(Don't know why I put this in the lore section, but there's not a 'story' or 'gameplay' section in the Feedback section that accurately describes what I'm talking about.)
I remember this Kotaku article back when Jason Schreier first started to leak details about Destiny 2's development. One of the things mentioned where vast open worlds with settlements and outposts littered throughout. To be fair, this was probably an ambitious early prototype, but I feel like some of this should be in Destiny 2 given Bungievision's stupidly large budget and support studio structure, as being able to seamlessly stroll from the wildlands of the EDZ into the farm or another outpost would have done WONDERS for immersion and making the worlds feel more alive.
Because right now, you have a large space filled with enemies and one friendly NPC, and whatever other Guardians happen to be roaming around. This would work for fringe areas or lost planets such as Io, but I feel like the EDZ, where all the refugees supposedly went, and Titan, where the entire Vanguard fleet went, I feel like outposts are a requirement for this open world. Gameplay-wise, this allows for more unique vendors and areas to visit, more things to do and see, another way to break up the constant shooting that isn't a loading screen, and interesting side missions such as escorting refugee convoys to the outposts, militia patrols (as Devrim Kay proves the existence of a city militia) , or helping the friendly NPCs defend their outposts from enemy attack. You would do this by helping normal people fight the Red Legion or Fallen or what have you, and you would be fulfilling your role as a Guardian THROUGH GAMEPLAY in a way that's more personal and grander in scale (due to friendly NPCs fighting with you) than the public events in a matter akin to the relationship between Master Chief and the marines in Halo, or the grunts and pilots in Titanfall. Also, the potential for scale here allows you to feel like part of something larger, a small battle as opposed to isolated firefights where one guy shoots inconsequential mobs of 6-or-7 enemies, and just ramping that up when a PE rolls around. (Speaking of which, please add enemy A.I. that actually patrols the area and moves through the landscape rather than stands around and waits to get shot at)
All of this compared to the industry standards for open-world or open-sandbox games may seem a bit formulaic (I'm sure by my descriptions people are thinking of the Far Cry games), but it would make the worlds so much more dynamic. And again, we would be able to see what difference we Guardians can make through gameplay, and not a cutscene.
Please, Bungie. I know its too late for Destiny 2, but please consider this for a DLC or sequel.
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I once walked into the Endless Gate on Io with this random doing the Io Quest. He wasn't in my fireteam so he went to his version of the cave. The Vex inside for me glitched out and didn't even look at me. They were completely harmless, even when I shot them. I found out it was a glitch once I shot one and it regenerated its health immediately. Still, made for some kickass screenshots and I hope it will happen again someday, maybe for Hive or Fallen.