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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This. but I love this game. I really do and I know there's going to be a lot more coming from bungie. I'm a grinder though and I know others don't feel the same. Should add world pvp areas too.
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Let this man make my next game please!!!
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Exactly how I feel, just maybe slightly more angry.
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Dedicated bump.
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Wonderfully said! I couldn't agree more. I waste 2 hours a day just doing the daily bounties on all 3 of my level 29 characters. I have 12 exotic and legendary weapons fully upgraded as well. Me and my two friends can't do the VoG raid because we need six to enter and there is no matchmaking to pair us up with another 3 player fireteam. BORED... but hanging in there for now as I have already bought the season pass. At least Destiny multiplayer isn't bad like Watch Dogs :)
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Preach. Can I get an amen?!
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[quote]Preach. Can I get an amen?![/quote] Amen brother
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This is too long please be specific and common sense
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But it's still good what you said
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This man needs to be heard!
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You juste described m'y feeling!
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This is post of the year,amazing
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Edited by Hogwarts: 11/8/2014 11:19:00 AMRight. I don't feel a story. I only log on to level which makes Destiny no better than Candy Crush. I have no emotional attachment to my character or any other character in the game. I don't have a boss or chain of command. I don't seem to have a new family or hobbies. All I do is log on nightly for the lvl 26 daily for shards and try to do a public event for more shards. And I'll log into pvp for my Thorn bounty.
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Well said brother. Well said. Many of my friends have moved on to different games. I find myself bored as well. Wish they would give is something new to work with.
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Bump... This is a good description of the gut feeling I've also had about the game. I've had a lot of self-dialog about rationalizing spending time playing the game more. "Self," I said, "you don't like doing PvP because you're not good at it, and the in-story rationale for Guardian-on-Guardian combat is weak, as are the game types, but that's just your personal preference." "Yes, this is true, and mostly my own preference as opposed to the game" I've replied on many occasion. "The Raids sound cool, but no one you know is on the same platform, but that's just the effect of a short friends list and not enough motivation to go online and find folks," and again I reply "yes, this is true also." But then I must also opine, "I just wish I could create ridiculous game types to use with matchmaking as in Halo (Griffball anyone?), or participate in more story oriented PvP like when one team was the Covenant first round, the other Spartans, and then switched; or simple swarm-based fights like ODST Firefight with matchmaking or friends to practice tactical team-work and weapon skills on the full gamut of maps... Also, why can't I choose my armor colors anymore?" And on the discussion goes, touching your well made points. It always seems like the devil is in the details, but sometimes he's found in the empty spaces, the darkness, the places you stumble into that raise the hairs on the back of your neck and tell you something more is here, but you just can't see it.
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Love the idea about defending the city. Even more, why can we not engage with the city dwellers. We risk our lives for them but never have been there. Also, how about more story engagements with the tower dwellers, the factions? whether or not this was cut from the game is moot at this point. To give the game life, we need to engage with npcs - tower, city, wilderness. to have missions and get back story. that will make it feel more like a living, breathing world. and that is what i thought was Bungie's vision. This is coming from someone who likes the game and expected just a shared world shooter. but within that world, i was expecting it to have more life. to have more and varied activities.
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I'm sick of people saying the story sucked or there is no story. Maybe open your -blam!-ing ears and eyes and you see the great story unfold before you. Destiny is full of retards who don't know what they're talking about apparently. I feel bad for bungie who actually made a great game with a great story. Everyone just seems to miss it. Idiots I say. Watch the game and listen and you'll actually get immersed. I do however agree that there needs to be some sense of fulfillment once you hit level 30 or so
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Really well said. Put the pieces togheter and the story of destiny will be unfold. The legends of Toland,Praedith,Yor and the amazing Kabr are hidden in the game,you have to find them out.
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And for all that is holy please make it where we can see other players kd in the cruc there is no engaging fact to even play in the cruc anymore but it would make it a whole lot better if only i could tell how much better i am than the 12 year old i just destroyed
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[quote]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.[/quote]
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Double bump
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couldn't say it better, nuff said!
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I do agree with this. I also think it's crap that you can transfer evwryting else into the vault but you can't transfer glimmer ????? Common that's the stupidest thing ever . The vault is basically like a safe. And glimmer is basically like money. That's dumb. It's nothing major but I think that needs to be changed.