Originally, this thread was titled something else. However, I changed it, as I feel the new title brings greater attention to an issue that has plagued Destiny, and may very well be the downfall of Destiny 2: After 3 years, [b]Bungie still has not found Destiny's identity.[/b] They simply don't know what they want it to be. It is this identity crisis that is the reason why they gave us an incredible game that was ultimately defeated by a series of crippling updates, that appeared completely random at times and given little forethought. The end result was a game that was almost unrecognizable from the original. Attached is a video from 2016 by True Vanguard in which he uses a shotgun/fusion loadout with the Universal Remote and the Vacancy fusion rifle from FWC. I highly recommend watching it. It does an excellent job of encapsulating the point I'm trying to get across with this thread, which is that the reason so many players fell in love with Destiny was because it was felt different. The movement was incredibly smooth. Traversing the maps felt effortless, yet powerful. This, combined with a slightly toned down time-to-kill, created engagements that weren't solely based on "who saw who first," yet [b]were still short enough to allow exciting 1v1 encounters and not dull the pacing.[/b] Moving on to the video...[i]Transcript beginning at 1:26[/i] [quote]Now, when I'm using this combination, I--I have to make creative approaches. There's a lot of open space on these maps (on most of these maps). [b]So I sort of have to think about okay well how am I going to close the gap?[/b] And that's one of the things that Destiny is great at. [b]There's so much player mobility.[/b] There are lots of ways that you can move your character--uh, lots of abilities that are movement related. You've got things like Twilight Garrison, you've got Shadestep, you got blink...uh you've got all kinds of mobility options [b]to help you [u]close gaps[/u] creatively.[/b] You've got lots of vertical space you can use. The jumps in Destiny take you really [b]really[/b] high, comparatively to other shooters. So there's this whole vertical aspect of the map that you can use to your advantage[/quote] Immediately after this, the video moves on to TV charging into the enemy spawn and engaging in a [b][i][u]5v1.[/u][/i][/b] He manages to kill 3 of them, before he is finally taken out. Notice that the TTK was fast enough that he could kill someone and escape to cover, but not so fast that he died as soon as he peeked out. This was a good balance IMO. [b]Fast forward to Destiny 2[/b] Man...what a difference, am I right? Now, right off the bat, I want to clarify that I realize we've only experienced the beta and have no idea how the full game will be. Please don't think I'm just trying to bash the game--[b]I'm not.[/b] That being said, D2 has already received significant backlash after players got to experience the beta. [b][u]I won't talk about pve[/u][/b], because I think we can all agree that it is in [b]dire need[/b] of several major improvements that Bungie must be aware of by now. As for pvp, the overall feeling I get is that it has been both [b]slowed down[/b] and [b]simplified.[/b] -4v4 pvp (less "chaotic" according to Bungie.) -Subclass perks, divided into 2 locked branches. (Forcing everyone to use the same sets of perks is easier to balance.) -Random weapon rolls removed. (no more "god roll" outlier weapons is easier to balance.) -Reduced damage on all weapons, grenades, and melees [u][b]resulting in a much slower TTK.[/b][/u] -Consolidating secondary weapons into the heavy slot. (essentially killing CQC) -Increased time until radar reappears after leaving ADS. -Removed blink from Hunter's arc subclass. I argue that these changes completely uprooted the original appeal of Destiny, which was largely based on feeling like a badass space character with a gun. The combination of CQC being annihilated since special weapons are heavies now, along with a much higher TTK on [b]everything[/b], has resulted in a grim reality: the fear of being killed* has virtually disappeared. (*by a solo enemy*) It takes so long to kill now, that if you begin taking fire, you can easily run away to your team, and [b]there isn't much your opponent can do about it.[/b] If they try to chase you alone, they'll be met with a storm of bullets to the face. Gone are the days of "rushing" the enemy solo. Their only option now is to bring backup, and attack your team with their team and have a team shootout. But wait a minute, they're alone, remember? So they [b]can't coordinate a team attack[/b], and are stuck following their teammates around, just [i]hoping[/i] that at least one of them will join them in a team assault. The point is that a single guardian simply isn't much of a threat anymore. [b]Our characters feel [u]weak[/u][/b], and are almost [i]forced[/i] to depend on teammates to win. I don't know about you guys, but that just doesn't sound fun to me. I don't like being limited in my options. It feels like my character is in a prison. And that's really the main gripe of the "teamshot or die" phrase that quickly sprung up after the beta. People don't like feeling stuck in a box, and being given only one way out. It was FUN to dodge in and out of cover, picking enemies off 1 at a time. Living life right on the edge, right on the brink of death. Screen flashing red. Risking it all to keep that killstreak alive. Charging in for those double and triple kills. Supering the enemy heavy for crazy multi-kills. Clutching a 1v3 to win a 4-4 tie-breaker match in Trials of Osiris...It was a rush that kept you on the edge of your seat like nothing else. And most importantly, it was [i]different.[/i] I say "was," because that era of Destiny is over; and that's my whole point. If I ever had a chance to send a message to Bungie, it would be that people loved Destiny because it was [u][b]Destiny[/b][/u]. Not Halo. Not Overwatch. Not WoW. Not Counterstrike, and sure as hell not CoD. It was it's own game, and didn't apologize for it. With so many unique features of Destiny that offered so many revolutionary possibilities that made it freaking awesome and fun as hell to play, my only question to Bungie is, "Why would you want to take any of that away?" I'm not saying don't change the game--change is inevitable and necessary. But [i]in[/i] those changes, we want you to ADD content, not take things away. We want powerful new abilities and challenging enemies to test those abilities, [b]not more restrictions and limits.[/b] If you made it to the end, thanks for your time. Have a good day!