Why I’m still playing Destiny (and probably will for a while longer)
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With the release of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Halo: The Master Chief Collection, I think it’s safe to say many shooter fans have moved on from Destiny. Heck, even prior to the launch of these two heavyweight shooters this year many people had already called it quits with Bungie’s latest title. Yet, somehow, I find myself still eagerly waiting for the weekly reset so that I may run through the raid, weekly nightfall strike, get more marks, and the list goes on and on. Now before any of you are quick to call me a delusional fool (which I could very well be), please allow me to explain myself.
I have heard the numerous complaints that have been leveled at Destiny, both justly and unjustly. Let’s just say I don’t even have time to explain why I don’t have time to explain my thoughts on these complaints (wink wink). But in all seriousness, allow me to elaborate. I grant you that there is not much in the way of a story. Your journey as a Guardian begins with seemingly haphazard missions that have you running around to different planets in order to perform various tasks (mostly guarding Dinklebot during wave after wave of enemies), and it never truly becomes a cohesive objective till after you meet the Stranger on Venus. However, the fact remains that exceptionally deep lore DOES exist. Now don’t get me wrong here, I don’t think their Dark Souls-esque attempt of giving life to the world of Destiny with the Grimoire necessarily worked, especially considering they can currently only be read via the mobile app. But for anyone that has put in the effort to delve into these richly crafted lore cards knows that Bungie has actually put a lot of thought into the workings of this universe. While this absolutely does not excuse the current lack of a story, it does provide hope. The content very much exists; it is just a matter of presenting it in a more accessible way. We are already seeing Bungie experiment with new storytelling mechanics in the upcoming expansion, The Dark Below. If those don’t pan out as planned perhaps they will adopt a new method in the House of Wolves. The point is by the time Destiny 2 comes out, I’m almost certain that Bungie will figure something out. Now I hear some of you saying, “But Nikhil, that’s Destiny 2! What about Destiny as it stands right now?”
Which brings me to my next point about the story. When it comes to MMO and MMO-esque games, story has never really been a factor for me. That being said, there are a couple of things I need to clarify. Firstly, I understand that Bungie does not list Destiny as an MMO; they have taken to calling it a Shared-World Shooter. But let us be perfectly honest with ourselves, Destiny pulls a lot from the MMORPG genre as a whole and it is therefore not a stretch to classify it as such. Secondly, this is absolutely a personal preference. When I played through the original Guild Wars and all of its expansions, I thought some of the story missions were awesome, but they all came secondary to my desire to get better gear and capture new elite skills. Another great example is Runescape. I played that game on and off for years and it is quite safe to say that back then, there was nothing resembling an overarching plot. Yet it was and continues to be one of the most popular MMOs to date. I totally understand that for some people, the story is paramount. And to those people I would say that in its current state, Destiny is not a game for them. It certainly has room for improvement (and I believe that it almost certainly will) but as it currently stands, Destiny’s story, or lack thereof, does not really affect me.
Like I said story takes a backseat. But to what? For me, it comes down to gameplay and leveling up. And I think when it comes to Destiny, most people undoubtedly agree that it is a mechanically solid shooter. I love the fluidity of sliding around a corner mid-sprint, followed by a quick Lift (yes, I play a Titan) into the air, culminating in a great arcing Fist of Havoc smash on the ground to wipe out my foes. Furthermore, the way the guns feel is incredible and it’s obvious that Bungie put a lot of thought into carving out the shooter elements of this game. Simply put, shooting stuff in Destiny is insanely fun!
When it comes to PvP, I hear a lot of criticism saying that it is broken. To address this, allow me to compare Destiny to its contemporaries: Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. I must admit that when it comes Call of Duty games, I find myself getting burnt out rather quickly. I’ve never been a fan of twitch-based shooters because I feel like they don’t emphasize individual skill as much they do reaction time. Again, this comes down to personal preference (this is why I am still playing Destiny after all) but I much prefer Destiny’s focus on outgunning people as opposed to out-speeding them. It seems like the MCC would be the obvious choice for me then. Surely, Bungie’s magnum opus is better than Destiny? While I don’t dispute the legendary status of the Bungie’s Halo games (and their incredible multiplayer and story), I feel like Destiny’s mechanics are the true evolution to what Halo was. Halo is a great competitive FPS game and there are certainly several things holding Destiny back from reaching eSports status such as the lack of private matches and map selection. But as My name is Byf so aptly states on the Guardian Radio Network podcast, the Crucible has the first truly evolving meta in the FPS genre. What is a valid loadout one week may not necessarily work the next week. While this does exist to a lesser extent in the aforementioned shooters, it truly shines in Destiny. Furthermore, while I think this may be an unpopular opinion, I do enjoy the way that supercharge moves play into the Crucible. Especially because it encourages you to change your gear and subclass depending on how you want to wreck shop in PvP. Do I want to run around obliterating people with my Fist of Havoc or do I want to hold down the objective using my Ward of Dawn? Do I want to sneak around invisibly murdering people or challenge them head on with my golden gun? I think you get the idea.
I definitely agree with Bungie when they said that the real game starts after you hit level 20. While the light leveling system is not entirely unique, it is still very uncommon to see in RPG games and personally, I think it is quite fun. Although it certainly has its own issues, the reason I enjoy it is that it allows you to get the required gear to hit your desired level as opposed to the other way around. In most MMOs, the best armor is something that can only be obtained once you reach the max level, whereas in Destiny, you need the best armor to reach the max level. I do enjoy how they flipped this MMO trope on its head and it certainly has kept me interested in trying to obtain the coveted raid set gear.
Speaking of the raid, it is absolutely incredible. I have never experienced such a well-designed set of encounters bent on testing your team’s communication across a variety of challenges on a console. Granted there are plenty of raids in WoW and other such MMOs, but I don’t believe it has ever been accomplished on a console game, let alone a first-person shooter. While I do agree that the reliance on RNGesus in Destiny needs to be toned down a bit (especially in the raid), it isn’t enough to get me to stop running the Vault of Glass because it is just THAT much fun to play. When you factor in the Weekly Nightfall Strike, Weekly Heroic Strike, Daily Story Mission, and Bounties into the equation, there is more than enough to keep me coming back every week.
With several major patches on their way resolving issues such as communication channels, new legendary gear, and new methods to obtain upgrade materials, the future of Destiny looks bright. Bungie has shown their commitment to evolve this game based on feedback from their consumers and it doesn’t seem as though they have any intention of slowing down. There is so much good in this world that Bungie has created that it is sad to see people only hung up on the negatives. It is an imperfect game by all accounts and yet it has so much potential. Destiny certainly isn’t a game for everybody, but for me it is a good enough starting point on a 10 year journey that I know will only get better and better.
