Just want to start by clarifying this isn't a dig, it isn't an attempt to remove a game mode you like, it isnt an attack on other players class/guns/activities. It is just how i feel about how the game is at the moment in the vague hope a mod can get this to someone in development.
I've played Destiny from the Alpha and bought each DLC when it came out or on preorder, with the exception of Forsaken as i just wasn't enjoying it. Before Destiny id never really done PVP or raids. It introduced me to both and PVP is something ive grown to enjoy. Mostly.
I find myself again feeling like im not supposed to be part of the community. Like my way of playing the game isn't part of Bungies 'vision'. Constantly feeling like im spending my time playing catchup either in power levels or weapons and not actually having fun.
For me it started when raids became increasingly convoluted meaning teaching took ages. Then with leviathan you introduced the one revive mechanic. Meaning that im painfully aware im holding teams back when we have to keep wiping or watching some other blueberry going through the same. Generally speaking teams are amazing about it but its not fun knowing you're holding people up.
PVP is now dead for me. I was logging on most days last season and doing bounties, i actually felt I was making progress going from a 1.3 to a 1.4/5. Even with autorifles everywhere. Then you've brought in CBMM and the fun has gone. Not once since the changeover have i felt anything. I realised when my missus pointed out id been playing for an hour and hadn't made a sound. You used to really want to get that guardian who keeps using cheap shots, get satisfaction from chasing someone down. All gone now.
I hope the high tier players are enjoying it because im really not.
Leveling up pointless things seems to be the seasonal objective and for the life of me I can't figure out why. I spent ages levelling up the Osiris stuff. Gone.
Levelled up the bunkers, locked, because reasons. (You could have used them to track contact events by the way).
Sunsetting weapons is understandable but really shouldn't include pinnacle weapons. Maybe to get Lunas wasn't a grind for some players but for me it was. I spent a couple of hours a week and finally got it. Knowing that i had tried to get it made it more fun to use and was looking forward to getting Not Forgotten at some point. Now it seems pointless. Like Bungie saying "hey you worked hard to get something but were bored of that now. But hey, heres another emote/finisher"
Even with major burnout for season of the bounty I would still have been plugging away in PVP, trying to get Luna's Howl just for a personal achievement.
But between sunsetting, skill based matchmaking and removal of AFK forge farms to get cores I just can't find the will to log on.
Im sure there are plenty of players who are happy to grind bounties to get a slightly better role and relish spending hours replaying the same thing. I really hope that enough of the community follow Lukes 'vision' for the game. To keep it going. Its been a constant in my life for years now and wish it well. My concern is that he hasn't realised player feedback is more important than his vision.
TLDR:
A game i loved has changed into a chore for me and im bummed out.
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Fellow career-focused guardian, I hope this helps. To your pvp comment: I think an important question to ask yourself is why are these people better than you? What are they doing better than you? It isn't constructive for you to blame them for being good. That isn't helping anybody. In fact those of us who are good are just going to keep playing not really caring. Things that season players tend to watch out for are flow of combat, movement, the ability to control how people move, etc. For example, I know that if people are going to rush and be aggressive with auto rifles then if I use my cold denial and draw them out and open There is a higher chance I will win those engagements. Autos are terrible near cover, and 340 pulses and hand cannons have them beat when cover is around. If they draw me in the opening open I'm dead. Or, if I'm going to get a team of snipers, I know they're going to try to lane. And if they are doing it right they have successfully psyched me out. So I have two choices: either out snipe them through sliding and speeding through, or close the gap as fast as possible from weird angles. I'm no slouch myself, but I know that there are plenty people I play against that are better than me. People like deicyde. But, through practicing these things that most other people don't think about. Allows me to make the right decisions quickly in the middle of a gunfight. You see red stop running. Get ready to engage. You see more than one person, use cover to force a one-on-one. Do not triple engage. They will eat you. Know where your team is. Don't get caught alone. Or be extremely mobile if you are alone. These are just a few things that taken to account when I play. I'm not trying to make you into a pvp God. I'm just wanting you to look through a different lens. As for your other concerns: I understand where you're coming from. Last season was terrible. There's no getting around that. I didn't play anywhere near as much. It really did feel like a chore. So I took huge breaks and played other games. There's no shame in that. Come back when the iron is hot for you. Don't force yourself to spend the time you have playing something that you don't enjoy. I enjoy playing 6v6 atm. i enjoy raiding when I have a group together. I enjoy getting the catalysts (currently working on bad juju). I don't enjoy the bounties, so I pick up a few here and there. Don't really care for the strikes atm so I don't run those unless I have to. You pick how your time is spent.