Destiny 2: Warmind: Awaken, Rasputin.
After my Curse of Osiris review last year I didn’t put many more hours into Destiny 2, opting instead for the much greener pastures of the holiday releases. Usually I’d stick around for much longer, at least running the new raid enough so that it became second nature. However, after hitting max light and running it maybe twice, I found little desire to go back. Coming into the Warmind DLC I wondered, nay hoped, that this would be the one that’d reignite my interest in the game. Unfortunately, whilst there’s to spend your time in the game now, none of it was as compelling as previous expansions to the original Destiny was. So here we are barely 4 weeks after the release and I think I’m probably done with this expansion.
I haven’t run the raid nor am I at max light, and that should say something.
Guardians aren’t supposed to dig into their pasts, at least that’s the unspoken rule among those who were brought back to life by the traveler’s light. Ana Bray has spent much of her new life trying to rediscover who she was and her quest has brought her back Clovis Bray, the place of Golden Age miracles. Her journey has unfortunately awoken some ancient hive evil that frozen alongside the pinnacle of Clovis Bray’s achievements: the warmind Rasputin. So it is up to you once again guardian to safeguard our solar system against the dangers that lurk on Mars. This time however the danger might be one that we created ourselves.
Right from the outset Warmind promises a great deal more grind than any other Destiny expansion I’ve played before. The level cap has been raised to 30 and the maximum light level is a staggering 385 which, for those who previously maxed it out, gives you no less than 50 light levels to push through. Of course should you do all available activities there’s about 21 chances to get powerful engrams but only the most dedicated players will be able to get that all done. Like the previous expansion there’s a new world to explore (Mars) along with a campaign, a new raid layer and a smattering of other smaller things to keep you interested. For a certain subset of players I’m sure this is exactly the kind of content they’re looking for but I think the majority of players were seeking something a little more substantial given the feedback that Curse of Osiris received.
Right now the game feels like it’s suffering from an identity disorder. On the one hand it’s great that a lot of the older content is still relevant, with the raids staying at their old light levels but still dropping powerful engrams. This means that players who missed out on it originally now have a chance to play it as there’s people still running it. On the other hand content which has been upgraded, like the strikes, hasn’t had its rewards changed to match making them a laborious task that no one really wants to run. That’s changed a little bit recently, but having to run 4 strikes to get 1 piece of 365 loot isn’t a great prospect. So this means we’re basically back to square 1 in terms of progression, especially for solo players, hoping that the meagre weekly milestones and maybe a raid or two will give them the light boosts they need. I’ve done all the milestones every week and 2 raids since the release and I’m at light level 360. Sure that’s enough to do everything but that means 385 is probably a month or two of grind away, not something I’m particularly looking forward to.
Comparatively the DLCs for Destiny 2 feel a lot less…meatier than their counterparts did in the original. I can distinctly remember each of the ones I played having a hook that kept me coming back. The Dark Below had a raid that could be partly cheesed if you knew what you were doing, The Taken King brought with it the idea that a gun only attainable in the raid made the raid a whole bunch easier, and Rise of Iron extended on that idea beautifully. Curse of Osiris then just managed to drop at the right time, extending my original enjoyment of Destiny 2 when it would have otherwise withered away. Now, having been away from the game for 6 months and coming back to it for this DLC, I can understand better the greater Destiny community’s gripes they had about the previous expansion. It’s just not enough.
The campaign experience is as good as it ever was though, and the fact that it furthered the lore behind Rasputin extensively is something I thoroughly enjoyed. The whole journey will last you maybe 2 hours, at the end of which you’ll be max level and likely around 340 light if you play your cards right. Typically this is where you’d transition into strikes to gear out until you hit the soft cap but, as mentioned before, that’s not something you’re really going to be able to do. It’s a shame really as I saw the beginnings of some of the mechanics that were present in Rise of Iron that led to Outbreak Prime and thought I’d be in for another great gun hunt. As it turns out that’s not so much the case which is a damned shame. I was really looking forward to some kind of Rasputin powered AI super gun.
So where does this all leave us? For me it’s likely the end of the road for this expansion as I don’t feel like there’s much more for me to get out of it. For Destiny there’s likely one last chance to right the ship before a good chunk of its players give up on it forever: the “comet” DLC coming in September this year. If the leaks are to believed it could be Destiny 2’s Taken King equivalent, revamping the game completely with a ton more content than any of the previous DLCs. If Bungie manages to pull that one off it might very well be the shot in the arm the IP needs to placate its playerbase. If it goes the same way as these past 2 expansions I’m not sure there’s much they could do to rebuild their goodwill with the community. Stranger things have happened though.
Destiny 2: Warmind is an unfortunate second stumble for a game that was already having trouble staying upright. Whilst the core of the game that makes Destiny great is still there, accompanied by another fantastic (albeit short) campaign, there’s just not enough there to keep a player like me coming back for months at a time. This is the first expansion where I haven’t bothered with the new raid nor do I have any desire to max out my light level before I leave it to rest. Given that it may only be 3 or so months until Comet hits I feel like my time is likely better spent in other games rather than burning myself out on the Destiny grind. It’s a shame as I really used to enjoy that grind and I can only hope that Comet reignites that fire that once burned so brightly.
Rating: 7.5/10
Destiny: Warmind is available on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 right now for $19.99. Total time spent in Destiny 2 is now at 86 hours with approximately 12 of those spent playing the Warmind expansion.
Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris: Simulacra.
It was only last month that I reviewed Destiny 2 and so you’d be forgiven for thinking that Bungie was quick to pull the trigger on releasing the first expansion, Curse of Osiris. For us PC only players it is indeed quite a short time, I myself only reaching light level 305 the week prior. However for console players (who I assume make up the majority) there’s been a dearth of content for the past month and many have cried out in anguish over the lack of things to do. For a multi-title gamer like myself that’s a non-issue, there’s always something else to play, but for those who’d like to make Destiny their single game of choice it has become a constant source of angst. This expansion then would hopefully satiate the crowd long enough so that Bungie could implement more wide reaching changes to incentivise players to come back again and again.
Unfortunately for those dedicated players I don’t think Curse of Osiris accomplishes that but, for people like me, it’s a well timed injection of content that will likely keep me around for just that little bit longer.
Curse of Osiris takes you to Mercury, the forward base of the Vex and home to the Cult of Osiris, a group of people who’ve dedicated themselves to an incredibly powerful warlock that was exiled by the Vanguard. He hasn’t been heard from in some time however some of Ikora’s agents relay some information that indicate he may still be alive. This then takes you to Mercury, a world that was once transformed by the Traveller into a lush garden world which was then converted into a massive machine by the Vex. That machine is actually a massive simulation engine called the Infinite Forest, a place where the Vex attempt to gather data in order to formulate strategies to accomplish their goals. Rumour has it that Osiris is alive in there, thwarting all of the Vex’s attempts to simulate their way to victory.
Graphically there’s been no changes but the new patrol area of Mercury and the raid lairs retain Bungie’s signature level design, renowned for its high level of detail and quality. Personally I’ve always been a fan of the Vex artistic direction, the Cabal and Fallen feeling rather boring and routine by comparison. So it follows that this is probably my favourite expansion so far from a visual perspective. The new patrol area isn’t particularly big nor very diverse so it does wear on you quickly. However the other environments retain the typical visual diversity I’ve come to expect from the Destiny franchise so it’s not all bad thankfully.
In terms of new content Curse of Osiris brings with it a new campaign that will run for about 2 to 3 hours, a new “raid lair” which amounts to a couple jumping puzzles and a single boss fight, and a few more progression related mechanics to make a few activities relevant. In terms of how this compares to previous expansions its pretty much as expected, the only one that seemed to drastically deviate from that being The Taken King. For this writer it came at almost the perfect time as I had cleared the raid multiple times (to the point of being able to do it in an hour with the right group), hit 305 and was starting to question whether or not I’d continue playing. So for a casual-core player like myself Curse of Osiris fit in perfectly however, for others, it’s likely too little too late.
Destiny 2 brought with it a lot of streamlining of the original’s mechanics, quite often to the benefit of both players and Bungie. However some of the changes took away some of the reasons that kept old school players coming back. Indeed many of the recent changes that have been introduced were things that were already present in the original, making it feel like we’re simply restarting the development process that was already completed. So for those who made a home in Destiny as their game of choice I can definitely understand where their concerns come from as many of the things that kept them back before simply aren’t there anymore. However for someone like myself these changes have been fantastic, allowing me to do so much more in much less time.
This is, of course, the long running debate of any MMO game: hardcores vs casuals. The hardcore players want mechanics that reward the long slog, things that take time to achieve and put them on a pedestal above those who don’t spend as much time in the game as they do. Casuals on the other hand want to experience everything the game has to offer in a much reduced timeframe. This war is, typically, won by the casuals as they usually make up the majority of a game’s player base. As I’ve grown older and I find myself with less and less time to put into games like this my consumption of these titles has shifted and those that provide mechanics to cater to my more casual-like habits get rewarded with my hard earned dollars. That’s the only reason I still play World of Warcraft from time to time as I know that I can see all the game has to offer without signing my life away. Of course I’m not every player, but I think I’m closer to the average than most hardcore players would like to think.
I mention all of this because it seems that the Destiny community at the moment is at something of a crossroads. Previous expansions typically had a decent honeymoon period where everyone would sing its praises for about 2 weeks. Then slowly the issues would start to emerge and maybe a month or so later there’d be the usual bitching about there being no content or nothing for them to do. Right now we’re just over 3 months into Destiny 2’s live and with the first expansion under its belt we’re already seeing those complaints and Bungie has even cancelled livestreams in order to address them. Regardless of the outcome of the changes the decisions Bungie makes today will set the direction of what the game is to become over the next few years; whether it follows World of Warcraft or becomes a hardcore nice like EVE: Online.
Despite all this however Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris is a fantastic, if a little short, expansion to the Destiny 2 universe. For players like myself it dropped a just the right time, hooking me right back in when I was getting ready to jump out. Fleshing out the world’s backstory through a solid campaign has always been one of my favourite parts of Destiny and this expansion delivers that well. The new progression mechanics are interesting if a little grindy for my tastes. The new raid layer brings with it some of the more interesting and unique encounters we’ve seen to date and, hopefully, that trend continues with further expansions. Overall whilst it might not be worth $20 just on its own as part of the collector’s edition or as a season pass Curse of Osiris certainly provides some good content at a reasonable price point.
Rating: 9.5/10
Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris is available right now on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox one right now for $19.99. Total time spent in Destiny 2 now totals 59 hours, approximately 8 hours spent in Curse of Osiris.
Destiny 2: Take Back Your Light.
Coming back to Destiny has always felt like slipping back into an old pair of shoes. Every time I’d go through the same process: be overwhelmed with the changes, find my footings through the campaign and then grind my way to the requisite light level before running the raid until I got bored. I must admit that whilst I did come around to playing a FPS on a console part of me always wanted it to come to PC as I just knew it would be a killer experience. With Destiny 2 I got my wish and whilst I’ve had to spend the last month or so carefully avoiding everything to do with its release on consoles I’m glad to say it has been well worth the wait.
Earth has come under attack by the Red Legion, a band of Cabal warriors who have never known defeat. Led by their Dominus Ghaul they caged the traveller and robbed all guardians of their light. You are left powerless, the gifts that the light granted to you seemingly gone forever. Soon after you are cast back down to Earth however you are flooded with visions that draw you to a shard of the Traveller that it flung away from itself during the collapse. The area surrounding it though has been heavily corrupted and no one who has entered the region has ever returned. This is where your quest begins to restore the light and defeat the unbeatable Red Legion.
On first look the graphics of Destiny 2 felt like they’d gone backwards from what I remembered of the original Destiny and its expansions. However after tweaking a few settings and spending a good deal of time in-game it became obvious that there have been a vast number of improvements made both to the underlying engine and the artwork the game uses. Of course I’m no longer introducing artefacts by running the game through a capture card although I had largely eliminated those when I moved to an Elgato HD60 Pro a year or so ago. The big bonus is the fact that I can now run the game at a buttery smooth 144FPS, something which I can still manage on my near 3 year old rig. Interestingly I know this game is pushing the limits of my system not because of stuttering but because my PC gets noticeably warm (since I usually rest my feet on the sides of it) during play. There have been some issues of course although the last couple patches have fixed most of the more glaring ones that popped up as part of the PC release.
By and large Destiny 2 remains faithful to the original in how it plays however there’s a lot of changes made for the sake of balance and quality of life (both for the developers and the players). The weapon classes have been reworked with primaries now being locked to kinetic damage, secondaries (now “energy”) all have an element type but also share the same weapon classes as primaries. Lastly some weapons (shotguns, fusion rifles and sniper rifles) have been moved to the heavy (now “power”) slot. Classes are mostly the same with a few tweaked and some replaced outright. You’ll still do the usual level thing until you hit the max at 20 at which time you’ll begin the same kind of light grind that we’ve been familiar with for the past couple expansions. Progression is now lightening fast up to a point after which you’ll be relying on weekly milestones, exotics and rewards from being in a clan to make any meaningful progress. At its core however it’s still very much the same game as it has been for almost 3 years and that is not a bad thing.
Whilst combat hasn’t changed much it is made that much better by being on PC. Of course I’m extremely, unabashedly biased in this regard but the fact that it was a great shooter on console was always going to mean it’d be a great one on PC. It did take me a fair while to get over my controller muscle memory, reaching for triggers that no longer exist, but it wasn’t long before I felt just as home on the PC as I ever did on console. The changes to the weapon system mean that your choice of heavy is much more meaningful than it used to be although, if I’m honest, the weapons that have moved into that slot now see much less use because they’re just not as good as the alternatives. Perhaps that will change as I find myself more gear but since I’m already at 281 light I don’t think that will change much. Unfortunately some of the lag issues are still present due to Destiny’s “complicated” P2P network architecture but they’re at least not as bad as they were at the original’s launch.
Levelling up is as much of a breeze as it ever was, happening organically as you progress through the campaign’s main missions. There were only a couple times that I had to drop out of it in order to get a level or two before being able to tackle the next one. This, coupled with not needing to go back to orbit after every single mission, means the pacing of Destiny 2’s campaign feels a lot more consistent with a lot less down time. Whilst the time to max out your level is about the same overall (8 hours or so) it does feel like a lot less thanks to the streamlining. They also do a pretty good job of re-introducing everything which is great for new players although it will be somewhat confusing to long time players (doesn’t my ghost know what the taken are?). Whilst the story is probably about on par with the original its overall execution does feel a lot stronger.
The gear grind is mostly the same as it was in previous expansions however now there’s a much heavier focus on the weekly activities. Whilst you can certainly keep levelling up your light without them it’s a much longer process, reliant on exotic drops more than anything else. Gone are the days when gear would randomly roll a light level around your current one, instead (past a certain point) they’ll always roll at a predefined level. The RNG comes from whether or not they include a legendary mod which bumps their light up by 5 levels. Once you have a weapon or piece of armour in a slot with one of those you’ll then be infusing it repeatedly until you reach light level 280. After then you can craft your own legendary mods and so all gear drops basically become on par. The only gear that will drop above your light level comes from the weekly events, the raid and the exotic quests (of which there are 4 I believe). This means you’re likely to hit a plateau each week before being able to progress. Still you should be able to get raid ready in a week and be able to blast past that easily in the second.
The renewed focus on Clans, with all the benefits that come from being in one and actively participating with it, was an interesting choice by Bungie. Certainly it ran against the way I used to play the game, preferring to just do everything on my own and hitting up DestinyLFG whenever I came up short. Joining a clan with an old friend of mine has been a pretty rewarding experience and I do look forward to doing more with them as time goes on. The clan interface could be a little better however, starting one requiring you to go onto Bungie’s website, something which the in-game client doesn’t tell you about. Once you’re past that point however it’s all pretty easy and, to be fair, you’ll likely be doing most of your co-ordination in Discord anyway.
As I mentioned before the story feels like it’s very much on the same level as it has always been, scraping just the top of the greater world’s lore. The grimoire is gone and there’s a bigger focus on putting much of what was in there actually in the game. A lot of the stuff is then hidden in the side missions, something which even I haven’t really gone through yet. That being said for those that I have played they’re a lot more upfront with bits of information, especially if you take the time to follow your ghost to scan things of interest. The great voice acting by the big name cast continues in Destiny 2 and the host of new characters brings a lot of life and levity that was missing previously. That being said it’s still not a game I’d say you’d play just for the story but it’s none the less an enjoyable one.
Destiny 2 takes the legacy that the previous game and its DLCs and rebuilds it for a new era. As a long time player of Destiny on the PlayStation 4 I can say unequivocally that it’s best experienced on PC as the platform gives the game all the things it needs to really shine. Bungie have done a great job of making the game approachable for new players whilst also ensuring it’s still got the things that the fans were looking for in the next instalment in this IP. Whilst I’ve yet to fully experience everything the game has to offer (which is saying something given the fact that I’m 26 hours deep at this point) it feels like the Destiny I’ve come to know and love with a few tweaks here and there to make everyone’s life just a little easier. I look forward to dumping many, many more hours into the game and its successive DLCs.
Rating: 9.5/10
Destiny 2 is available on PC, PlayStation 4 and XboxOne right now for $89.95. Game was played on the pc with 26 hours of total play time.
Destiny: The Taken King: Oryx Has Come For Your Light.
Destiny was the first game to break my staunch opposition to playing first person shooters on consoles. Being a long time member of the PC master race meant that it took me quite a while to get used to the way consoles do things and had it not been for Destiny’s MMORPG stylings I might not have stuck it through. However I’m glad I did as the numerous hours I’ve spent in Destiny since then were ones I very much enjoyed. The time between me capping out at level 32 and the release of the House of Wolves expansion though was long enough for me to fall back to DOTA 2 and I missed much of that release. The Taken King however promised to completely upend the way Destiny did things and proved to be the perfect time for me to reignite my addiction to Bungie’s flagship IP.
Six of you went down into that pit, looking to end the dark grip that Crota held on our Moon. His death rung out across the galaxy, sending ripples through the darkness. His father, Oryx, felt his son slip from this plane and immediately swore vengeance upon you and the light. Oryx has appeared in our system aboard a mighty dreadnought, capable of decimating entire armies with a single attack. Slayer of Crota it is now up to you to face Oryx as he and his Taken are swarming over the entire solar system and threaten to snuff out the light once and for all. Are you strong enough to face this challenge guardian?
Graphically Destiny hasn’t change much, retaining the same level of impressive graphics that aptly demonstrate the capabilities of current generation console hardware. There has been a significant overhaul to the UI elements however with the vast majority of them looking sharper and feeling a lot more responsive. It might sound like a minor detail but it’s a big leap up in some regards, especially with the new quest/mission and bounty interface. It’s the kind of stuff you’d expect to see in expansions like this and I doubt we’ll see any major graphical changes until Destiny 2.0.
The core game is mostly unchanged, consisting of the same cover based shooter game play with the RPG elements sprinkled on top. Every class has been granted a new subclass meaning that each of them now has one that covers each of the elements (fire, void and arc). The levelling and progression system has been significantly overhauled, providing a much smoother experience to levelling your character up both in level and gear terms. Many of the ancillary activities, like the Nightfall and Exotic Bounties, have also been reworked to favour continuous progression rather than constant praying to RNGJesus. Additionally there’s been many quality of life improvements which have made doing lots of things in Destiny a lot easier, much to the relief of long term players like myself. This is all in concert with a campaign that’s about half as long again as the original, making The Taken King well worth its current asking price.
The new subclasses might sound like a small addition but they’ve given new life to a lot of aspects of Destiny. Each new class essentially filled a hole that was lacking in the other two, allowing each class to be far more versatile than they were previously. The only issue I have with them so far is that the new subclasses feel a lot better at more things than their predecessors do which means pretty much everyone is solely using those classes now. Sure the Defender Titan’s bubble is still the ultimate defensive super however it pales in comparison to the toolset that the Sunbreaker has at their disposal. This might just be my impression given my current playstyle (mostly solo) and may change when I finally attempt the raid this week.
The revamp of the levelling system is probably the most welcome change. Unlike before where your level was determined by the light your gear had the new maximum level is now 40, achievable through grinding XP like any other RPG. Then once you hit the maximum level you have your Light Level which is an average of your gear’s damage output and defensive capabilities. As it stands right now that’s pretty much the only thing that matters when you’re attempting an encounter and so the higher your light level the easier it will be. Whilst it’s not a huge change from the previous system it does mean that there’s quite a lot more variety in terms of what gear you’ll end up using. This also means that a lot more pieces of gear, even those lowly blues which we used to disassemble immediately, are now quite viable.
This comes hand in hand with a revamp of how you can obtain gear in the game. Whilst there are still guaranteed ways of obtaining gear through marks (now Legendary Marks which are slightly hard to come by) you’ll mostly be looking for engrams. The engram rate has been significantly increased and when you get them decrypted they’ll roll a random light level in a +/- range of your current light level. This means that, in order to progress, it’s best to equip your highest light level gear and decode engrams. Doing this I was able to get myself to light level 295 in a relatively short period of time, more than enough to attempt the raid. This, coupled with the new avenues to better gear, mean that progression is far smoother than it was before.
The revamped quest and bounties system has everything in it that guardians have been asking for from day one. There’s now a separate tab that has everything in it, allowing you to track objectives so you can quickly see your status without having to pop out into the menu. This has allowed Bungie to include multiple questlines that all run simultaneously, something which was just not possible before. Many of these quests will help you get solid boosts in your light level and, if you follow some of the longer ones, unlock some of the best gear in the game. By far the stand out piece, in my mind, is the heavy sword which (when fully levelled) makes PVE encounters a breeze and the crucible a punchbro’s dream.
The Taken King expansion also gets massive kudos for fleshing out the lore of Destiny significantly. Part of this comes from the extended campaign missions that take you deep into the world of the Hive and the Taken but there’s also dozens of new bits of information scattered throughout the world (accessible through ghost scans). The Books of Sorrow provide a lot of background detail to all the races and their involvement with the Darkness as well as providing some insight into the events that led up to the Traveller’s current state. I’m still picking through it myself but it’s honestly great to see Bungie fleshing out this world as there’s so much potential here and I’d hate for it to go to waste. Additionally Nolan North replacing Peter Dinklage as the voice of your ghost is a welcome change, as is the addition of many more hours of voice acting from all the central characters.
Destiny: The Taken King is the expansion that all guardians had hoped for, bringing with it all the improvements that were sorely needed. It’s a testament to Bungie’s dedication to this IP as the amount of extra content they’ve released for Destiny in just one year is, honestly, staggering. The changes they made with this latest expansion have improved the experience dramatically, both for casual players and the hardcore alike. If you’d been staving off playing Destiny then now would definitely be a great time to give it a whirl as this is the game many are saying it should have been at launch. For long time guardians like myself it’s what was needed to bring me back to the fold and keep me playing for a long time to come.
Rating: 9.5/10
Destiny: The Taken King is available on PlayStation3, PlayStation4, XboxOne and Xbox360 for $79, $79, $79 and $79 respectively. Game was played on the PlayStation4 with approximately 20 hours of play time, reaching light level 295.