Ok, I was so disappointed with the Forsaken story. It was a waste. Cayde's death was obviously click bait advertised to hell as the main part of the campaign. It really wasn't in fact it was hardly anything. I think that was such a disservice to his character and a blatant misuse. I for one would not have killed him off as Destiny now has no characters, nobody to empathise with, and nobody to actually root for come the sequel. Everyone can actually die in my point of view now because I honestly don't care. But the devs seem to want to go with this 'edgy' and 'death meaning something' idea in the universe. (I'm sure the 'edgy' and 'dark' story line won't become aged in a little while perfectly timeless) so for the purpose of following the Dev's 'lead' I will include his death in how I believe the plot for Destiny 2: Forsaken should have gone. I for one would have like to see Cayde at the centre of a ‘Deep Stone Crypt’ DLC a legit place Cayde hates and has a malice towards the people who made him. Not only would it be ‘Dark’ but it would also show another side to Cayde stopping the ‘funny Robot’ trope he was labelled with. It would make us think about the type of man he was because he wasn’t always a ‘good guy’. But here I am showing my proposal of how the plot should have been to make an interesting and dynamic story in Forsaken. Firstly, Yes Cayde and the Guardian got to the prison of Elders to aid Petra with the escape of Uldren and the Barons and you play the mission as normal. Cayde does his drop the control centre on the ground floor to reach the Barons and and the epic fight ensues. In the scuffle the Rifelman destroys Cayde's Ghost, leaving him mortalised and the other Barons swoop in on him. However, Uldren does NOT kill Cayde and just as the Barons are about to Finnish him off our Guardian comes in and rescues him. The rescue in this case is to get Cayde out alive, as a result it would create a new mission type where you need to run. You cannot take on all 8 barons at once so you are forced to flee the prison with an injured Cayde, back to the tower. This creates a dilemma for the characters, 1. Cayde is no longer a Guardian and can die. 2. The Barons are free and once done with the shore may turn their attention onto Earth and the Last City (It is mentioned that the Trickster has plans to cause harm there) 3. Should the Guardians intervene? The Barons are clearly a threat but does it warrant the Guardian's interference at this stage? Cayde obviously unhappy with this wants to go after the Barons despite everything since he locked them up and doesn't want them running rampant so he vouches for action to be taken place, contradicting Zavala's idea of purely protecting the city creating tension between the two. Zavala could even show some forcible character development by even berating Cayde for going alone and saying what it cost him, his Guardian-hood. It would show a side to Zavala as he wants to protect Cayde and the people of the city but his stern way is difficult to understand. When placed into an argument with a character like Cayde it creates a division, both characters are right and both are wrong respectively. As a result of this division Cayde against everyone judgement goes to the Reef to track down the Barons, even if it means his life. According to his lore, what else has he got to lose? A character like him would never give up nor would be care about the risks even if he was subject to death (This is evident of him running off to Nesus in D2 even at the risk of death. He puts the world on his shoulders and his pride stops him from asking for help.) Zavala thus grows angry with Cayde and forbids anyone from going after him saying we need to stay to the city although it may have hurt him internally. That’s when the Guardian comes across someone who wants them to go after Cayde and bring him back, Ikora. (She says that he has probably been her longest and healthiest friend thus she is the one who sends you behind Zavala's back to aid Cayde) creating a divide in the Vanguard as you see Ikora in a more rebellious light. Thus you head to the Reef and team up with Petra to track down Cayde. Meeting the like such as the Spider to achieve this goal. You learn that Cayde is on pursuit of one of the Barons and is about to strike at one (This yes would force 1 Baron to become a mission and not selected at the players Choice but tbh I honestly don't care about the 'You can pick an chose which you have to kill.' Because you just kill them all anyway so it really has no impact) You go to aid Cayde and together you take down one of the Barons. However, this puts Cayde in danger as the other Barons now know he is here. Exposed and very killable. He ultimately puts price on his own head for taking action thus its a race. A race to put the Barons down before they can get to Cayde. I always remember this quote 'A need to save a life, is more fulfilling than the desire to avenge one.' During the time of the Baron hunt Cayde and the Guardian talk more and become more acquainted, Cayde could perhaps even share some of his lore and stories which would help the more casual player build an understanding of him if they have not taken the time to read it. It would also show Cayde in a new way rather than the 'Funny Robot' and show that he is a much deeper character then first to be taken for. During the second 3rd of the Campaign Uldren returns to the shore, Cayde upon hearing this wants to put an end to it goes after him hoping to end it there and then. At this point there are maybe lets say 3 Barons still alive and they are with Uldren. Its a trap. A trap that Cayde somewhat puts his foot in and it gives the Barons a chance to finish what they started in the prison. Then it happens. Uldren takes The Ace of Spades and does shoot Cayde. Leaving him for dead and heading to the watch tower. I would also write Uldren different in this, I would have it that he enjoys Killing Cayde more so than it seems he did in the Forsaken Campaign. Trying to make Uldren like this tragic Shakespearean villain was a mistake in my point of view. And I would have had it that he took immense pleasure in putting Cayde down rather than this 'oh he was misunderstood and tricked' idea. No there should be pleasure in his actions creating someone we could hate. The Guardian finds Cayde and the two exchange words until Cayde ultimately dies. I actually didn't mind how the death was shown in the game but Cayde needed more time with the Guardian. The Guardian and Cayde needed to establish a friendship (According to Amanda Cayde finds it hard to make friends so having the Guardian as a genuine friend he knows and builds trust upon in the campaign rather than the 'oh you saved me on Nesus' idea would have been so much better, especially adding meaning to the 'Ace in the Hole' mission.) Thus now it is a tale of revenge. Not just revenge of a Vanguard or a fellow Guardian. But revenge of a friend. The Guardian proceeds to kill the other Barron and heads for Uldren along with Petra who now understands Uldren's plans and seeks revenge in her own right. This then leads to the ending where the Guardian (In my version) Shoots Uldren and thus the revenge is done, leading onto the end game content. It would also be more impact that Cayde is brought back to the tower at the end of the campaign for proper burial and the characters reflect more than before seeing the regret on Zavala then would be more satisfying as he has to somewhat understand that his 'leadership' may be at fault in some area creating an ideal of self-doubt in the character. The Red War and now the death of a friend makes him uncertain. Ikora also coming to terms with the idea she should have done more establishing her as a sympathetic character as in a way like Cayde she is truly alone. In the idea of the long term the Vanguard should become unstable, buckle and even fall, showing that Cayde’s death actually meant something had meaning and wasn’t just for an advertising campaign. Thus Cayde is laid to rest not just as a plot device but as a friend. That's just how I would have done it. Its far from perfect and needs a lot of smoothing out. But its how I would have said goodbye. Cayde will just be replaced with someone and the statuesque will remain the same as ever, no drama no uncertain future. Thanks for reading if you got this far. Appreciate it Take Care everyone. -Steam.