[u]Preface:[/u] As most things here, this is my opinion based on alpha and beta, which I think I played extensively. I welcome criticism of my opinions if you have something supportive to say. I also welcome trolls and whiners, viva Free Speech, but hopefully they won't get much attention. I'll be writing this in first-person, because I'm well aware these are only, like, my opinion, dude. Also, since this is the internet, this shall be put in list format. [b]As a TL;DR, at least read the subtitles.[/b] For some background, as I'm sure most of you are completely uninterested to check out my profile, I've accumulated well above 50 hours of gameplay in the beta, plus what I could scavenge out of the alpha (the extension of which I was very grateful for). I played all 3 classes to level 8 and probably did about everything that could be done in the beta, aside from exploring the areas that were blocked off using glitches in the Matrix. I played exclusively on PS4, and thus cannot formulate complaints about Xbox-specific elements of the game. [u]1. Critical Issues[/u] [b][i]1.1- Communication:[/i][/b] Not everyone has friends they know consistently available on PSN, so a lot of teams I played ended up being random. I don't mind playing with random people, both in PvP and PvE, but squad-based games really can't do without decent communication. This was a big missing piece for me in the pre-release builds we played, and it makes me worry that it won't be in the release version. PvP desperately needs party voicechat enabled by default, with the option to mute for those who want their silence, or else any random team, no matter how skilled or willing, stands no chance against coordinating enemies. PvE, on the other hand, needs proximity chat, so I can ask people if they want to team up without having to send awkward and often unwelcome invites, or even just compliment people on their sweet exotic armor piece. Again, those who prefer silence should be allowed to turn it off, but having the option to talk to people in a social game doesn't sound like such a radical idea to me. [b][i]1.2- Fireteam Joining:[/i][/b] Kicking people to orbit when they are already instanced together is, in effect, prohibitive to fireteam creation. I don't want to see loading screens more than I already do. On top of this, joining someone's team should drop me next to the team leader, and not at the level's Designated Spawn Point. E3's demonstration of a friend being dropped off as their shipped passed by made this seem much more impressive than it currently is. I get that E3 demos are meant to be impressive, but I'm saying that the way it was shown is the way I'd like to see it in the game. I do get that this could be a much bigger change than what can be done by release, but it feels like it should have been planned for. [u]2. Major Issues[/u] [b][i]2.1- Delays/Lag:[/i][/b] This is mostly a PvP-related problem, but I've also seen it in Strike missions. I could not tell whose connection was problematic, but delays of up to a second after the fact (and even more) aren't acceptable to me in such a fast-paced environment. Delayed damage and rubber-banding enemies annihilate all enjoyment I take from a game, and perhaps a system to boot or prevent such players to enter the Crucible could be needed. And if it's my line that has a problem, so be it. [b][i]2.2- Leavers:[/i][/b] PvP had waaay too many leavers. It sucked to be on the winning side, picking on stranded players with enough honor to stay, and sucked even more to be on the losing side with no recourse against the flood of enemies. Some system to prevent it is in order, whether it's about punishing repeat offenders or rewarding those who finish games, but something must be done. [u]3. Minor Issues[/u] [b][i]3.1- Balancing:[/i][/b] For the most part, I think the game is well-balanced between classes. At most, I think the Hunter's Golden Gun should be able to one hit a Titan activating his super, even with the perk that makes him tougher while using his super. Supers are supposed to be OHKOs after all, without discrimination. As for guns, auto rifles and scout rifles feel like they are better choices here. I won't venture so far as to make the call whether they are OP or other guns are just underpowered, whether it's a damage/impact/ROF/recoil problem or whatever, as I'm sure the FPS gurus at Bungie will sort it out. [b][i]3.2- Enemy AI:[/i][/b] I stopped counting how often enemies charged at me only to stop and slowly walk back as I fired at them. They're so docile it's hard to believe the Darkness really wants to kill us. [b][i]3.3- Exploration:[/i][/b] I wish I could truly explore the maps. I get tired of invisible walls, death timers and senseless death when I'm just trying to jump to a ledge that seems within jumping distance.