I’ve written a massive amount about Destiny 2 over the past couple of years. But I’ve not published most of it. The reason being, that even though I ended up being so disappointed with it shortly after launch, I never wanted to bad-mouth a universe that I’d grown to love.
The internet isn’t short of overly-vocal complainants, so why add my voice to the pile?
Fact is, I love Destiny, and have done since very early on in Destiny 1. Hundreds of hours spent grinding, like actually grinding those original exotic quests (looking at you Bad JuJu and Thorn….).
I loved Destiny at it’s worst, because it was always solid to play. As it evolved and we got to the end of it’s lifecycle, Destiny was in a great place.
So of course Destiny 2 had everyone hyped to build on this world that had been built and fixed and improved-upon. Only to be quite disappointed with new design decisions, lack of content to replay etc etc.
I’m not here to go on about it or go into the bits that I didn’t like, it’s done. Honestly, it’s not recognisable now from what it was then. That’s what I’m here to say.
Bringing me back in
For a bit of context, it’s worth explaining how and why I came back to Destiny 2 after quite a long break.
After Forsaken, I found myself un-engaged. Forsaken was excellent and a massive step-up, particularly after the Osiris DLC…..Warmind was fine, but Forsaken was that first big step in the right direction.
But gaining the new subclasses was a ballache, the story was great and the additional strikes etc were good. It still didn’t have enough to keep me going. And the levelling system just meant a massive grind for no real purpose.
So to see that the next slew of content was behind yet another paywall (season pass), I said no. I’ve spent too much money on a game that just wants more cash for drip-fed content.
I didn’t feel like I was getting any value.
Things have changed though. Activision and Bungie have gone their seperate ways. Intriguing, yes. Enough? No.
A video was released around where Destiny 2 is going next. Shadowkeep, MMORPG-heavy elements. Some sincerity about how Bungie want the game to be. Ok, I’m listening.
Then, the season pass was on sale…..
That was it, I was open to giving her another go.
With Black Armory content, Gambit stuff, new story missions, new exotics to chase. The menagerie, more raids, improved levelling with powerful engrams, and even a change in the way that the Eververse store works.
There’s been plenty to sink my teeth into, and I’m really pleased I did.
Destiny time
Honestly, I expected to be overwhelmed. And I was. So many on-screen messages to read about things I didn’t really know about. Loads of flashing icons on the map. Oh shit, that’s a lot of stuff to do.
Where do you begin?
Luckily, I’d done a bit of pre-reading, and it was clear to me that I had to get straight on with levelling up to a reasonable power level. With the cap now at 750, and my highest (Hunter) being in the 500’s, I was concerned that I’d be stuck in a grind before I’d even began.
There’s a quest line though, to get you to the menagerie (new PvE event as part of the season of opulence), and you can earn gear quite quickly to get you to light level 690.
Within a couple of hours, I was able to tackle most of the content. Sure some of the heroic stuff was (still is) beyond my reach, but there’s so much to go at without it.
Destiny 2 has become what I’d always hoped it would be. My daily dip-in and dip-out grind. I can spend 20 minutes and achieve something, or I can spend a few hours, and really benefit from it.
I’ve only done one of the forges from the Black Armoury quests, so I have that to do, they’ve just released more content for the new triumphs and Bad JuJu (awful gun….). There’s The Menagerie, which I really enjoy running through. The Blind Well, which I skipped after completing the Forsaken Story line.
New strikes, new raids. I am set for months and months at this rate.
My hunter is coming back to life and I’m beginning to feel the inclination to push my Titan and Warlock onward a little. Essentially adding 200% more stuff to do!
Dive back in
If you’re like me and borderline started to dislike Destiny 2, all I can say is, get back on board now.
This is very much the Destiny I fell in love with originally, and I couldn’t be happier to be back here slaying Vex, Hive, Taken, Cabal and Fallen.
Not every activity is going to be your thing, but the variety that you have now is wonderful. You might have to dip into the crucible for some quest steps, but it’s nice to break things up a bit.
Gambit is a nice PvE/PvP crossover and the Forges, Blind Well and Menagerie offer some nice non-story PvE events.
Damn, I needed the break and the distance. But I kinda wish I’d given Bungie the benefit of the doubt here.
If you like Destiny and you maybe dropped off, I promise you it’s a great time to dive in again. Go for it.
I’ll see you star-side Guardian.