Destiny, the game that is more divisive than the 2016 Election.
There are those who despise the game and those that blindingly adore it. With its popularity on the rise, a Destiny Community Convention was held two weeks ago in Tampa, expecting a few hundred people. Thousands showed up. Destiny also has one of the most welcoming communities on top of being the most generous, having raised over $500,000 for St.Jude Hospital. But a game cannot only get by on its merit or communities.
In the Rise of Iron expansion there’s a new story that consist of five missions, clocking in at 3-hours long, a new raid (Co-op with six players), two new strikes (same as a raid, but not as complicated with three man teams), a new social hub (think of Towns or Cities in MMORPGs), and new stuff (weapons, armor, vehicles, shaders, emblems, etc). I know what you’re thinking, “five missions? That’s it?” Well yes just five, but it’s the endgame content that is the winner here. Some include the Gjallerhorn quest, others include exploring the new open space called the Plaguelands. All of this is to get you prepared for the new Raid called Wrath of the Machines. The two “New” strikes are rehashes of old ones, Septiks Perfected and Abomination Heist; Devil’s Lair and The Summoning Pits, respectively. The other strike is the Wretched Eye, I have the Xbox version so I do not have the second new strike.
But this is where the problems start to arise for new players and year one players that took time off. If you hated “The Destiny Grind” before, guess what? It’s back for you to be level ready for the raid. You need to be at least level 365 and the grind to 350 is easy. As soon as you get to level 350 advancing level drops fall and the grind becomes all too real. Not even Archon’s Forge (Bungie’s third attempt at a Horde mode) helps one iota. The only help you get is that legendaries; when they do drop, it will advance your light. To stop loot farming Bungie introduced Skeleton Keys, now at the end of every strike a treasure chest appears. You can open it for Strike specific loot. SOUNDS GREAT, RIGHT! Skeleton keys are rarer to drop than a Black and Blue steak and the only way to start an Archon’s Forge activity you need a key. Those key drops just as rare as a Skeleton Key. Even with the hot fix (patch) Bungie released on Thursday (09/29).
Now onto PvP, as a non-Crucible player, Crucible has become fun and with the addition of Private matches. Supremacy aka Kill Confirmed a la Call of Duty, and the sniper rifle nerfs; it’s become more forgiving to the person who doesn’t competitively play the Crucible. They added three new maps, one of which is a Playstation exclusive. Both seem okay, but both are close quarters so shotgunners are the preferred user.
By the time this review is posted, Iron Banner will be released and this week already saw the return of the Trials of Osiris. For those that do not know, Iron Banner is the same as regular Crucible (usually teams battles), except you’re light level matters. If you are a 350 Guardian and you shoot a 316 Guardian he will die quickly, on the other hand Trials of Osiris is 3-on-3 elimination, therefore you can revive a fallen companion. This biggest change was the introduction of Private Matches and nerfing/buffing weapons.
Bungie stated way back in June that ROI will be an expansion as big as House of Wolves, but not as game changing as Taken King. They were right. The story is lackluster, par for the course with Destiny, but the addition of a new social space, Felwinter’s Peak, makes up a little for the PvE content. What also helped was the new quests and how they are slowly being rolled out. The Destiny fan-base wish for more content, others want changes to the quality of life aspects of the game, and some want changes to the Crucible. Yet, while Destiny may have its flaws, for any guru of the FPS kind it’s an enjoyable experience not to be missed.
