Which brings this full circle back to the Strike. With only one Strike to tackle, any Guardian checking out the beta will probably play this a few times. It was with my second group that more problems started to crop up. The beta is a stress test on Destiny 2’s system, so having such sparse…everything...became more noticeable. There is sneak a peek here limited arsenal in Destiny 2 at the moment, and when the party hit the boss, we started to wipe. After the third wipe I began switching out weapons in every combination imaginable, but we just couldn’t land it. Having played Destiny since vanilla, I’d say the skills are there. But here is Destiny 2 presenting itself as challenging, but there is always that inkling that it’s a façade. Again, every Destiny expansion has done this. New encounters, new mechanics, new gear. It makes it all seem like the game has changed, but level up enough, equip the right stuff and that boss that was causing so much grief becomes laughable. One can only hope that this beta is not tricking players into a false experience, but that won’t be revealed until September. So, for now it’s the waiting game.
The most immediate change is the environment. The Tower always seemed like an elusive thing; my Guardian didn’t feel close to those she was supposedly protecting. How is one supposed to feel like a hero when there really isn’t anyone worth saving? Heroes come in all shapes and sizes, whether fighting actual battles or just being that person someone looks up to, heroes aren’t made without those to protect. Although, it could be argued Guardians are more warriors…never mind, no need to go down that path. Needless to say, Guardians are now invested in the people they are protecting; they are going out into the world and fighting back whatever might threaten a community broken. It connects Guardians to something worth fighting for: relationship.
Destiny 2 is headed in the right direction. Perhaps it's too little too late or maybe it could pull a healthy player base back in. For now, Destiny 2 is trying its best and is showing signs of quality of life for its future. Today it’s no surprise when buying a new game to be hit immediately by a patch, because what game makes it out of the door ever without having to go through a few updates and patches once it’s out the gate? Usually a major update will hit games freshly released within the first month followed by the steady stream of content and improvements. All of this is commonplace in the video game world and yet we as the audience still find time to get mad that games aren’t the perfect embodiment of what was envisioned. Developers do have a responsibility to be open with their audience and it does become a let down when certain things promised are nowhere to be seen or the game is more broken than let on. So let the saga of Destiny as it continues through the ages be a lesson, one that we are seeing more and more frequently – Anthem is on the horizon, after all. But it's our responsibility as players and developers to keep the dialogue going to get the best experience possible from all sides. Good luck out there, Guardian.
One day long ago, a gigantic intergalactic sphere called The Traveler appeared in our solar system, most notably making contact on Mars. This mysterious colossal-sized globe was not a world conquering alien, but instead friendly, helping humans accelerate technological advancement dramatically, allowing them to traverse the stars, terraform planets and build towards a better future. This was considered the Golden Age of humanity, even boosting the average lifespan of man threefold. Unfortunately, that prosperity didn’t last long as a deadly and ominous force called The Darkness appeared, destroying anything in its path and nearly tearing down everything Humans had built. This kicked off an event called The Collapse and everything in the galaxy took a toll because of it. The most important and unfortunate casualty was The Traveler itself as, in its last act, protected the Earth with its unresponsive body shielding the newly-built Last City.
There was an interesting moment when we finally run into the Taken again. As new players, the game acted as if The Taken King never happened. With the possibility of a lot of these moments popping up, how have you handled the whole new player vs. returning player conundrum?
Destiny 2 is laying the groundwork for outstanding storytelling and unforgettable moments. It's setting a solid foundation for the game it always wanted to be, while delivering the things Destiny never could. It’s an exciting time to be a Guardian even if it means the Last City falling only to pick ourselves up one more time. At least this time, there are those worth fighting for.
Outside of The Hive, The Cabal are arguably the biggest threat to Humanity. Similar to the Fallen, because apparently aliens like to follow one another, these hulking beasts came after The Collapse, but the difference comes in the form of rank and organization. While the Fallen are more multiple competing tribes, the Cabal are a consolidated race that doesn’t reason with other species; they only take what they want and do what they believe is best for their empire. Sure, there are mutinies, but they’re a militarized civilization. Unfortunately, not a whole lot is known about them prior to the events of Destiny outside of their constant advance of colonization within the solar system, namely taking over Mars and its moon, Phobos.