most of d2 content is for solo players

Part of the problem is that Bungle calls us players instead of customers to distract from the fact that some paying customers get less content. If you went to a restaurant alone and paid $15 for a meal and then found out that couples and families got pie and ice cream while you didn't, how would you feel? I think they are trying to force people onto teams so that they'll then buy Marathon. For solo players that won't work. All it will do is reduce D2 sales. Not smart. Or should I say, typical of Bungle. Until Sony replaces the dim bulbs now running the studio, player count will be down, profits will suffer and Marathon will be the anchor that sinks the Bungie ship.

don't forget please that you are saving about $50 to 60 a year because D2 is free! you had me until the % because i'm solo 2

[quote]I’ve been playing Destiny for many years, and I want to start by saying that The Final Shape campaign and the Pale Heart are some of the strongest content Bungie has ever released. The atmosphere, the storytelling, and the build crafting depth are genuinely excellent. That said, I’m a primarily solo player who enjoys exploration, story, and experimenting with builds. Recently, I’ve been struggling with how certain design decisions affect players like me, especially when it comes to accessing content I’ve already paid for. More and more non‑raid rewards are being locked behind mandatory duo or group-only activities. A clear example is the Exotic Class Item system requiring completion of Dual Destiny, a mission that cannot be done solo or with matchmaking. I’m completely fine with raid exotics being raid‑exclusive; that’s a choice. But when non‑raid items and core systems are gated behind forced group content, it feels very different. The issue isn’t difficulty. It’s being required to engage with a playstyle I don’t enjoy in order to access content included in the expansion price. This leads into the value for money concern. The annual expansion cost is significant, and as a solo player I’m realistically only able to access around 50–60% of the content I’ve paid for. It’s becoming harder to justify the price when a substantial portion of the experience is effectively inaccessible due to design decisions rather than personal preference. I didn't play for over a year as I could not justify paying for the Final Shape and then eventually purchased it at a heavily discounted price. I genuinely believe Destiny can support both group and solo players without compromising either experience. Even a one-time solo alternative path for unlocking systems like Exotic Class Items would go a long way toward making the game feel more inclusive and respectful of different playstyles. I’m sharing this because I care about Destiny and want it to continue thriving. Thank you for taking the time to read this and I would be interested if other solo players feel the same.[/quote] Agreed. I completed it on my other two characters and just coming back its virtually impossible to get help on this even when I've already completed it on other characters to get this done on my hunter. The two person requirement for the most ridiculous mechanic requirements are atrocious at best. And even though the difficulty isnt that bad, its the gate keeping behind it if you normally play alone or solo. Even dungeon and some raid content can be attempted and completed solo, while arguably the most core item for any class being the class exotic item is the most gate-kept mission item in the game. If there were at least a matchmaking portal for it, or it at least allowed a regular fireteam of 3 people like literally everything in the game including campaigns and such, it would have been more realistic to achieve. The way it is now, any player new or returning who wants to run it literally CANNNOT because it is arbitrarily gated behind the most irrititating requirements to even start the mission. I've already ran it and its STILL the most irritating content in any mmo or group oriented game I've played in a decade. And Destiny 2's player continues to get lower and they really need to redesign this level of thinking that literally pushes players away when it cannot be attained NOT due to difficulty, but purely because it cant be attempted without intense social communication with someone who wont leave the second something doesnt go exactly right. I dont mind raids being gear locked, but when even raids are easier to solo than a core character specific campaign item? Its ridiculous

I mainly play solo as well but have no problem LFGing for items that I want. I will never understand people that come here and complain about an activity that requires them to form a team. If you don't want that, that's fine. If you want the class item then you know what you need to do.

[quote]More and more non‑raid rewards are being locked behind mandatory duo or group-only activities. A clear example is the Exotic Class Item system requiring completion of Dual Destiny, a mission that cannot be done solo or with matchmaking. I’m completely fine with raid exotics being raid‑exclusive; that’s a choice. But when non‑raid items and core systems are gated behind forced group content, it feels very different.[/quote] More and more? Dual Destiny is virtually the only thing that has been added to the game that differs from any other aspect of how it’s functioned during the entirety of its lifecycle (other than Excision). It’s one single mission that requires a duo, that is hardly “more and more”. In fact, the game is far more solo friendly now than it’s ever been before. So the reality is your statement is objectively false. [quote]This leads into the value for money concern. The annual expansion cost is significant, and as a solo player I’m realistically only able to access around 50–60% of the content I’ve paid for. It’s becoming harder to justify the price when a substantial portion of the experience is effectively inaccessible due to design decisions rather than personal preference. I didn't play for over a year as I could not justify paying for the Final Shape and then eventually purchased it at a heavily discounted price.[/quote] 50-60%? Outside of raids and Dual Destiny you can play pretty much everything else alone if you choose to do so. That percentage simply sounds like a very wild exaggeration to pad your own argument. You have the Conqueror seal, you’ve gilded it seven times, and you’ve done close to two hundred OG GM’s, which includes a duo clear. So you clearly have the ability to do a one and done activity like Dual Destiny to unlock the class item and purchase it from Xur. At the end of the day Destiny as a franchise has always been billed as a multiplayer game, so people who come into it and don’t expect to have to engage with that aspect of the game are just setting themselves up for disappointment. Dual Destiny is a great mission and its entire design was thematic and done for a reason, but to say that the game is locking more and more rewards behind such activities is just a blatant falsity. With the in-game Fireteam Finder it’s even easier to do things, even as a solo player, and I say that as someone who has spent a vast majority of D2’s lifecycle playing solo and as someone who has been utilizing the FF since the launch of EoF because my clan has been on hiatus.