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Destiny

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11/27/2014 8:05:30 AM
307

The Failings of Bungie: You May (Not) Become Legend

After having played destiny for a good few weeks (Bungie shows a good six and a half or so days of in-game time), I felt driven to write up a critique on its major failings. These are both from my personal experiences and the experiences I've read online from others. This is a two part critique on the areas I feel Bungie has failed the most, though they result in the same thing. But before I begin, I'd like to say that Destiny is a good game. It's just that it could have been so much more... Destiny: become legend. Or rather, Destiny: become whatever is given to you and feel grateful. When I first went through the story, everything was new and somewhat exciting, but not only that, everything was different. Guns ran through my hands like water, and I experienced a wide variety of perks and stats and looks. But when I reached level 20, this all came to a halt. Guns no longer ran thorugh my hands. Instead, I was devoid of anything new, anything likable. Eventually, I found Xur, the Vanguard store, and the factions, and I began my quest to become like everyone else. The armor didn't have stats I liked, but I needed the light. They didn't have the perks I wanted, but I needed the light. It was going to take weeks to earn the marks to buy them, but I needed the light. At first, I didn't upgrade any of the vanguard pieces because I hated them. I held onto my energies and shards like scrooge with his precious gold, but in the end: I needed the light. By now, I've become much more pliable: I don't scrimp my ascendent materials, because more likely than not, what I want is never going to happen. Destiny has turned me into a pessimist. Whatever happened to "Become Legend?" Look at the legends in game. Kabr refused to be bowed down, and ripped the face off of a Gorgon to make a shield. What a guy. Toland pursued knowledge to the bitter end, eventually going mad. Dredgen Yor felt darkness embracing him, and decided to embrace it back. Me? I'm a nobody. A nobody in a sea of nobodies doing nobody things and buying nobody items. We run the same nobody quests and strikes and turn in the same nobody bounties. We're not legends: we're nobodies. When I look at my fellow warlocks, I see my face on every one. The one who molded my character molded each and every one of them, and we all look the same and use the same weapons. Everyone wears the voidfang vestments nowadays. There's no reason not to, and more likely than not, it's one of the few exotics they've had the chance to own. Guns? They're so rare, just like the armor. You either buy what Xur is selling or buy from a faction. End of story. You're "Legend." I don't feel legend. I don't feel unique. I feel empty. Which leads to my second point, which is the fullness of Destiny. No, this is not about the story. This is about the dichotomy of what I have been told and what truly is. They tell me that we are on the losing side. Earth, Mars, Venus, the Moon, the rest of the known universe: all are held in a stranglehold by the darkness. The earth is empty. The moon is calm. Where is the chaos? Where is the overwhelming darkness? Where is the need for guardians? Patrol feels so empty. I stroll through the hive for no reason. I collect spinmetal plants under gunfire because I simply don't care. If they tell me Mr. Nexus has overstayed his welcome on Venus, I deliver an eviction notice. Aksor broke his curfew? Reign him back in. The Psions got out? Put a belt to their backside. A phrase comes to mind "Born too late to explore the world, too early to explore the universe." This is what playing destiny feels like. The fall seems so interesting, but it's over and done. People like Kabr and Toland and Dredgen played their parts. On the flipside, the impending darkness is too far away to be dealt with, too remote to encounter. Our guardians live in a time of peace, striving not to survive, but to simply find adventure wherever they can. Guardians are not legends: they are bored. Strikes are boring. The dailies are boring. Patrol is boring. In the end, you do your weekly, your nightfall, your dailies, your raid, and your farming, and that's it. Evil doesn't care, and neither do you. You're both just going through the motions. The fallen aren't actually maintining strength on earth, they just want to look like it. The hive don't actually care about the moon, they just felt like building a fortress. The cabal don't really care that you're on mars, they just get their jollies from shooting off explosives. You're not really in a struggle for your life against the forces of darkness, you're just doing whatever you feel like. Where are the front lines to this great battle? Commander, send me to the front! I want action! I want to feel like I'm making a difference in this universe! I don't want to be an errand boy any longer! I don't want to post any more eviction notices! But there is no war. There is only mundanity and repitition. There is a faceless darkness that is halfheartedly taking over the universe. It will take over the last bastion of men not by force, but by boring us to death. Conclusion: I am a nobody being bored to death by a faceless entity. I'm the futuristic, space magic-ey equivalent of a man-child in his grandma's basement thinking he's sticking it to the man. In reality, I'm doing nothing, and the man doesn't care. I want to feel like I am the master of my own destiny, not like I'm living off the charity of Lakshmi (though she is very charitable, and I love her for it) and Lord Saladin (ty for the boots and gloves m8, appreciate it). I want to feel like the darkness truly is trying to destroy mankind, not like it's sitting on its respective planets, sipping martinis. [b]I want to feel not only like I'm making a difference, but that there's a difference that needs to be made. [/b]

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  • I will tell you the same thing I told everyone else who doesn't "Feel Legend". The Value of something is determined by the individual who owns it. Bungie cannot give you a story and make you the hero of said story. That story, your legend, is something you must take hold of and shape yourself. That is what Bungie wants. No one but you can give Value to it. No one can craft your legend but you. That said, if you ware looking for a "Man against God Showdown" tale, look somewhere else. The tale told here is that the Darkness is just as badly wounded as the Traveler. It's hurt and doesn't even have a fraction of the power it had at it's height during the collapse. This next part is important and will be on the test. [b]You cannot stand against the Darkness at it's full power.[/b] I will say it again. [b]You cannot stand against the Darkness at it's full power.[/b] The story of Destiny is not to seek out the Darkness and destroy it. It's already wounded enough. The story of Destiny is that of the Guardians doing everything they possibly can to keep the Darkness wounded and unable to recover while trying to heal the Traveler. The balance has shifted in our favor and we want to keep it there. The Darkness is fighting to keep the status quo and regain the edge. If it recovers before the Traveler. We're -blam!-ed. We need to ensure the reverse happens. That the Traveler recovers before the Darkness. While we thrwart the plans of the four races currently occupying Sol, we are thwarting the Darkness's return to power. We are not fighting a God in it's final form. We are fighting a wounded beast and ensuring it does not recover to hunt again. That's the Difference you are making Guardian. To make sure we don't lose the war a second time. Because we won't survive it. [quote]...The only sound at the moment in her ears was the amplified sound of her own breathing contained in her helmet. She wiped uselessly at the visor, trying to clear the coolant soaked clumps of red sand from her vision. Strewn about the two of them lay the useless wrecks of at least three dozen Vex or so of various makes. Bits of Harpies strewn around Goblins and Hobgoblins. Even a Hydra lay beyond her current opponent. The wounded Minotaur was still going strong. Despite appearing to be the same as it's fallen brethren. This one was different. It was tenacious, still standing despite the damage done to it. It's shields offline. But she was empty on all magazines. No time to reload. She loved a challenge. Dropping the empty rifle to the ground she raised her fists and invited the Minotaur to make the first move. With a wailing roar the mechanical creature took the invitation and charged. Bring both it's fist down trying to crush the Titan, she countered. The servos whining as they acted on her command to drive her fists with enough force to drive upward and deflect the hammer blows just enough to ether side. Following up her heavily plated knee drove upward toward the codpiece striking it with enough force to crush any organic male genitalia to a pulp... if it had had any. Settling instead for the complaints of the Minotaur's servos as it stumbled backwards from the impact she raised a foot and kicked it backwards into a sitting position. Grabbing it's shoulders she reared back before slamming her head forward into the head of the Minotaur. The satisfactory skull rattling sensation reverberating through her as the head popped off. Reaching into the neck she stirred her hand around randomly ripping out wires and smashing whatever her hand could reach as the Minotaur screamed in pain, jerking and twitching with each pass of her hand. Finally finding something to her liking, she gripped it and pulled hard. The body fell over and seized. "Steve." She held up the object as her Ghost materialized from her form and began scanning it. "Random Vex Chatter. Nothing intelligible... wait. There's a list of objectives partially encrypted." "Well unencrypt it." "You mean decrypt it." "Steve..." "That would be hard without the encryption key-and done." The woman snorted and shook her head. "Now can you tell me what a sizable force of Vex just happened to be doing wandering around the Wastes without attracting Cabal attention?" The Ghost just blinked at her. "Just answer the question." "They appear to be scouting." "Liar." "Surveying would be a more accurate description." "That's more like it. What for?" "Possible construction sites for more Warp Gates." "How many more?" The Ghost transmatted the Vex Storage drive into it's inventory before turning to face the Titan. "7." The Titan picked up her rifle and started reloading her weapons. "Seven more mass graves coming up then." "Why would they be building so many?" "The area is nearly abandoned and the Cabal haven't attacked once. You ask me this is the perfect location for a staging ground for a massive invasion force. One that they probably calculated the Cabal don't even stand a chance of repelling." "That isn't like the Vex. This area is too far away to mount any sort of invasion." "They've done strange things before. None of them good. I say we nip this in the bud before anything happens regardless. Even if they could repel the Cabal, that's one less target for the other factions and anything that can expect the Cabal from Mars would not be good for the City. They'd siege us out easier." "I'll relay the information to the City and request reinforcements. BEHIND YOU!" Her arm snapped up as she wheeled. The whistling sound bring her attention to the rocket flying her way which she backhanded out of the air to the side where it exploded. The Ghost already vanishing to the safety of her person. "Seems the Cabal were watching the whole time and now want what we found!" The Ghost echoed in her helmet. The Titan turned to face the raiding party. The Shotgun across her shoulders. The Cabal surrounded her aiming their weapons at her. The Titan's hands resting on the shotgun on her shoulders. They bellowed and roared at each other. She watched them try to contain her. With a single hand, she chambered the first round into the weapon with the pump action. That motion caused the Cabal to start unloading their entire store of ammunition on her. Their rounds flying toward her, striking and exploding. This went on for a while until one of the Centurions gave an order and they stopped firing. As the smoke cleared, the Titan grinned unseen under her visor as the sight of her still standing seemed to give the Cabal pause. She started laughing. As the rounds started flying, her legs propelled her forward. Their vocalizations music to her ears. Her mind translating them as panicked screams of someone who had just witnessed something unholy as she tore through this group, adding Cabal blood and guts to Vex coolant and servos. The message being passed? [b]"KILL THE BLUE DEVIL!!!"[/b][/quote] Nobody is going to make you Legend. Legends make themselves. Make yours Guardian. Because no one else is going to.

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