Destiny 2 — What’s going on here then?
So back in late 2014, Bungie released their Halo like game Destiny. The game was launched as a PlayStation exclusive, meaning that all in-game content was pushed towards the PlayStation before any other platforms. Certain in-game items and content were also held exclusive for the PlayStation players only. In game items like the Hawkmoon hand-cannon. If you ever played Trials of Osiris in Destiny, you will know how over-powered this gun was!
Needless to say with Bungie’s previously massive popular hits such as the Halo series, Bungie has definitely built itself a fairly huge fan base and following. Which is why it is not so surprising that Destiny was one of the most successful and most played games for many. Destiny generated over $500m by just September 2014. I, myself was one of those that was rather addicted to the game, even completing multiple raids (an extremely long mission!) flawlessly (neither you or a member of your team dies once during the entirety of the raid) and even ‘Trials of Osiris’. Spending many hours on the game farming exotic drops, hunting for that allusive Gjallarhorn rocket launcher.
POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD — YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
So long awaited, Bungie has finally released Destiny 2 (still PlayStation exclusive) back in September this year. I’m sure most of you die hard fans, like myself have already got your hands on a copy and most of you should have completed the raid by now. Whether the new raid and its mechanics are to you’re liking, I think we can all admit that Bungie has yet again pulled the cat out of the hat with this one. The game is never short of surprises and is packed with more content than you could imagine. The story line alone goes into great depth; with your guardian gaining back its light and abilities in order to take down the final story mode boss, Ghaul. The after story content is also packed with multiple side missions, exotic quest lines, strikes and crucible (PVP) as always.
One new feature I really about Destiny 2 is the evermore-frequent Public Events that take place across all planets. Bungie has given players that just enjoy exploring the planets more options to increase their light level, without relying on a fireteam to help them progress through the other more challenging missions. This has given players the opportunity to farm for those now less allusive exotic engrams. However, does this mean the game is becoming too easy and less satisfying when stumbling across an exotic?
Another feature that I absolutely love, which myself and my fireteam has recently partaken in, was the guided BETA option for the Nightfall Strike and the Raid. This allows players, who don’t necessarily have a team, to still complete these missions with the help of others. However, I am still unsure on whether you as the helping party receive any form of bonus for helping out other players. If someone could shed some light on that for us that would be great!
There is nothing more satisfying than a positive and collaborative gaming community, where there are players out there that are genuinely happy and willing to help others. If you haven’t already, whether you’re a solo player or a fireteam that is missing one or two players, I would definitely recommend giving it a try.
I have to admit my addiction for Destiny did get a bit out of hand when Destiny 2 was launched. I completed the campaign and got my characters’ level to 20 within a few hours. It only took me a few days to get to around 304 light level. I have now created 2 warlock characters and a hunter, which I am still currently working on.
It is fair to say that my love for Destiny is still strong. However, I have found that the community’s love for Destiny has diminished with the launch of Destiny 2. I have many friends from across the world on my PlayStation network that are refusing to purchase the game. These are the friends that used to tell me when playing Destiny 1, that “Destiny is life!”. This is also clear through the number of copies of the game that have been sold. Destiny 1, in its first week of launch, sold 417K copies, with Destiny 2 in its first week only selling 175K copies. Less than 50%!
I don’t understand what’s caused this massive difference in sales and what’s happened to the player retention of Destiny. I can understand why some players may be frustrated, due to Bungie changing a few things around that has affected the way you play slightly; the removal of self-resurrection for the warlocks, which I must admit I was pretty gutted about. Bungie has also made shotguns and sniper rifles ‘Power Weapons’ rather than ‘Special Weapons’ which has caused a lot of frustration for many players. The dreaded grind; as a veteran Destiny player and struggling through the first Destiny’s grind, it can be rather demotivating to be told that everything is going to be reset and you have to build up again from scratch.
However, in the grand scheme of things these are only minor changes. So I really am surprised at the number and lack of sales Bungie has managed to generate on Destiny 2.
In my opinion though, Bungie has done a pretty good job by my book with Destiny 2. I agree that some of the changes are frustrating, but you get used to them in a matter of minutes and you become so immersed in the game, the changes become the least of your worries. If you haven’t got yourself a copy of Destiny 2 yet, I would definitely recommend it.
I would be interested in hearing your opinion on this; do you own a copy of Destiny 2? What are your thoughts on the game? Why do you think that Destiny 2’s sales have dramatically decreased?
Leave your answers in the comments; I look forward to see what you think!
