[MW]: We’re just aware of it as you are. It’s harder for us to tell a story, but it has it’s moments. There’s one part in the story where you’re told to speak and Ghost cuts you off. So, we have fun with that.
Destiny 2 Strategy 2 is what Destiny should have been, but it’s not what a sequel should have been. That isn’t to say it isn’t fun; in fact, the world of Destiny has never been more entertaining. Destiny 2 successfully adds plenty of quality of life improvements that make the game less of a grind. An in-game map, Faction Leaders and Public Event tracking make the game more rewarding. An actual campaign, a good amount of Strikes, the Crucible and a plethora of side activities ensure that Destiny 2 will remain in your console’s disc-drive for a long time. In other aspects, however, Destiny 2 feels more of an expansion than it does a sequel. The lack of new enemies is extremely disappointing, which means another few years of fighting enemies we’ve already fought for the past three. While the new worlds offer more spectacle and detail than anything in the Destiny 1 era, they still feel empty without NPCs or an increase in the player count. Then, of course, there are the microtransactions, which gate the franchise’s best customization option behind either a paywall or, if you don’t want to pay, excessive grinding for Bright Engrams. Still, Destiny 2 is fun. It may not be the huge sequel that initial leaks made it out to be, but it’s still more Destiny, and this time it’s far more refined and rewarding.
There’s a lot going on in this Beta, even though it’s relatively small with not a lot to do. The changes so far are mostly positive, showing promise for the real thing. Destiny 2 comes to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on September 6 and then to PC on October 24, so there’s not much time left.
Much of the gameplay changes lie under the hood. Primary, Special and Heavy weapon classifications have been replaced with Kinetic, Energy and Power weapon classifications. While many may lament the fact that Sniper Rifles, Fusion Rifles and Shotguns have been moved to the Power Weapon slot, the changes made to the classifications are ultimately smart. Players now have more viable weapons to choose from, making it easier to melt enemy shields with Energy Weapons, pound unshielded enemies with Kinectic Weaponry and better control crowds with Power Weapons. New gun types like the submachine gun and grenade launcher are thrown in to add more variety and are quite fun to use.
Anyone hoping for more enemy species in Destiny 2 are bound to be disappointed. In addition to the Taken mentioned above, all four of the previous species return. You have the hulking Cabal, four-armed Taken, zombie Hive and time-traveling Vex. It’s disappointing that a named sequel doesn’t have any new species for players to fight, but there are a handful of new things going on within each of the current factions.
Destiny 2 astounds with its fantastic art direction, presenting worlds that are bigger and more detailed. The European Dead Zone and Nessus, in particular, are meticulously crafted worlds filled with wild vegetation, towering trees, and flowing rivers. Effects, lighting, and animation work are also top-notch, helping to make the world of Destiny feel like a real place.
Of course, that’s not all. All the original subclasses return, kind of. You can play as a Nightstalker or Gunslinger Hunter, a Voidwalker or Stormcaller Warlock, or a Striker or Hammer of Sol Titan. A few of the subclasses have been tweaked to be more effective in Destiny 2. For example, a Striker Titan’s Super now allows players to run about and perform multiple ground-pounds, making it a far more useful class. Abilities from the Defender, Sunginsger and Bladedancer subclasses have been absorbed into he new subclasses.
Following your defeat at the hand of Ghaul, it is your duty to rekindle the light, reform the Vanguard and take back what is yours. To do so, you’ll travel to new worlds, meet new allies and make some unexpected discoveries.
Which brings this full circle back to the Strike. With only one Strike to tackle, any Guardian checking out the beta will probably play this a few times. It was with my second group that more problems started to crop up. The beta is a stress test on Destiny 2’s system, so having such sparse…everything…became more noticeable. There is a limited arsenal in Destiny 2 at the moment, and when the party hit the boss, we started to wipe. After the third wipe I began switching out weapons in every combination imaginable, but we just couldn’t land it. Having played Destiny since vanilla, I’d say the skills are there. But here is Destiny 2 presenting itself as challenging, but there is always that inkling that it’s a façade. Again, every Destiny expansion has done this. New encounters, new mechanics, new gear. It makes it all seem like the game has changed, but level up enough, equip the right stuff and that boss that was causing so much grief becomes laughable. One can only hope that this beta is not tricking players into a false experience, but that won’t be revealed until September. So, for now it’s the waiting game.