This is actually good; real life is definitely more important than this stuff.) I enjoy completing Bungie challenges... but they're making it harder and harder every day.

Real life is definitely more important than this stuff.

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I had a good time completing the green armor. When I saw the requirements for the blue armor, I realized my solstice activities were over. I just abandoned them and went back to working on my tributes.

I never expected to complete the full set anyway because I heard one of the purple requirements was to reset your Valor rank, which I've never done once...sooo....but I figured I, at least, would be able to complete the blues. Nope.

Ah well, I'm having a good time with my Menagerie / Tribute Hall loop.

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Not dealin' with that mess again.

Cross that stress off your list, and just relax with either Triumphs, or maybe Menage. ;-)

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100 EAZ minibosses. Who the FUCK thought this was a reasonable number?

You think that's bad? Try killing 30-50 feral hogs without an automatic weapon!

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The visual appeal of the "riches to rags" armor last year compelled me to get it on three characters, which in retrospect was a bad idea:

For the first time I played the game and really didn't enjoy it -- chasing the rewards rather than the game itself. As you've mentioned, Solstice is supposed to be a celebration of accomplishments, and it just felt punishing.

By the time it was over, my hands hurt, but I was glad to have the "riches to rags" armor with the cool glows.

I don't think it would have been very difficult for the armor to have been kept more current, and it made me sad that no effort was made to do so -- even entering this year's Solstice. It's like being a regular customer at a bar where no one knows your name.

This year, I've got blue armor on one character that I'll be deleting when I log in next -- I really want to love this game and enjoy playing it with friends, but this "celebration" nearly had me quit last year -- I went from three characters to one, logging in once a week to raid.

What's a bit disappointing is that Bungie is excellent at leveraging nostalgia -- think back on launching D2, with all those cool stat screens and screenshots.

Solstice is a wonderful concept that could (and should) reward with a reflection on things you've done, and maybe a keepsake and cool armor that reflects on those first moments of playing D2.

Instead, I felt like Bart Simpson writing on the chalkboard.

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I think Solstice is gonna make me cry. :( (Destiny)