With the release of today's patch, it's become abundantly clear that Bungie does not understand what we want or what will make us enjoy the game more and, ultimately, keep playing and paying. Bungie, here's a bit of advice as an avid MMO player and raider: PvE does not get interesting by throwing more trash at us. It does not get more interesting by randomizing parts of an encounter. It does not get interesting by making everything one-shot you. It is clear you want Destiny's PvE to mean something, otherwise PvE would be more barebones than it currently is. With this assumption in mind, I'd like to explain why I believe Destiny needs more mechanics in it. Mechanics are often used as a way to increase encounter difficulty while keeping a fight fair when you are skilled. An example of good mechanics as implemented in Destiny is Atheon's Timestream mechanic (Pre-randomization. I'll get to that later.) -- it forces teamwork, communication, and intelligent thinking. An example of a bad mechanic is a 1-shot "basic" attack (i.e.: Every Melee Vandal with Lightswitch on), as there is little skill in it: You either avoid it on a consistent basis or you die. Mechanics are a much more pleasant way to increase difficulty in an encounter than basically increasing damage, increasing health, or increasing "noise" (That is, things that interfere with the normal functioning of a group). There's a certain satisfaction in properly nailing down a mechanic with a group of friends (or even strangers) and using that execution to down a boss -- to me, it's much more satisfying than dodging a barrage of one-shots and eventually killing that massive meat shield in front of you (I'm looking at you, non-cheese Nightfall Phogoth). Personally, I would much more enjoy Nightfalls if, instead of just the same strike with a few damage modifiers mixed in, it had actual mechanics. For example, it would be incredibly awesome if NF Phogoth created AOE damage zones at a set interval, or spawned special wizards that you had to take care of or they heal Phogoth. It would be much more interesting if instead of summoning an endless horde of minions, Aksor channeled the power of the Servitors to change the terrain of the room or create a massive laser beam that you have to jump over/slide under/run away from. It would make Nightfalls feel special, like they're truly meant to be a test of skill instead of a race to see who can find the best exploit spot. It might be that you're under the assumption that mechanics aren't casual friendly so you don't want to include them in the game at large. To that end, it's entirely possible to put easy to medium-difficulty mechanics into encounters without overly confusing/alienating a casual player: Very visible or telegraphed mechanics will not upset or hinder most players. For example, if a boss lifts up his foot really high, most people are going to think "Yeah, I don't want to get kicked by this giant that weighs a few tons" and get away from it. If they see a giant acidic puddle that's burning away at the ground, they'll generally think "I probably shouldn't stand in this." As long as your mechanics are clear, it just adds a layer of complexity to fights. Note that they have to be clear -- randomly sending 3 people in to Atheon's Timestream was the worst kind of artificial difficulty increase. Confusing your player is [i]never[/i] a good idea. Mechanics are only enjoyable when you can strategize to survive them -- when they actively throw you off, they're more infuriating than fun. I'm making this thread in the hopes that Deej will see it and pass it along to the level/raid/strike designers. If you agree, please sign/bump the thread for visibility! TL;DR: I love mechanics. Mechanics should be implemented in place of Mission Modifiers to increase difficulty. Random mechanics are bad. My post is too long. Disclaimer: This was written on under an hour of sleep, so forgive me for any repeating or grammar fails.