Dear Bungie,
Destiny simply isn't what I expected. I've had great respect for the work you guys do from the first time I played Halo with my friends, and I followed the Destiny buildup until its release with edge-of-my-seat anticipation. To me, there's no story more compelling than that of humanity's very survival, and no pursuit more noble than fighting for the preservation of our species. It's what drew me to Halo, and what drew me to Destiny. It's teams of artists such as yourselves, who recognize the inherent nobleness of this concept and seek to bring it to millions, that inspire me, that give me something to look forward to after a long day at the office, that offer me the chance to escape a reality where the difference I make is marginal at best, and enter a reality where I have the chance to make a difference that feels like it matters, if only for a couple of hours every night.
You brought me that sense of purpose and inspiration with Halo. But I don't feel this anymore. In Destiny, with a full loadout of legendary and exotic gear and having played through the full story, experiencing what the Crucible has to offer, battling my way through countless strike missions, finishing every bounty 100 times over, and exploring the complete extent of every map, I'm...bored. But it's worse than being bored. I don't feel anything. I've stuck with the game all these hours, whole days, desperately seeking to feel what I expected to when I first read about Destiny so many months ago. It isn't there.
Although I initially thought that the lack of story was the problem, I've come to realize that the lack of story is only the tip of the iceberg. It's the part that's visible, that every Guardian who's also searching for that sense of purpose and fulfillment in Destiny can readily point to and say "That must be it". And it's a very valid concern. But the core problem with Destiny runs much deeper. The core problem, as far as I see it, is that you're utterly alone in the game.
I'll attempt to expand as best I can. The reason the raid works so well (and is arguably the most successful part of the entire Destiny endeavor) is that it requires massive amounts of teamwork. It provides, upon beating Atheon, a sense of reward and togetherness that no other part of the game currently gives you as a player. I feel as though the team at Bungie would like to bring this experience to the wider majority of the game, but is confused as to how to do so, or is otherwise very conflicted as to how to go about doing so. I want to assure you that doing this would be exceptionally easy, and would make Destiny the game you want it to be and the game that we, the players, want it to be.
My suggestions operate on the assumption that most Destiny players care about the notion of fighting for humanity. It is the premise of the entire game, the reason anyone who enjoys PvE wanted to become a Guardian in the first place. With that in mind, Bungie needs to begin addressing the issue of feeling alone in the game by giving players a shared experience outside of the raid. Sure, if you have enough friends with the game, you can link up a fireteam and do some of the same 4 strikes (now a staggering 5 strikes for only $19.99 on Xbox) you've done 5,000 times over, but the only emotional appeal to this is that you're doing something with your friends for a while, until you get bored, and let me assure you, killing the Archon Priest for the zillionth time is boring - boring enough that the friends I used to play with have quit the game. I feel that many can relate to this situation. In order to make your players feel something deeper and continue to invest in Destiny, we need to be able to actually fight for the very survival of humanity.
Other people have left comments regarding this, and I'm mirroring their ideas and sentiments and not claiming them as my own, though I've had the very same thoughts as them for some time now. Bungie needs to actually put humanity on the brink. As Guardians, we need to be able to get an alert from The Tower while we're out collecting Spinmetal that The City is under a massive attack by The Fallen. We need to be able to see all the players around us disappear, heading to orbit just like we are, mashing our controllers to take us all back to defend The City. Upon arriving, we need to see droves upon droves of enemies marching to the walls, and have a way to get out in front of the walls to fight them in the plains before they reach the gates (troop transport ships on a loop that fly you over the city and drop you into battle, anyone?). We need to see dozens of other Guardians fighting tooth and nail to defend the last bastion of humanity alongside us, and we need this on at least a weekly basis. These kind of encounters can play out all over the solar system, and last a day at a time, giving many players the chance to enter the fight. Ground must be gained and lost, territories threatened, The City seen teetering on a precipice before you and your fellow Guardians prevail (or don't, which leads to many other, ridiculously interesting options for the game, and opportunities to fight for what is lost).
Again, I don't claim such ideas and sentiments as my own, but I wanted to articulate them here in the hopes that someone with a voice inside Bungie HQ might raise these ideas that I very much believe thousands of players yearn for. If ideas like this were baked into the game, this crippling sense of solitude that one often feels while playing would effectively disappear, because we'd all be fighting for something together - something tangible, that we could see and feel and believe in.
While you, Bungie, continue to release patches nerfing hard-earned exotic weapons, killing loot caves, restructuring the raid to prevent players from beating it with human ingenuity, and announcing DLC content that is quite honestly very lackluster and addresses none of the deep, even psychological ineptitudes within the Destiny universe, I assure you that even if the current numbers say otherwise, you are not building a 10 year franchise. Or a 5 year franchise. I'll be curious to know what those numbers reveal once other games are released through the holiday season. Somehow, I don't think they'll be very promising. Not considering what you gave us at launch, and how little you continue to give us. Destiny was a promise of something incredible that never was and still isn't. It could still become that, but my hope is waning, and that's a real shame, because this world you made for us, this repetitive, empty world - it's very pretty.
Thanks for your time. I hope I get the chance to thank you for your efforts in the future.
English
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That was better than all my college essays
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Lol, too funny!
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Edited by Nyroc1990: 10/31/2014 3:53:48 AMThis is exactly how I have felt about destiny. It promised a lot but so far those promises feel like just a marketing scam and it feels like a repeat of Sacred 3 and their marketing "geniuses" taking to much power. That turned out well didn't it. Not to mention screwing long time bungie fans with playstation exclusives.
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Look I agree this was well written and all hut reposting it really bashes this down under all the other autobiography posts.
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It is NEVER appropriate to take story content and hold it regardless of their announcement. I was not expecting PvP to be necessary to complete tasks I am given for completion of PvE bounties. I was not expecting PvP whining to get PvE guns altered. I was not expecting faction merchants to ONLY accept a currency primarily available for playing PvP. I was not expecting to only be able to play casually with two of my friends. I was expecting open world. I was expecting RPG elements superior to Call of $'s leveling, weapon unlock, and prestige systems. I was expecting a story I didn't need to download an app or boot up a PC to READ. Apparently the only thing I was expecting that I got was an awesome Halo feel on a misrepresented, fraudulently marketed, contractually withheld, incomplete shell of a game. I have suggested fixes, but Bungie keeps fluffing PvPkids and their nerf tears.
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Who cares call of duty advanced warfare is coming out ....
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Still giving your money to Activi$ion for Call of $ advanced warfare. If they came out with a dedicated zombies game that wasn't spread across 4 DLC packs...maybe.
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the multiplayer for advanced warfare is gonna be great and it's gonna be 1000x better the the crucible ......destiny gets repetitive and the campaign has like no story,u can't follow it....unlike cods campaign it's a story and u can follow it.
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Yep still am and same with 13 million other people
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If 13 million people set themselves on fire, will you do the same? [spoiler]How about if they give you free DLC?[/spoiler]
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[quote]If 13 million people set themselves on fire, will you do the same? [spoiler]How about if they give you free DLC?[/spoiler][/quote] What a moronic little comparison you attempted there, little princess. He didn't say he's buying the game because everyone else is, but simply that many people are buying the game. Secondly, the most exposure CoD gets is PvP, but that's hardly its focus. Only 30% of people who buy the game ever go into multiplayer.
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If stupid was a 100% fatal disease... [spoiler]there would be 4 million less CoD PvPkids around.[/spoiler]
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If 13 million ppl are buying the best fps game of all time would u .....and I've been playing since cod 4 so I know what I'm getting
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Nope. Not if Activi$ion is publishing it. [b]DEFINITELY NOT [/b] if the focus is going to be all PvP. I will do business with them again IF they put out a dedicated Zombie game, with a story and NO DLC.
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Cod cost the same amount of $ as destiny and in cod doc is optional Same with de$tiny
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The zombie parts if the DLC in one game without having to pay extra $ for each part, is what I would purchase. They can keep the rest of it.
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This right here.
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Keep up the bump!
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How about during PvP matches in crucible an "event" happens randomly and the very guardians you we against now need to unite 12vs enemy hive.
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Yes yes yes!!! (Throws life saving at you) make it happen!
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Let me know what you think of this game mode (control objective game). You are on a team, but the winner is the one with the highest score at the end. At random points in the game, the teams change. So you could be working with your team to capture a control point, and all the sudden, the very people you were working with become enemies, and your previous foes become allies. These things happen at random times, and the winner is the one with the most points at the end. This would provide a way to still do well if your team sucks; you will eventually change. However, you can't just suck and get carried by your team. It provides a team style gameplay with a free for all point system. Thoughts? Who would want this mode?
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You know I actually am starting to like the game but I can't do that if there are people bashing it all the time. If you actually sat down played with friends and tried at least a little you might have fun.Get a fire team with your "friends" and do a strike have fun, enjoy it . I too once felt this way until I told my friends the pros and cons of the game like as you said it is repetitive and it's the same sh*t every time but you don't think that way about call of duty, noo you love that game because it's different well guess what it's not. It's the same thing over and over and over, run and gun run and gun it's the same crap every fuc*ing year. At least appreciate that this game has multiple modes, strikes, raids and missions if you've done them then try the dlc genius. Stop bashing and start appreciating how unique this game really is.
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i agree. these forums are plagued with annoying douchebags who think empty threats of desertion will get them free content. most of these people are at the 200 hour mark, crying about how much the game sucks. if it's boring, unbalanced and all around bad, why did they play it for 8 straight days? they're just desperate for new content and don't want to pay for it. simple as that. i paid for a sixty dollar game and that's exactly what i got. even more so, in my opinion.