I think not having inflated expectations helps a lot. I knew nothing of the now-infamous 2013 ViDoc of Destiny making all the incredible promises. I got a PSN text from a friend mentioning that he had an extra Destiny Beta code, and would I like to try; I answered yes, figuring what's the worst that can happen. Fell completely in love with the gameplay in Beta, was already planning builds (I'm a circa-1997 Armored Core gearhead) based on the skill tree mappings which came out of the Beta (and the few glimpses people caught of those lovely Exotics), and pre-purchased the full game on 9/1. Come 9/9 at about 12:15 am I was blazing away with my first toon and loving it. I haven't stopped loving it since. I see and fully acknowledge the flaws, and while I think quite a few of the complainants make far too much of them (or at least have wildly overblown reactions), I understand that the objections are valid and the game has clear issues. Sadly, wherever lies the fault, it seems the original (awesome) plan for Destiny was heavily undercut by leadership (and Activision) sticking their hand in and forcing the game into development hell. Then Activision of course pressured for a product at deadline, and we got what we got. Honestly I think it's a bit like it or lump it at this point. As said above, I'm a devotee of the Armored Core series - I'm [b][i]used[/b][/i] to half-baked, poorly playtested games which somehow still have a ton of intoxicating fun-factor and potential, and seeing new revisions break as many new issues as they fix old ones. Destiny does have blemishes, but at its worst I wouldn't put it in the realm of AC Silent Line or Project Phantasma for brokenness and unbalance, or of AC2 (not AA) for glitchiness. It's a decent game for a soloist who's willing to be patient and farm like crazy, and a good game for friendly, dedicated playgroups (it's just like Facebook, with more Rocket Launchers!). I believe the AMA Reddit information dump from "404Architect" is probably mostly or all accurate, and a badly flawed game was cleaned up as best possible by dedicated (if disappointed) and talented designers. I also believe that many of those same talented, dedicated people are currently working with what they have to right the ship as best possible, and get her on a safe and worthwhile course to a strong future for the franchise. I think it sucks beyond any description - if true - that so much time, energy and creative talent was spent on a project which ultimately was ripped out by its roots and re-specced to so vastly different a core proposal as to be barely recognizable as the same product; but even still, what remains is fun and engaging. It's accessible for FPS n00bies who don't have the blitzkrieg reflexes of Teenage Mutant Ninja CoDers, and that's thoroughly welcome. Also, for some reason (probably the Tower hubworld) Destiny gives me a nice warm Phantasy Star Online vibe. I did love me some PSO. Ah, days of Dreamcasts past.