After having played destiny for a good few weeks (Bungie shows a good six and a half or so days of in-game time), I felt driven to write up a critique on its major failings. These are both from my personal experiences and the experiences I've read online from others. This is a two part critique on the areas I feel Bungie has failed the most, though they result in the same thing. But before I begin, I'd like to say that Destiny is a good game. It's just that it could have been so much more... Destiny: become legend. Or rather, Destiny: become whatever is given to you and feel grateful. When I first went through the story, everything was new and somewhat exciting, but not only that, everything was different. Guns ran through my hands like water, and I experienced a wide variety of perks and stats and looks. But when I reached level 20, this all came to a halt. Guns no longer ran thorugh my hands. Instead, I was devoid of anything new, anything likable. Eventually, I found Xur, the Vanguard store, and the factions, and I began my quest to become like everyone else. The armor didn't have stats I liked, but I needed the light. They didn't have the perks I wanted, but I needed the light. It was going to take weeks to earn the marks to buy them, but I needed the light. At first, I didn't upgrade any of the vanguard pieces because I hated them. I held onto my energies and shards like scrooge with his precious gold, but in the end: I needed the light. By now, I've become much more pliable: I don't scrimp my ascendent materials, because more likely than not, what I want is never going to happen. Destiny has turned me into a pessimist. Whatever happened to "Become Legend?" Look at the legends in game. Kabr refused to be bowed down, and ripped the face off of a Gorgon to make a shield. What a guy. Toland pursued knowledge to the bitter end, eventually going mad. Dredgen Yor felt darkness embracing him, and decided to embrace it back. Me? I'm a nobody. A nobody in a sea of nobodies doing nobody things and buying nobody items. We run the same nobody quests and strikes and turn in the same nobody bounties. We're not legends: we're nobodies. When I look at my fellow warlocks, I see my face on every one. The one who molded my character molded each and every one of them, and we all look the same and use the same weapons. Everyone wears the voidfang vestments nowadays. There's no reason not to, and more likely than not, it's one of the few exotics they've had the chance to own. Guns? They're so rare, just like the armor. You either buy what Xur is selling or buy from a faction. End of story. You're "Legend." I don't feel legend. I don't feel unique. I feel empty. Which leads to my second point, which is the fullness of Destiny. No, this is not about the story. This is about the dichotomy of what I have been told and what truly is. They tell me that we are on the losing side. Earth, Mars, Venus, the Moon, the rest of the known universe: all are held in a stranglehold by the darkness. The earth is empty. The moon is calm. Where is the chaos? Where is the overwhelming darkness? Where is the need for guardians? Patrol feels so empty. I stroll through the hive for no reason. I collect spinmetal plants under gunfire because I simply don't care. If they tell me Mr. Nexus has overstayed his welcome on Venus, I deliver an eviction notice. Aksor broke his curfew? Reign him back in. The Psions got out? Put a belt to their backside. A phrase comes to mind "Born too late to explore the world, too early to explore the universe." This is what playing destiny feels like. The fall seems so interesting, but it's over and done. People like Kabr and Toland and Dredgen played their parts. On the flipside, the impending darkness is too far away to be dealt with, too remote to encounter. Our guardians live in a time of peace, striving not to survive, but to simply find adventure wherever they can. Guardians are not legends: they are bored. Strikes are boring. The dailies are boring. Patrol is boring. In the end, you do your weekly, your nightfall, your dailies, your raid, and your farming, and that's it. Evil doesn't care, and neither do you. You're both just going through the motions. The fallen aren't actually maintining strength on earth, they just want to look like it. The hive don't actually care about the moon, they just felt like building a fortress. The cabal don't really care that you're on mars, they just get their jollies from shooting off explosives. You're not really in a struggle for your life against the forces of darkness, you're just doing whatever you feel like. Where are the front lines to this great battle? Commander, send me to the front! I want action! I want to feel like I'm making a difference in this universe! I don't want to be an errand boy any longer! I don't want to post any more eviction notices! But there is no war. There is only mundanity and repitition. There is a faceless darkness that is halfheartedly taking over the universe. It will take over the last bastion of men not by force, but by boring us to death. Conclusion: I am a nobody being bored to death by a faceless entity. I'm the futuristic, space magic-ey equivalent of a man-child in his grandma's basement thinking he's sticking it to the man. In reality, I'm doing nothing, and the man doesn't care. I want to feel like I am the master of my own destiny, not like I'm living off the charity of Lakshmi (though she is very charitable, and I love her for it) and Lord Saladin (ty for the boots and gloves m8, appreciate it). I want to feel like the darkness truly is trying to destroy mankind, not like it's sitting on its respective planets, sipping martinis. [b]I want to feel not only like I'm making a difference, but that there's a difference that needs to be made. [/b]