Destiny is like a spaceship trying to fly too close to the sun. It got to close, Now it's trying to turn back around, but the damage is already done. Bungie can try and fix it all they want, but it will never be their original vision. The current state of Destiny 2 is lacking and is just completely poor. I have noticed a few problems with the core mechanics of the game which not only impact things daily with the game but also completely makes the endgame of Destiny 2 irrelevant and lackluster. I don't know how Bungie messed up this bad. Not just with microtransactions, but also just their lack of communication with the player base. Also, sorry if some of the points drag on a bit since they probably will. Note: I am no expert at Destiny or Destiny 2, but I can tell what does or doesn't work in Destiny. I've played since The Dark Below, and I wanted to state my opinions about the current state of Destiny 2 compared to Destiny 1. 1. [u]Leveling[/u] - Leveling in destiny 2 has become a joke. At this point, EVERYTHING can give you powerful rewards. At the beginning of Black Armory, my titan was around 590 in terms of power. I was able to reach 650 in the span of THREE WEEKS after the expansion dropped. I know certain things level you up faster in terms of "powerful reward" drops, but most activities can give you a higher level. This boost in the ability to gain power so fast makes the grind a lot more pointless. Max-level is no longer an achievement anymore. Instead, it is just a hurdle to be able to do the "endgame". 2. [u]"Endgame"[/u] - I feel that there were three important components that applied to the endgame in Destiny 1, which is not currently present in Destiny 2. That being said, all three definitely contribute to the weekly grind. 2A. [u]Raids[/u] - Destiny 2's raiding has become a joke. This is especially the case for older raids, like the Leviathan (and raid lairs). The loot that the Leviathan provides is lack-luster and provides little to no incentives to grind it out each week. Some people may not agree with this statement, probably because of weapons like Midknight Coup and Zenith of Your Kind. However, both of these weapons can be replaced with newer weapons of the same archetype. The previously stated Leviathan weapons can be replaced with a good rolled Kindled Orchid or Nation of Beasts and the Ikelos weapon respectively. Therefore, there is not really any reason to tread back to old raids besides quote-unquote "nostalgia". Another problem I have with raids, especially the older ones, is powerful gear. When I say this, I mean any gear that is given from certain activities that are an increase based off the current average of your gear's power level. The reason why it is a problem is due to an oversaturation of powerful rewards, and the effect it has on raids. This does not affect Leviathan though, because how can there be an "oversaturation" when there is currently no powerful rewards present? Jokes aside, Bungie has now created an endgame where the grinding of "powerful rewards" in everyday activities is emphasized, instead of doing raids for powerful gear. This begs the question, why do raids when you can just do any other activity and receive rewards at the same level? 2B. [u]Exotics, or the lack thereof[/u]. - I HATE exotics in destiny 2. Specifically, the way they are presented. Besides a few chosen, most can be replaced with a better rolled legendary. Not all exotics are bad, but most don't have enough exclusiveness or uniqueness to be wasted on your exotic spot. To name a few: Hard Light, Crimson, Rat King, Mida, Sturm, Wordline Zero, Prospector, Lord of Wolves, The Jade Rabbit, and so on and so forth. Of course, you don't need to know why some armor pieces aren't worth the slot *cough* *cough* Anteus Ward, Aeon Exotics *cough* *cough*. Exotic chests in Destiny 1 were almost always coveted, due to most exotics not being complete trash. It also added an extra layer to the game as most endgame activities, such as the nightfall and raids, had a chance to drop powerful exotics (Gjallarhorn). 2C. [u]Variety of Content and Replayability[/u] With a lack of unique and powerful weapons, a lack of unique exotics, and the barren wasteland that is Levithan LFG, why would there be any incentive to do "endgame" activities for gear? That's right., there isn't. Only a selected few activities can give you items like the powerful exotics I mentioned to you earlier. However, even those exotics are scarce to the added in rng needed to get those weapons (I'm talking about you 1K voices.) Other than that, it's just a dry cycle of important and frustrating grinding. Even if you do manage to get the powerful weapons mentioned before, there's nowhere to use them. No hierarchy in terms of content. No "next level" or "powerful weapons" to achieve. No incentive to grind the infinite loop anymore. There are no longer layers to Destiny. Only 2 repetitive cycles; grinding powerful rewards, then grinding the activities that give you high their weapons. You plateau in an instant, and it's extremely boring. NO replayability, NO second their loot. Just a large loot pool which you can only be blessed with if RNG wants you to have those certain weapons you're aiming towards. 3. [u]The Costs of Destiny 2[/u] Bungie's/Activision's model in terms of monetization for Destiny 2 is disgusting, as is with most Triple-A games nowadays *cough* black ops 4 selling a reticle for a dollar *cough*. Excuse me, back on topic. The evolution, more like the unwanted mutation, of Destiny 2's microtransaction has gotten out of hand. I can't tell if it's Activision or Bungie pulling the strings, but either way, it's completely and utterly terrible the way they handle Eververse. It started out being simple "cosmetic masks" and "weapon coloring" but it slowly got worse over time. Now it's "buy emotes, [u]randomly[/u] rolled armor, ornaments, shaders, ships, and [u]randomly[/u] rolled ghost". Not to mention, you can only buy certain things with certain currency, MAKING you pay for certain things. Things like the ornaments for Whisper and Thunderlord can only be purchased with REAL MONEY. Why just why, wouldn't they add it to in-game loot pools? Greediness, of course. Adding them into the game would incentivize players to grind more, and actually, give them something to do. Especially since Destiny 2 nowadays is just a fashion show due to the lack of incentive and endgame. It just doesn't make sense. Going off topic for a second I want to talk about the April update in Destiny 1. The April update is what I believe to be the best update in Destiny History. For 1, It was COMPLETELY FREE. 2, It provided days, if not weeks of content due to the revamped raids. The perfect balance for an update to an already decent game, as the Taken King expansion was previously released before the April update. It makes me sad to see how they no longer do this in Destiny 2. Every major update in Destiny 2 can only be truly accessed when you pay for them. And all of them, except for Forsaken, have been bad. Yes, this includes the slow and boring trickle of content known as "Black Armory". However, what really angers me is the fact that they baited Forsaken by promising lots of content, charging forty dollars even after the catastrophes that were the past two expansion, then adding it to the season pass a month afterward. The only compensation to players who bought it for FORTY DOLLARS was a two emotes, some shaders, and an exclusive emblem. That's all. Do you really think that was worth the price? No. A few cosmetics are not worth that cost. It just proves how Greedy some publishers have become. And I thought that the so-called "cosmetic shop" was created to fund large, but free, expansions. Now I can see how Bungie lied. Welcome to the end of the Marathon, my friend. Thanks for reading this. Pray to rnjesus that this game gets any worse than it already is. Also, please don't buy anything in the cosmetic shop with real money. It only makes Bungie's ego bigger. It's like the players and Bungie are in 2 different echo chambers. The players repeatedly ask for what they want, but cannot be heard. Bungie makes incorrect fixes that players don't want, and constantly ignore players. When will this loop end?