Bungie's Destiny

Some very interesting news coming out with the new expansion. If everything they say they are going to implement in the game, then it is definitely a step in the right direction. Clan members riding the coattails of other clan members actually "doing" the end game content is going to be a lot harder now which is exactly what needs to happen.

 

Ah it looks like our exact debate is being modified. Lets hope this can reignite some more following. Think this will have a lasting impression on the community or will it just delay the cycle a little bit more?

 

I dunno? I definitely think it will bring people back that have quit playing or maybe even given up on the game. But there will be a group of people that just aren't going to play it no matter what because they feel like they've been burned by Bungie one too many times and I don't blame them personally.

If everything in that video is true... I didn't see anything that I didn't like. All of it was a step in the right direction to me. So hopefully if they continue down that path we will eventually get the game we were promised. I have noticed over the last few months that Bungie has been much more transparent with the state of the game. They know they have a real problem and it's do or die time right now otherwise this game is finished and there won't be a D2 (or D3 for that matter).

As far as my personal opinion goes... I'm still playing right now each and every day even though I have every single thing you can get out of the game. I'm just stockpiling tokens for when the new expansion comes out so if there are new weapons / armor to be had I'll be able to turn in thousands of tokens for a chance at getting that new piece of gear. I don't mind the grind at all. If you give me something to grind for I'll play. That is one reason I really wasn't too disappointed with The Curse of Osiris expansion. Even though it was underwhelming, I had plenty of new things to grind for.
I do like the new leveling system that they are going to put into place. Like we were talking about before, there is a place for casual players and hard core players to exist in the same game and this new system puts that in a much better place. I've got a feeling it's going to piss off some of the casual players since they won't be able to be "carried" through to max light anymore. But the way I've always looked at it is... If "I" do the work then others shouldn't be able to reap the rewards for "my" effort and vice versa.

I hope that this brings the game back around and sets the stage for bigger and better things in the future. I think Bungie is down to it's last shot with this game and they better not fuck up again. If they do... I "personally" think this franchise will be done. But, I think they are trying to get it right and I hope they do.

 

Looks promising. And I'm really digging the upgrades to Skyburners Oath.

 

As usual I appreciate your insight and as a continuing veteran in the game, I feel to a degree guys like you really have the best perspective of what the game is and what it could be. I agree the casuals wont like that they have to work for things, but in essence that is a core fundamental that should have been there from the get go. I wonder if to be honest that they tarnished a lot of the initial hardcore fans with the development with D1 and decided to adopt the business approach for the newbie casual demographic that a decent amount came into the game around the TTK time? I don't have any stats on whether this demographic truly existed after TTK was launched, but I get the vibe that their first focus was to get the average joe to be as successful as the hardcore guys. Problem is when you bridge these groups, the ceiling of the game gets incredibly short as we have seen.

I do wonder with Activision's backing if even D2 never really changes its attitude, if they would still continue with the creation of D3? I got the impression that they started work on D3 as D2 launched which if so, could have severly limited their "in-game content" team availability which obviously would hinder exceptional DLC results.

I cant help it man, I enjoy shooting the shit on this topic.

 

I don't think they made game more casual with TTK honestly. If anything they made it harder for the casual players that either couldn't or wouldn't do the raids / trials. Even when D1 was released it still had a pretty hard core base if you wanted to reach level 30. I mentioned earlier in this thread that I was stuck at 29 1/2 for a while. I was in a clan with a few members from here and a few other friends and it seemed that everyone was happy with just running regular strikes and the occasional regular mode VoG but I wanted to be level 30. So when the100.io came out I joined the site and started our clan that we have now. We farmed the shit VoG HM because I wanted everything I could get out of the game. I enjoyed being in the tower with all VoG gear and a Mythoclast on my back while others didn't have it. It just meant that I was willing to put forth the effort.

Once TTK came out, it was a pretty hard raid at first until we learned the mechanics. It certainly wasn't a raid for the casual player by any means. But we ran it so many times that it became our playground even with all the challenge modes. The quest for the Touch of Malice for instance was a long quest line that required you pick up 50 shards IIRC and you couldn't get all 50 unless you actually ran Oryx.
Then came Wrath of the Machine and the Outbreak Prime quest. Holy shit!!! I can guarantee very few casual players had that weapon since it required you first complete the raid and also know binary to get that weapon. It was a awesome quest line. All of that said... if someone was happy just logging in and doing the dailies, bounties, etc... and being happy just running around shooting shit in the face then you could do that also. But there was a pretty big gap between running strikes and playing regular crucible or running the raid and playing trials.

I checked the Bungie forums today and the casuals are already complaining that it's going to take them forever to reach 385. So what?? If someone decides to play casually then they can just take their time and just play the game like they want. They have that option. But for those of us that want to run the end game content and actually learn all the mechanics of whatever raid is next then there is a place for us also. We'll just reach the level cap faster and have end game armor and weapons. There are a lot of people that won't even step foot into Trials but that is almost exclusively the only PvP that I play.

The thing is... I come from a long line of MMO's. I played WoW for quite a few years and then switched over to Lord of the Rings Online (I'm a huge Tolkien fan). There was a place for people to do whatever they wanted in those games. I wanted all the best shit and wanted to be able to say that I have completed the hardest content in those games. LotRO had (what I consider the best raid ever created) called The Rift of Nûrz Ghâshu that took a minimum of 8-10 hrs to complete on level. We would start it on a Friday night and finish it on Saturday night each week. It was a 12 man raid and we were the first on our server to 6 man a 12 man raid. There was a sense of accomplishment in that. And yes... I know I'm a grown man talking about a video game but I'm extremely competitive and that allows me to release my competitiveness.

Destiny is a pseudo MMO so it appeals to me in that aspect. I love first person shooters and raids and Destiny provides that. So with that video I posted earlier, it seems that they are moving in the right direction. Exotics will now feel like exotics now which is great! Casual players will have to just wait longer to reach level cap and that's not my problem

I haven't heard anything about Bungie making D3. D1 lasted 3 years so I figure D2 will do the same.

I posted this earlier and you may have seen it but this is us playing around with Oryx HM Challenge.

 

Hell yea man appreciate the insight on that as again I know nothing of TTK as all my friends abandoned D when the season pass ended. It sounds like D1 all around really did have its shit together in a really healthy fashion...my next question is this...why would they change the formula so much? I know the D1 launch sold ALOT of copies, but I almost feel TTK was the real heyday for D1 in terms of the community and folks buying it for the right reasons instead of the hype train like the first year guys (me) did.

As far as LotRO I remember playing the trial version of that game where I got it on a bonus month and paid almost nothing to get into it. At the time I was doing some school stuff and that game got to the point where I couldn't keep up with the time constraints...I can only imagine the epicness of the raid you describe.

That's funny about the forums...atleast they are still active and kicking man, you got to give them that! I bet the commentary for the guys complaining they have to do work now must be a joy to read a vet shutting them down about earning their keep! Im gonna check out that vid, but yea man that was one of the real grails in D1 right where they made real easter egg missions that you solely had to figure out on your own through strict testing of stuff if you didn't know someone who knew it right?

I got to check out this vid brother!

 

Haha bro the music totally works with the dancing!

 

Lol... I actually hate that song but since I hyperlapsed the video in Final Cut Pro it matched up pretty good.

 

That has been my question from the start of D2. Bungie had a perfect foundation to build from with D1 under its belt. But they completely threw it out the window and dumbed it down so much I just hated it. It took me a little over a month to get every item in D2 and then I was left with nothing to do until the expansion came out.

And yeah... It is funny reading all the butt hurt people that might actually have to play the game to get to end game lol. I almost feel like trolling them but I won't.

 

Well, it's enough to garner my interest into the game again, enough so to get me to purchase it on PC. We'll see though, it's definitely a step in the right direction. I'll also be interested to hear all of the feedback from the Community Summit after today and tomorrow.

 

Same.

And it sure seems to run a lot better on PC since there is no FPS cap.

 

Yeah, I bought the Digital Deluxe edition for the PS4 since all my D1 buddies were on it. But the game just plays way too damn smooth on the PC.

 

Agreed. And you also have the option of adjusting the field of vision which makes a huge difference.

 

Warmind drops today. Looks like they have tried to make many improvements and (so far) the gameplay that they have shown looks to be pretty good. At the very least I'll have something to chase after for quite awhile.

 

I have it downloaded, the new music is up but the servers are still down. I'm pretty sure at 9-10am my time is when they go live.

 

Downloaded (except for the final patch when it goes live). I'll be able to play at 1pm my time.

 

Yup, me too. Have to start it when I get home, and I'm sure the servers will be taxed. Oh well, I'll get to try it soon enough.

 

Not really hard to hit max level with a fireteam medallion and +10 all xp ghost.
I'm about to be 340

 

345 took about an hour with the +10 ghost. And we were searching for relics the entire time also. I'm glad I saved up so many tokens as they have come in handy.