I imagine this will be a long post so there's [i]that[/i] warning. A buddy and I were talking during a nightfall a few weeks back and tossed some ideas back and forth, dealing with what we thought Destiny would be like before we played it. Figured I might share it here, see what people's thoughts were. It is a mixture of story and gameplay concepts from the perspective of the player and the character. It'll likely be several posts. Now, the discussion started with our thoughts of what Destiny 2 would be like, and this got us talking about our guardian from Destiny 1 dying. (No not in a tower collapse but a huge battle akin to that.) Since our characters can't transfer, we thought a death, a final one, would be good. Since we've basically been this unstoppable force up to this point, seems like it would take us down a notch if our D1 guardian died. It would show us that though we walk in the light, no one is safe from extinction. (Of course, I'm only using elements and characters and aliens we've already seen and not including any new ones that may arrive with Destiny 2, for the most part.) Just on the heels of a massive attack and D1 guardian's death, you create your new character and your D2 gaurdian awakens. Now imagine that world he's woken up to. Not only does he not remember his life before, but he's come back to life in one of the darkest periods of humanity. Perhaps the city was attacked, and much of our forces are weakened. Morale is low. The Vanguard and City Factions are spread thin across the system. You awake on Venus. No weapons. Just you and your ghost. The ghost does his best, guiding you through the jungles in search of any sort of weaponry or allies. But you're isolated. In the distance your ghost reads life forms. He tells you that your best chance for finding allies is there. As you draw closer, he informs you there's a battle taking place and is none too hopeful. But the Bot adds that if you stand a chance of finding other guardians and a ship to leave the planet, you may find them patrolling or battling. An ishtar building is the source of the fighting. A band of Fallen are defending the building against a [i]massive[/i] Vex onslaught. Caught in the frenzy, you're ambushed by waves of Vex. Minotuars charge you. Line rifles sizzle shots past your head. You melee the few harpies you can before your ghost says, "I'm rethinking the logic of our great idea... run! You've got to get to safety!" Then, "We're surrounded! Get into the building now!" It's inside the Fallen controlled building that you are searching for a weapons cache. Your ghost guides you the best he can, honing in on the signal of concealed engrams. In this building you're fighting hand to hand with Fallen forces. (There's no conveniently placed Khvostov to snatch up.) With a squad of Fallen reavers hot on your tail, you battle room by room to an office with a chest inside. You open it, grab the auto rifle that says "Hakke" on the side, the engram, and the sidearm, and turn to face the waves of dreg flooding the room. In a lengthy heated battle, you get to prove what you are. Using the strange weaponry, you defeat the Fallen and emerge alive. But you're not out of the woods yet. You've just aided the Vex in taking the building. Your ghost briefly wonders what is so important to the Vex in the building. But there's no time to dwell because the Vex and flooding inside. After a while you seem cornered, until you are helped by an NPC from a balcony across from yours. His sniper rifle hums before the minotaurs beside you are caught in a blinding bubble. The hunter calls out to you over the gunfire, but all he says is, "Get underground! The railcar tunnels!" At least you have an objective. Still battling through the building, you make your way down, down, and down. You turn a corner to see a swarm of Harpies. Another blinding flash hums. You mow the machines down and keep going. When at last you and your ghost find the path to a subway tunnel access, a massive Minotaur blocks the way. It's joined by Goblin Vex, at least ten. You start to fire at the Goblins when a grenade hits the floor. You watch as it bursts into what looks like a small black hole, pulsating with void energy. It pulls the Goblins in before it bursts, and they vanish into streaks of purple energy. The minotaur is yours. After a lengthy fight, you defeat the thing and retreat into the tunnel. After this lengthy opening mission, you platform your way through the tunnels and meet your first NPC, Tentris, in his hideout.It's the Hunter with the Hereafter you met in the battle with the Vex. A little cutscene ensues. Talking to the guardian, you eventually ask if he can get you off of the planet, that your Ghost says you need to find a group called The Vanguard in the Last City on earth. Tentris laughs and explains he's trapped on the planet too, that he was exiled some time ago and has been living in the wilds of Venus. Tentris seems a little crazy. He talks about different periods in time like they are happening now, or haven't happened. Eventually, the chat plays out. He tells you he's building a ship to get off the planet, and that if you help him, he'll take you with him. He gives you half of a list of parts, (he takes the other half) and tells you that you can use his hideout beneath the tunnel anytime you need. But it's sparse. There's a vault that he's got, but it's small. Each time you visit you can grab a few synths, but just a few. Your earliest missions in the game would involve exploring the wilds and leveling up your character. You find loot caches, (with actual loot), you gather materials needed to upgrade weapons and armor, and in the process gain your new abilities. After delving into Fallen and Vex territories for 3 pcs of their tech for the ship, Tentris tells you of a final piece of tech he needs. But it's a dangerous job, the tech is in the hands of a group of cutthroats, worse than the Vex or Fallen. So you triangulate the coordinates and scout it out. The strange but beautiful waterfalls are your destination. You remember what Tentris told you. There's three ways to enter. After successfully breaking into the complex, you quickly understand the deception. The "cutthroats" capture you and take you in. You learn that this is a group of other Guardians. They call themselves, The Hidden. One of the lieutenants gives you your weaponry back and explains that they mean you no harm, that they see you have a ghost but wonder why you broke in. Eventually, several of the warlocks take you to meet the one that leads the Hidden encamped on Venus, and apparently all others as well. You meet Ikora Rey. Ikora doesn't seem all that delighted to see you. Compared to how we know her from the first game, she's even more distant. She seems untrusting, defeated even. Your character is relieved when she tells you she was once the Warlock Vanguard, but we quickly figure out there is much more going on. Ikora explains about the ongoing efforts to repel the Vex on Venus, that their numbers have surged. She seems hopeless when she talks about it. Ikora mentions a campaign long ago where a single guardian led the charge against the Black Garden. She talks of how the guardian led the Raid on the Vault of Glass, but that even legends die and there is no end to the war with time. Overall, Ikora seems skeptical of your prowess. It was she that exiled Tentris from The Hidden. She speaks of him in disgust. Makes us wonder what Tentris did that was so treacherous. Ikora reluctantly accepts your offer to help. She points you toward her lieutenants. Off you go to explore the Hidden Fortress on Venus, your first large Quest Hub. Talking to the various agents of the Hidden, you learn of their purpose and lore. Some even reference Destiny 1 events, such as the Nexus Mind or the way a Fallen "Kell of Kells" used Vex tech for his schemes. At the Quest Hub, you pick up a couple of Main Questlines, and also meet some guardians in need of help with some sidequests. They are after (what else) knowledge, both of Venus and the Vex. One might even send you after his God Roll (joking) handcannon that was stolen from him by a particularly nasty Fallen Vandal. With a plethora of meaningful quests in your log, you set back out into the Wilds of Venus to assist the Hidden in their cause. Along the way, you establish patrol beacons in the [b][i]open world[/i][/b] and receive more sidequest from individuals working with the fallen. You might find yourself assaulting a Fallen communications bunker responsible for reporting Hidden activity. You may return to the building where you met Tentris to find the tech lab that the Vex were after. Either way, you'll have plenty of distractions that dive into the lore of enemies and allies, and drive the story forward. After a time, you run across another group of guardians. Their multicolored insignia is familiar. They inform you that your actions have been interfering with their operations on Venus. At one point you destroy a Vex Gate that in a cavern that was thought hidden, to prevent the Vex from surging in underground. This was actually a gate controlled by this group of guardians, The Future War Cult. The once city faction explains that they welcome your aid in the fight against the Vex, but that you [i]cannot[/i] destroy the Gates they use. <continued in next post>