Destiny….Say it over and over again like a mantra (insert movie quote here). I may have said the word so many times now that it has lost its meaning, or maybe for the time being, the meaning in general is lost because of the decisions Bungie has made for the franchise.
First things first, I am an avid player of Destiny. In fact, I’m more than that. My hours on Destiny are near the 2,000 hour range, and if you ever needed a relic holder or sword bearer in the game, it’s fairly possible I may have been that one random guy that you grabbed from LFG that helped you get your Fatebringer or POS Crux.
The Tower: Home away from home
Before I talk about the negatives, lets clear up one thing. Destiny is a fantastic game. I have never been as addicted to a game as I am with Destiny (and rumor has it, they paid certain people to make sure you are in fact addicted to it). Taking the long-deceased model of the Halo franchise, Bungie made the best addition to a shooter ever, by incorporating an RPG element. There is no surprise that RPGs are addictive. Everyone knows at least a couple of elite nerds that play RPGs like it’s a drug, and there’s fair reason for that. In Destiny, it is no different. Grind, grind and grind some more for that one weapon or piece of armor you so desire. Honestly, Desire would have been the perfect name for this game, because that very word is what defines the game all around.
Taking this very fact in to account is what really makes me itch with the recent direction Bungie has taken with the game. Sure, you can always have fun jumping on any shooter and wrecking people. I prefer PVE to PVP which is another thing Destiny gets very right. When I think back to having LAN parties where each person brought their own Xbox and bulky TV, we were only playing PVP, and that’s all Halo was. Don’t even try to defend it; Halo was all about PVP and nobody with half a brain cared about playing the campaigns. Destiny corrected this in a massive way.
King of the Crucible
Ok, hold on. You think I’m saying their story is more engaging. Of course it isn’t. However, I couldn’t care less. I don’t expect it to be exceptional at any point during Bungie’s 10-year plan for the game. I do however expect to be compensated for my time in the game like the other millions of people who grind their asses off for weapons that are unique and elite. These unique weapons, that took days to weeks to months of grinding to hone, may be on the cusp of becoming obsolete, which in return will infuriate the game’s most valued players.
When the Suros was overpowered in PVP, people complained and immediately Bungie reacted, nerfing the gun to complete shit (and again with a complete nerf to auto rifles in general). However, for what seems to be almost the entire gaming period of House of Wolves, any shithead with a Thorn can cheese his way through Trials of Osiris with ease. Does anyone find it curious that you never see people running with Thorn in PVE, but in PVP every gamer is capitalizing on it? Yet, Bungie does nothing and alienates millions of players from a part of the game that otherwise would have been very enjoyable.
Well hey guys, at least Xbox players are FINALLY about to get those PlayStation exclusive guns, just in time for the Armageddon of nerfs they are about to unleash on the game. The 2.0 update is coming alongside the next expansion, The Taken King (out September 15th) and if you play with others online, the general opinion is this: This may ruin the game. By normalizing every gun so it is fair for everyone, you have taken away the very aspect of the game that made it so addicting and rewarding to play for thousands of hours on end.
What about the poor fuck who grinded for 1,000 hours to get a Fatebringer right before its range is taken away? I won’t list all the weapon updates about to happen, because any of you can look it up on Bungie’s app or website. I will say that the company is by no means stupid and these updates (even nerfing the Gjallarhorn) may even out the game. But for most of us hardcore players, we agree this could be the nail in the coffin for Destiny. By making everything fair and equal, is there anything special left?
Iron Breed Sleeves: A grinder’s reward
Now I want to address the track record of Destiny very quickly. If you are an avid player, in theory, the game has slightly gone downhill since the release. I’m mainly speaking of the raids, which Bungie says only a very small percentage of players partake in, but the numbers don’t add up. Even if they do, you know your biggest fans are playing the raids, so please make better ones.
- Vault Of Glass – The best raid in Destiny, and requires the most teamwork. This was smart development. The weapons are also still the best weapons in the game to this day (for the most part).
- Crota’s End – This was fun, though much shorter and required less team members to achieve the final goal. Most people cannot beat VOG on their own, but in CE, you see more and more of them doing it every day. The weapon payouts in this raid are also quite rewarding, though some of them are complete shit like the Necrochasm, which even after the 2.0 patch, I doubt many players will use.
- House Of Wolves – Here we are, at the game’s lowest point. Granted Skolas has a fantastic character design (maybe the coolest in the game), and Bungie has finally designed weapons for this DLC that look awesome, but they are completely worthless mainly due to the fact that the primary weapons have no elemental damage. Who wants that garbage? The exotic weapons, of which there are only three, are also shit. However I suspect that the Lord of Wolves will become an important weapon in upcoming raids because of its perk to heal fireteam members.
To be fair, Bungie has given me and millions of others much more than our money’s worth. I can complain all day about this game, but that’s because I love it so much. The design is what really drew me to the game. From the second I saw the concept art, I was waiting and waiting. Bungie no doubt delivers on character design every time and it’s amazing. I only wish we could change the color of our weapons and armor as we choose to further the customization of our guardians in this virtual world we spend thousands of hours in.
The Hunter: You either love or hate them
I would like to close this rant off with a quick, bullet-pointed break down of my opinions on Destiny’s best weapons:
- Gjallarhorn: Best weapon in the game. You should NEVER nerf it.
- Fatebringer: Worth the grind, but is about to (possibly) be shit pre-update
- Vex: Ruined by the nerf, but worth using in PVP if you throw a chain grenade before firing
- Thorn: For pussies who want to cheese PVP. Hopefully this will be fixed in the update.
- Red Death: Great impact, but not for long. Shoots too slow.
- Hard Light: I love this gun. The sound, the feel. Why no elemental damage? It could be so great. Also, you aren’t fooling anyone with the bullshit ricochet rounds.
- Last Word: Who cares. It shoots auto but tap firing is more accurate.
- Mida Multi-Tool: Sounds AWESOME. Why cant Bungie put more work into the sound of each gun? Shoots fast, and you move fast. If it shot auto, I would take it over Ghally if it had a bit more attack.
- Black Hammer: The new update may not crush this weapon like most people think. It’s still the most powerful sniper in the game.
- Truth: Poor Truth. Gjallahorn’s just better. Should have been a legendary.
- Suros: Irrelevant for the time being. Hopefully the update makes it great again. However, its kind of dinky looking design is something I can see Bungie is fixing for the new game.
- Abyss Defiant: The new Suros. But it actually lets you decide if you want high fire instead of sluggish bullshit. It all evens out mathematically right? Maybe not…
- I’m getting bored.
In closing, from what I have seen of the Year 2 release of Destiny, I think it may finally have a raid that is on par with VOG. Make us solve puzzles. Make us work together again. Please allow us to be rewarded with weapons that aren’t pieces of shit. Give the primary weapons elemental damage for the love of god, and don’t nerf them when you realize you didn’t design them correctly.
People work hard for these things and so should you.
Colton Holliday is a glorified 34 Hunter and fan of Bungie. He is also a songwriter and frontman of The Panic Division. You can listen to their music on Bandcamp and iTunes (Australian and US Stores). Also check out (like) their Facebook page to stay up to date with all the latest news regarding their upcoming album, AERO • NAUTICAL, due for release towards the end of 2015.
