Why can’t I get into Destiny 2?
I really want to like and play Destiny 2. But recently, I’ve just been somewhat sitting on the outskirts, not actually playing the game at all. Sure, I watched that big announcement on Lightfall. I saw them showing off this place on Neptune, I watched them unveil Strand as their next Dark subclass. And I liked all of it. It was all pretty darn cool.
But there’s something that troubles me. No matter how much cool stuff I see in Destiny 2, I just… can’t seem to get in game and play. Even when I do have friends to play with. Why can’t I get into Destiny 2?
Not a fan of PvP
Normally I’d just ignore PvP, but quite often there are various quests that force you to play some form of PvP to continue. While I will willingly play the odd game of Gambit, I absolutely hate playing any of the other forms of PvP, especially Trials of Osiris/Saint14.
But PvP is a massive part of Destiny 2. So ignoring it doesn’t seem like a good idea. And unlike a lot of things, the Crucible is actually part of lore, an actual thing that happens in-universe, rather than just being tacked on for the sake of it. And there are plenty of good weapons locked behind PvP, which means missing out even more.
Missing features
Okay, sure, we are getting LFG and basic loadouts in future updates. But these are features that should have been in the game, well, from the very start. As of writing though, Destiny 2’s options when it comes to forming teams is insane. Either you play with randoms or you play with friends or clan mates, or you join a massive Discord server which works as an unofficial but also kinda official way to hook up with other players.
Loadouts in particular being missing is the worst for me. I’m terrible at remembering which mods I need for various builds, as well as what armours I should be using. This causes me to just have one generalist build and means I don’t really try out new things. I can see myself playing more if I can swap between builds more easily, but currently, that’s a long way off.
The main grind feels kinda boring
It’s quite often the same loop. Do some bounties for the season pass, do some activities for pinnacle rewards, then repeat. It’s not too bad until you reach the level cap, but when the only things that let you level up are pinnacles, it becomes nothing but a gamble as to whether you do level up or not. If anything, it just feels like a massive chore to me, and I become annoyed when I work hard and end up with pinnacle rewards I can’t use.
Luckily, the various quests and side stuff do make up for the repetition, but most of them are one-off quests that can’t always be repeated, and campaigns generally need an expansion pass to play them.
It’s just too much money
Really, this is the crux of it all. Destiny 2 is just far too expensive. Sure, the base game is actually free to play, but the base game is just that, the base game. It comes with all the PvP stuff and a small platter of some of the PvE content. Destiny 2 on its own is just a demo, which occasionally allows you to demo some of the paid-for content too. The meat of Destiny 2 is in the expansions, and these generally cost 30-40 quid each. However, buying an expansion doesn’t guarantee access to everything. Some things are relegated to season passes, other things are sold separately. For example, I had Season of the Haunted, but would have to buy the related dungeon separately. For more than double the price of a season pass.
You can’t even really skip the expansions and season passes, since they all lead into one another. The season that just ended, Season of the Haunted, explains what (some of) the Cabal are doing with a Darkness Pyramid on the moon. This will lead on into the next major update, Lightfall. But if you didn’t happen to play Season of the Hunted, then the story doesn’t make much sense. If lore is what you want, you’re kinda better off just watching videos on Youtube.
Maybe I’ve just been spoiled by Warframe being almost completely free over the years, but I feel like Destiny 2 is kinda taking the piss with how much money it wants you to spend.