Destiny players are always finding ways to outdo each other with crazy accomplishments. Guardians have defeated Raid bosses solo, sometimes even all in a row. Some groups have even formed temporary alliances with minions, forcing them to defeat their own Raid boss. Today, we’re talking to a Hunter who has completed a long and impressive journey. He managed to reach 400 Light without ever dying once. There are many opportunities to fall in battle during your Destiny adventures; it’s why your Ghost is there to bring you back. We were quite impressed to hear someone had gotten so far without a single missed jump or being hit by stray tank debris.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you made your way here.
Syn: I'm SyntaxSe7en. My friends just called me "Syn.” I've been streaming Destiny for over two years and have been playing since the beta. For the majority of those years, I have enjoyed the PVE side of the game with the odd Trials card played and quite a few Iron Banner matches completed. I enjoy helping new people complete the hardest PVE content in the game. But lately I have been consumed by a challenge that started on December 1, 2016: the PermaDeadstiny Challenge.
So Syn, where can we find you on the Internet?
Syn: You can find me live every single day streaming on Twitch at twitch.tv/syntaxse7en. You can also reach me directly on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SyntaxSe7en.
What would you say is your favorite Sublcass and weapon?
Syn: The best Subclass—and my favorite by far in Destiny—is Voidwalker. My favorite weapon in Destiny is the Warlock Scatter Grenade, doubled by Nothing Manacles, enhanced by Embrace the Void while being recharged with The Hunger. Everyone asks my build at Vosik and how I continuously have grenades ready to hold down mid. There's the secret.
Thanks for sharing your secret build. How did you first get involved in this “PermaDeadstiny” challenge? Can you explain how the challenge works?
Syn: KingGothalion issued the challenge last year. I wondered how I would play Destiny differently if I knew I had only one life to live. The PermaDeadstiny Challenge at that time was quite simple. If you die, you delete your character. Solution? Don't die. Play smart. Pray to RNGesus for a god-roll Shortgaze-scoped sniper that will help you destroy Darkness at range. JSniperton and I have been trying to define a PermaDeadstiny rule set for our communities on Twitch to keep things challenging and fun. Destiny is a very different game than we’re used to when forced to use the armor and weapons you find and make it as far as you can without dying.
Sounds like it is very nerve-racking to know that at any moment, you could lose everything. How many tries did it take you to hit 400? Were there any close calls or memorable moments in your successful run?
Syn: It has taken me 11 PermaDeadstiny characters to hit 400 Light. That's right: I have deleted 10 characters. One of them in particular took a shot from the Goliath tank on Mars. That character had an LDR 5001 I was quite fond of that came from my first Vanguard package. I'll admit I cried a little bit deleting that character. One of the most memorable moments happened on my current character, though. With the help of some of the best Destiny Raiders I have ever known, we completed Wrath of the Machine Heroic, including the Aksis Challenge. I went in at 380 and came out of the raid at 386. It has been a long road to 400, with the final piece of the puzzle taking six Skeleton keys.
I can’t imagine risking it all on a very difficult Aksis challenge. Now that you have hit 400, what will you do next? Will you keep on going as long as you can?
Syn: Now that we're 400, I'm taking a break from PermaDeadstiny. It is a great way to play and it makes me appreciate why Destiny is such a great game and how it is so fun at its core. It is also very draining to assess every situation for unnecessary risk or decide what the current best risk versus reward route is for my character. In the future, I may return with this character for a Light level increase, but for now I'm happy with my 400 Gunslinger/Nightstalker for sure.
Anything else you would like to add before we let you get back to cheating death?
Syn: I hope that new players who have watched my PermaDeadstiny run can appreciate Destiny for the awesome game that it is. I also hope that veterans that have watched are reminded of why they love this game and why the Destiny magic is still going strong. My ultimate goal for continuing to attempt the PermaDeadstiny Challenge is to show how fun it is in hope that in the future we get a hardcore character slot. That's right: create a character with one life to live. And when you die, the game deletes the character for you. If you can live long enough, unlock exclusive emblems and ornaments. Maybe unlock Exotics that have a Hardcore perk. Now, if you'll excuse me, I gotta keep moving. Permadeath catches those that stand still.
We would like to congratulate SyntaxSe7en for such an outstanding accomplishment and thank him for telling us about the perils of navigating through Destiny with everything on the line. Go give his stream a watch. He has more adventures to come.
We will be back next week with another community member to focus on. If you have ideas on who that should be, post them on our forum with tag #CommunityFocus.