[url=http://www.kotaku.co.uk/2015/03/05/bungie-explains-really-killed-destinys-loot-cave]Yesterday, at GDC, Bungie's John Hopson discussed why they killed the loot cave, and he demonstrated how naive and ignorant Bungie is regarding their game and their players' experiences.[/url] I apologize if a couple of those words come off as harsh, and I'm fully willing to admit that the following may be taken out of context (as it's reported by Kotaku after all), but I honestly find some of this alarming. I don't want to get hung up on the loot cave stuff. Instead, consider the other things Mr. Hopson reportedly said at this panel. [quote]One person got up to ask why they didn't have a Gjallarhorn despite playing for over 700 hours. Hopson said that unfortunately, someone had to end up being that unlucky.[/quote] So let's just consider this for a second. Bungie purposefully designed a system in which they acknowledged some of its player base would have a frustrating, unfulfilling experience. And they're okay with that. For the record, my personal experience is 450 hours and no Gjallarhorn. It really isn't all that uncommon for players to chase specific things in the game (despite the fact that there are mostly no ways to chase most of the desirable things in the game) and invest weeks of their lives into the game and not get that thing. And then, when it finally happens, if it ever does (statistically speaking, there's no guarantee), it's likely going to come from a low-level greg in the Cosmodrome. Not because we're pounding loot caves, but because the reality of the game (which Mr. Hopson seems to not know) is that most of our desirable gear has come this way. If it doesn't come from a random drop off a random low-level combatant, it might come at the end of an activity we've already completed ad nauseum. Thus, obtaining this stuff is neither memorable nor fulfilling. And Bungie is okay with this. Furthermore: [quote]Hopson mentioned that Bungie didn't expect the random drops to be as big of a deal as they ended up being. What they were expecting was for players to simply buy better gear, and to have random drops act as the cherry on top, so to speak. Instead, players have latched onto the RNG, and it's affecting their perception of the game.[/quote] Tell me, what better gear did they intend for us to buy? Is there some vendor hidden in some corner of the tower that offers max. light level gear? Is there a vendor in the tower that sells gear that isn't ultimately irrelevant? Of the gear that is offered in the tower, is there a plethora of variety for us to choose from? Where exactly is this better gear that they intend for us to buy? Certainly, Xur offers us exotic wares, though his offering is pretty limited. As well, the use of exotics is also limited. But beyond Xur, there isn't really much that we can buy that's ultimately useful and/or desirable. In terms of armor, the vendor gear is not varied, and it's ultimately a stepping stone to max light level gear, so there's little incentive to buy a bunch of it and mix up stats and perks. Not only is the effect minimal, but there's just no point in grinding to build up gear you're inevitably going to dismantle for scraps. As weapons go, most of them just aren't very interesting, and unless we need attack level 331 weaponry, we're better off holding out for favorable rolls in the wild. If we could reroll or customize gear that we could buy... These two statements, however, concern me that Bungie is not fully aware of the realities of their game. Perhaps the intention was to offer us the ability to buy great stuff, but the game we have limits us severely in that regard. If there were a greater variety of stuff on sale, if it were desirable, and if it were accessible, it might be a different story. But the statement that Hopson thinks we like the RNG mechanic, that we've "latched onto it," is worrisome. We haven't latched onto it for any other reason than that we just have no other options for obtaining this desirable stuff. Also the RNG mechanic in its entirety is fundamentally flawed and uninteresting, but that's a completely different topic. For now, I just hope Bungie isn't misinterpreting what their data means. Just because we're hunting engrams instead of buying stuff from vendors doesn't mean we prefer hunting for engrams. It's just that Bungie's vendors are extremely limited in their use and appeal.