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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Mass Effect 3 failed in a lot of ways, but you always felt immersed in the world. The signs of war were everywhere and you always felt that sense of urgency and danger the story dictated. Destiny needs that.
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Bump. Your right!
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I want to play this game described above!
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How many MMO's have you played at length? Most of what people are complaining about here, many others are paying $15 a month to do and it's an expected part of the game..we get to do it for free... And most mmo's every major update some OP class of the day gets nerfed..tears are shed, we get over it and move on...this ISNT -blam!-ing COD IN SPACE
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Wait, what?
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Play a free trial of WOW or SWTOR, if your Mommy and Daddy's computer can handle the minimum system requirements, and you'll see some crap that looks familiar to what everyone is complaining about they have to do on destiny.
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Ummm, yes?
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I have 14 level 55s in swtor. They gave me 8 unique class stories (some of which were really good), and have given me at this point several raids. The problem with Destiny is it seems to have all the disadvantages of both shooters and MMOs and much fewer of their strengths.
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Yes, but the FPS crowd has no concept of repetitive farming/strikes/raid til you can do it in your sleep...then just maybe we might get one good reward for every 10times... They would just rather bitch,piss,moan, and whine until the whole point of playing the game is gifted to them. But I'm probably going to check revan out in December and see what my first cartel pack armor/weapon sets go for these days
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Even so this game really does seem to have the worst of all worlds. I've played several MMOs and have never encountered such an awful, convoluted, loot system in my life. I've played several shooters and none have had such a sparse and forgettable story (though I'm sure such exist)
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[quote]Play a free trial of WOW or SWTOR, if your Mommy and Daddy's computer can handle the minimum system requirements, and you'll see some crap that looks familiar to what everyone is complaining about they have to do on destiny.[/quote] I personally loved the grind on WoW tho. I ran a pretty nice guild back in wotlk
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It just seems that the majority of the crybabies are complaining about what mmo gamers have done for years all the while paying $15/month to do it... And I'd love to see the rage over extended every Tuesday maintenance for this game...lol
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[quote]It just seems that the majority of the crybabies are complaining about what mmo gamers have done for years all the while paying $15/month to do it... And I'd love to see the rage over extended every Tuesday maintenance for this game...lol[/quote] Oh ya fersure. Destiny has tons of advantages that's why I love it an believe in this game so much. I think everyone really wants bungie to know what potential they really have here.
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Can't say I LOVE IT, but with lack of a next gen library of great games...coupled with the excitement of the RARE purple engrams still(Monte Carlo today) it's keeping me occupied. And at least there isn't any Chinese glimmer farmers and the Brazillian dial-up isn't interfering in this game as much as others battle*cough*field4
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Or the d2 xp farmers ...
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Haha Chinese gold farmers ahhhh so funny
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Geez man. How much free time do you have lol
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That was deep. I respect this long thing that I didn't fully read. (Not saying that in an a hole way, just too lazy) But I'll wait for this DLC, and it seems pretty worth it. (If the story missions last more than 1 hour) But hey, 60% of us are twelve, so, excited, blibbidy bloo, blah blah.
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*claps* My god the description of that event was truly beautiful, and truly awe inspiring. I am starting to feel the same way, I feel no sense of togetherness unless tackling the raid where its a everyone give all, where you exhale the held breath once Atheon is down. I truly want to believe that these first two months have been just a hiccup, because I understand, this game is truly a game of firsts for many. a first for Bungie having never attempted a game of this scale or scope, also a truly first consul MMORPG. also a first for pure consul games that have never played a Game like WoW or Ever Quest, I can see the idea the end result or possible just a result further down the line leading to bigger and better. I have seen so many amazing ideas Bungie can capitalize on, and I hope they have taken notes; to work on them with their cryptic way of letting us know more is coming, Again I say I want to believe. I just hope the realize that with being multi platform and this should be for every game if you do something for one side its a very good idea to equal out the equation. That is if you want to keep up those wonderful profit margins just a small thought and a little tip for a small step on the second part of Bungies business plan
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This is the kind of experience I was expecting with destiny. What I got was a prettier version of Warframe.
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[quote]What I got was a prettier version of Warframe.[/quote] Haha, totally...
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Good post friend
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bump ... er raid fix
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I applaud you, I have never seen the problems with Destiny laid out so clearly. Bungie, I beg of you to listen!