Been playing Destiny since 2014.
Following it since the original e3 announcement.
Over 8000 hours across both games and all of the platforms I played it on.
So how does it rate compared to that mission statement made?
First.
Let's look at the game it's self.
An MMO styled shooting game.
Similar to warframe but built buy a studio that had some of the most incredible gunplay in gaming.
I'm not saying realistic or anything like that.
I'm saying feels natural, snappy, accurate, and dependable.
My question when playing Destiny was never "why is the gameplay so sloppy" when I'm failing in match it was "Why are these people so good?" "damn I'm missing my shots all over the place.
Sure there was the odd cheater, connection issues on my side, server side, or opponents side that would make a play seem, on my screen like it should have popped off but instead I'm wondering how I got one tapped.
But he, rural internet isn't really as "high speed" in the way people think.
Sure you might have a high download or upload speed.
But that doesn't stop the ping and connection interruptions 'caused by something as little as a bird deciding to sit in the receiver.
For instance.
Most fiber connections going from player to server have a ping around 15 up to 30ish. (milliseconds.)
Where as a rural connection you'll be entering in the 40's range on a good connection, closer to 60/70 on average.
If you're on an overseas server you're looking at minimum 100 typically.
So...anyway.
The game:
I was back and forth on it.
I'd say the best period of the game was from Shadow keep to Final Shape.
Regular narrative updates that made the grind worth it.
Massive community events that got the player base engaged.
Team activities.
Multiple ways to organically interact with other players.
Up until the Final Shape.
So if you stop there then yes.
Everything promised at e3 back in 2013
Tons of fun, with as much or as little interaction with other players as you wanted but still seeing them running around doing their own thing.
After Final shape.
No patrol zones in any of the new content.
Adventure Zones/locations sure.
But not Patrol zones, which is what this game unique from other shooters.
Patrol zones were/are public locations for exploring, working on quests, testing builds, and meeting other players by stumbling across each other or coming together for a public event then returning to what ever you were working on.
I want to be clear on something.
Final shape and all of the narrative content that dropped around it.
Even Edge of fate.
Was top tier story tellling and game design.
For a co-op/single player game.
A co-op game and an MMO are not the same thing.
Co-op games are single player games that let someone join you for the journey.
MMO's are large communities of people.
It's like the difference between watching a movie at home v.s. going to a theater with a crowd.
Meeting new people, playing with different people from day to day, week to week, month to month.
Where as co-op games are just you and your buddies, but mostly just you as the player doing your own thing.
So, being a solo player all of the reasons I was playing Destiny.
the community, the organic ways of interacting with people just poof gone.
It felt like the community was just...removed.
Sure you can match make in pvp or que for what ever the focus activity is and have enough people to do what ever it is. But you can do that in literally any other multiplayer game.
Then there were the technical issues.
Sure when you first launch content for a community after testing it in a closed environment there will be issues that need fixed because of unanticipated player actions.
But in the story content?
That's feels focused on single player interactions?
I got soft locked out of the end game content on Edge of fate.
Kind of.
Because of such poor UI design after helping someone finish the campaign on their play through I couldn't return to the world tier to progress.
Preventing me from putting together an effective build for the Raids and things.
Then, come to find out, at the time the only way to put together useful gear required grinding....Single player activities.
Where as previously I'd jump around, gambit, crucible, raids, patrol zones, seasonal activities.
And by the time I played through the differnt stuff each week I had equipment capable of participating effectively in raids and high tier content.
So I stopped playing until the next DLC drop.
Because they got rid of the weekly narrative content I had no reason to play.
I couldn't organically meet other people in current content. I would be forced to running the same 10 minute single player mission for hours on end to get the equipment I needed to get back into high tier content.
When I left I was ranked in the to 2% of raiders for full clears.
Not checkpoints.
No exploits (well, mostly, I didn't have control in other peoples raid teams but I usually left when I realized what was happening)
Think about that for a second.
Then I was like "Well I paid for the year in advance, might as well check out Renegades"
And I got actually soft locked in the first mission.
Couldn't progress past the first missions 1st check point because of a glitch.
the only reason I passed it is because a couple of people ran it with me and were able to pull me past the glitch.
I hadn't touched it since then.
Until today.
Hopped in and gilded my gambit title.
Took about 5 hours give or take.
I was mostly just curious if there was still people in the que or not.
Then realized that I really missed this unique game mode that hasn't been duplicated in another game (or not that I'm aware of) and gilded the title.
Then I was like "Should I uninstall?"
Am I going to play this game again?
I might finish the Renegades campaign but....it's the Renegades campaign.
It's Star Wars.
I love star wars.
I love Destiny.
But with what they did in Renegades it feels like they gave up Destiny's identity.
From what I've played it's a cool star wars adaptation but...just...ugh.
but I'll end up playing through the campaign because it's still some of the best gunplay in gaming right now with a top tier narrative team backing up.
But why did they give up the Destiny identity to turn it into star wars?
Even if the campaign makes narritive sense the framing of it...feels like just a cheep cash grab.
Anyways..
I love the game but I can't recommend it to new players.
There's next to no way for them to meet experienced players organically.
The only in game option now being an lfg system that has notoriously toxic gate keepers because the end game content is almost entirely lfg unless you have a team.
Which I don't.
Not going to get into that drama right now but I will say this.
Feather Light.
Anyways.
Stay Safe.
Just needed to get these feelings out.
After all this blog is just kinda the crap that runs through my head so much that I need to put out into the world to so I can sleep.
Usually.
