Hope for the best and expect the worst. Let's not be pompous here. Not just lag but also server problems in general; GTA Online's launch was a disaster and that was because R*'s servers were virtually under an unintentional DDOS attack. Hopefully the beta will give Bungie a chance to stress test the servers but I'm still expecting many problems with the early launch version of Destiny. That isn't to say lag isn't deadly to game, it most definitely is. Bad internet = just as frustrating to play PvE as the usually laggy multiplayer run-around. Since it's a console MMO we'll have to rely on how Bungie does the net code, but from past experiences the halo servers have been (moderately) okay-ish. Its an online game so every problem that comes with that category comes into this, and thus it gets a free pass if shit goes down. It's just natural to expect these things in one; it's really how the devs react and fix the problem that will reflect how well the "disaster" will recover. Other game-breaking problems: Bad gunplay Bad loot distribution Bad lore Bad story Unoptimized balance Slow content updates PvE overshadowing PvP, or vice versa Disappointing features Unfulfilled hype Just the normal gallery of bad things that could happen. Subjective? Some of these, yeah, but there is a general frame which games tend to follow. When something is bad or out of it's element it's blatant. Now, if we deduce from history on context Destiny should do fine. Bungie has an excellent suite of developers, but of course caution should always be ran.

lag will ruin any shooter i'll give you that. but, from what i hear, halo had some pretty good dead reckoning, did it not ?

This was always known.