How to fix the perception that there is “nothing to do” in Destiny.
Ask yourself these questions.
Do you use pretty much the same 5-6 weapons? Do you steer away from certain exotics for whatever reason? Do you insist on using meta only? Are you only chasing god rolls? Are you only farming materials? Are you forcing yourself to complete all bounties/pinnacle/powerfuls on 3 characters every day/week just to push that power level up because you intend on chasing god rolls and farming materials?
Congratulations! You’ve successfully limited yoursel. Now don’t get me wrong, using meta, god rolls, exotics with great utility, and all of that make perfect sense. You want to be powerful right?
However, this gets stale. You basically run the same gear and use the same strats when doing these activities. The game is already unfortunately devoid of a variety, not so much in terms of activities, but lacking variety in those activities themselves. Forcing yourself through bounties while playing this way just compounds the issue.
Here’s my suggestion. Use Destiny item manager’s load out optimizer. Pick an absurd exotic you would never even think about using, and create a new build around it. Choose weapons that you normally would not use. Mix your play style up. I started doing this when BL dropped and it’s been a blast. I have 5 different sets that I rotate to keep my play style fresh.
The game also gets a bit more difficult. When you use these OP weapon and meta builds, it’s fun as hell tearing through enemies and feeling unstoppable. But if you end up thinking that everything is too easy just realize that this is what contributes to it. There are exotics and weapons that are “closer to the middle” in terms of combat effectiveness, but not anywhere close to OP, and using them should not be looked at as a disadvantage. Consider just for a second that meta weapons are OP. The damage lament does is fucking dumb high. It’s fun melting bosses, yes. But you just played a 10 minute strike to melt the boss and basically skip an encounter to do what? Play it again to skip it again? Everyone’s running through this content using OP shit and then complaining there’s nothing to do and shit is too easy.
Those “mediocre” weapons and exotics should actually be viewed as being closer to a “balance” of our power vs our enemies.
I don’t know about you, but I farm, I chase, I use meta. But all I’m saying is I also just enjoy playing the game. I’ll run these strikes all day and they don’t get stale cause I switch my builds up and just enjoy the gameplay. No other FPS does what Destiny does as well as it does when it comes to combat. So I think its partly our fault as players for not even using half the shit in the game. We’re mad at sunsetting but don’t even use half the things that aren’t being sunset.
This post is purely meant to give a different perspective on “what is there to do”. If you enjoy the gameplay, then just experiment and run whatever the hell you want. I think you’ll find it more enjoyable.
Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
Posted Jan 14, 2021, 9:30 AM UTC
None of this is actually giving people something to do. It's just adding a challenge to the game, which is no different then just telling someone to chase a god roll of a random weapon.
Encouraging someone to switch up their builds and use different weapons is actually something to do. Maybe I should have been more specific. I don’t mean just equip random shit and go at it. But look at an exotic armors perk then create a build that has synergy with it, while avoiding the meta/op weapons. That takes time and is something to do in itself, and, adding challenge to the game is also valid. Case in point would be people calling for “match game” on the DSC to increase the difficulty cause it’s too easy. You could go in there now with non meta/non cheese gear and see how it makes a difference.
Yes, that can/will extend the game and give a player a purpose but that is no different then having a player grind for a god roll of a crap weapon. So it is nothing worthwhile to do, which is what people are complaining about and this will not fix it.
It’s a little different in that it shifts the players experience in combat, and might also introduce them to weapons/archetypes they’d never use. I wouldn’t say experimenting isn’t worthwhile, but I also never said this would solve the lack of content. It’s just “something to do” that isn’t grind oriented and is more of a creative thing you can do as a player. “extending the game” is a good way to put it because we have things to do... they’re just the same things we’ve been doing. I thought this was just a way to freshen things up for the players who want to keep playing but aren’t sure how to change things up and make it feel different.