The Problem with Mainstream Appeal

The biggest improvement was the most recent update fixing a massive number of woes that have been plaguing Destiny 2 since day one and adding certain improvements where needed. Sniper rifles are useful now; it’s been six months and a weapon choice has been entirely useless up to this point. For anyone who played Destiny, jumping back in now will bring you right back to when Icebreaker was popping Vex heads off from a comfy distance. This isn’t just a rant about snipers being bad and boo-hoo, this is just one major example of one of the many pitfalls Destiny 2 has been filling in. The best part is all weapon choices seem to have gotten a nice healthy balance. Every gun feels good to use and is reminding me more of old play in Destiny with the improvement of Destiny 2. Classes have also seen dramatic improvements; not once did I find myself using the Sunbreaker until this most recent patch.

Those looking for some competitive action will find it, once again, in the Crucible. Overseen by Lord Shaxx, the Crucible has undergone some radical transformation since the original game. All game modes are now 4v4, down from 6v6. Whether this is a positive change for the franchise will remain a mystery until players get their hands all over it.

It's a bit nerve-racking that lore, while mentioned, didn’t come up that much, other than story content. With such a serious overhaul to story, gameplay and the two combined, it’s odd that Bungie would leave out what they’ve done for Destiny lore access to the player base. They introduced a number of needed fixes (maps) and while these are already a drastic improvement to the core Destiny game, lore seems out of reach for the moment. It’s not to say that Bungie won’t talk about it later, but still. While not showcasing access to lore, it's most certainly there. For lore nerds like myself, Destiny 2 already looks to be a dream come true.

We’re not bringing back any of the old weapons and armor because all that stuff is turned to ash and dust by the Cabal. That’s one of the great things about Destiny 2. It enables us to create a brand-new tale with a fresh start for every single player. Whether you’re someone who looked at Destiny 2 subclass balance from afar, feeling like you couldn’t jump into the world or feeling like you’ve been left behind, or whether you’re a veteran player with 100% completion in your record book, you are all joining this new adventure on equal footing. You will be attacked in the same moment. You will all lose the things that your Guardian holds dear. You will all need to go out into the wild and rebuild from the ground up.

[DeeJ] We pick up the adventure where it last left off. You are a Guardian of the last safe city, except it’s not so safe anymore. The entire might of the Cabal military descend upon you. Dominus Ghaul leads the Red Legion, the most dreaded fighting force in Cabal Empire to scatter the Guardians across the Solar System and capture the Traveler for himself. So, in the opening act, we lose everything that makes us a Guardian. Our power, our weapons, our armor, it’s all gone. Scattered into the wild, we’re going to find new subclasses, new power, new weapons and armor so that we can become more powerful, regroup the survivors, and launch an attack to reclaim that was rightfully ours.

The Taken are a fightable enemy in Destiny 2 in both the story and out in the open areas. There aren’t any new enemy types within the Taken race, but it’s still entertaining to fight them. The different tactics they use compared to their non-Taken counterparts make them a more unpredictable foe.

Then thoughts of what Bungie had envisioned for Guided Games began cropping up in my head. When Bungie announced Guided Games, it seemed exciting. Here was a feature that would ease the stress of finding a group and knowing that group could be handpicked by the seeker. It meant not having to sift through toxicity, feeling a bit closer to strangers and maybe making a friend or two along the way. Guided Games has a long way to go and needs some serious refinement. I was not about to spend another hour waiting for the next group, for fear of having the same thing happen all over again. Destiny 2’s Leviathan was proving to be more of a monster than first imagined.

For game modes, the vast majority of game modes from the original game are back, alongside two new modes: Survival and Countdown. Survival gives each team a shared-pool of eight lives. Once that depletes, permadeath kicks in. The last team standing wins. Countdown is Destiny 2’s take on Search and Destroy. The attacking team attempts to plant a bomb, and the defending team must either defuse it or kill the entire team before it detonates. The first team to five victories wins.

With 2018 in full swing, a solid first quarter down and plenty of games to keep anyone happy, Destiny 2 is likely not on the mind. Bungie has been straightening Destiny 2 out, though, and it finds itself on almost the exact same path that its predecessor took. This isn’t a bad path, but it leaves a a bland taste in the mouth. It’s medicine that can be swallowed with maybe some slight discomfort from past experiences. Destiny 2 will continue to course correct, and those improvements do help the game, but do they help it enough? That’s up for the player to decide, because making things work that should have been working all along isn’t a reason to come back.