Why Do People Still Play Destiny 2?

Submitted ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨Buttflapper@lemmy.world⁩ to ⁨games@lemmy.world⁩

With the release of “The Final Shape,” the main storyline has concluded, and it seems like the developers are now just churning out random content and seasonal passes without a clear direction for the game’s future. I’m genuinely curious about what motivates players to stick around. Are there aspects of the game that still offer value or enjoyment, or are players simply holding on in hopes of something more substantial? What keeps them engaged with Destiny 2 despite its apparent lack of a clear path forward?

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conciselyverbose@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Because the gunplay is really good. I never had a shred of interest in the story.

I don’t still play because the level and enemy design tanked when they went into expansion treadmill mode, but “a path forward” was never something I cared even a little bit about. “The path forward” is what killed my fun.

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- ByteOnBikes@slrpnk.net ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  The gunplay is SO good. There’s just something about the way it feels that makes it so distinct from any other shooter.
  
  I haven’t touched Destiny in two years. And every shooter I played (first person and the gears of war third person), nothing has yet scratched my Destiny 2 itch.
  
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  - conciselyverbose@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    I could pop cabal heads with [insert high impact scout, bonus if firefly] for days. Hell, I pretty much did on D1. Then D2, in addition to all the other bad design stuff to satisfy live service, also decided they wanted to try to dictate your gun choice in certain game modes with all the bullshit seasonal modifiers on untouchable enemies without specific perks.
    
    All I want to do is run strikes on the basic races by myself. But they can’t milk me for money like that.
    
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  - smeg@feddit.uk ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    I see this posted a lot, what does it mean? What is “gunplay” and what is so good about it in this game?
    
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- Prox@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Confirmed. The gunplay is amazing. I haven’t played for a year or two but I would jump back in today if The Final Shape included all the catch-up/prior DLC packs.
  
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jordanlund@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I dropped it like it was hot when they cut out 1/2 the content I paid for. I might come back if they bring it back.

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- scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Nope, even then they burned me, I think Bungie is officially dead as I used to know it.
  
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  - jordanlund@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Pretty much how I feel. Removing content disrespected the money I spent on the game, sunsetting gear disredpected the time I spent in game.
    
    Though they DID reverse the sunsetting decision after everyone told them it was an awful idea.
    
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NIB@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

What keeps them engaged with Destiny 2 despite its apparent lack of a clear path forward?

There is no alternative. The First Descendant is p2w. Once Human has different structure and resets your progress every season. Warframe is pretty different and similar to First Descendant. Overwatch basically cancelled its pve. Darktide is clunky.

And none of these games have the polish and shooting satisfaction that Destiny has. If people want a pve game, with long term progression that has enjoyable shooting, Destiny is all there is. What keeps them playing? Copium.

Slowly but steadily Destiny will die. And thats when Marathon will come out. But Marathon is very different, so i am not even so sure that most Destiny players will migrate to that.

I am not even playing Destiny. Destiny is the game that i want to love so much but always shits on me, so i gave up. It seems to me that the easiest thing in the world, is to keep Destiny going and address its minor issues. But somehow Bungie doesnt think so.

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dinckelman@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I’ve always enjoyed the identity of the three classes, and the abilities they have, plus gunplay has historically been pretty fun. That said, ever since i’ve started playing, the three things i’ve enjoyed were 1. the raids, 2. the story, and 3. my friends.

Unfortunately, Bungie make it overwhelmingly difficult to have fun in this game, by both making moronic decisions at times, and drip-feeding paying customers content, as if it’s a f2p game on life support. The latter alone has practically made me stop playing recently. You have to pay money to each each season, and all you get is a 30 second cutscene for the weekly story, plus a 10 minute adventure in a zone you’ve already been to a thousand times? Come on

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NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I noped out of Destiny during 1, but it isn’t dissimilar from most live games.

Some people want that endless content drip. They are the ones who tend to bounce between live games and so forth.

But for a lot of us? It is about the journey, not the destination. We played Elite Dangerous because we like flying and scooping and not because we want to buy every single ship. We play Warframe because we enjoy the movement and gameplay and not because we need to make our MR even higher. And so forth.

And for them? Hopefully there is new content at some point if only for Bungie’s sake. But even if there isn’t? They are still playing a game they enjoy.

Because back in the before time? I probably logged 30 hours on CTF-Face alone back in UT. I played and beat Freespace 2 at least a dozen times. Hell, I have basically an annual replay of DOOM 1 and 2 that I have been doing for longer than most of you have been alive. Sometimes you want something new to experience. And sometimes you just want to have fun playing a game you like.

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helenslunch@feddit.nl ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Bruh I quit playing Destiny 1 LOL

You can’t even play without spending hours scrolling Reddit and Twitter to figure out WTF is even going on. Eventually I was spending more time reading about the game than playing it and that’s when I quit. Since then Reddit and Twitter have become an absolute dumpster fire so I was even more glad I quit when I did.

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vikingtons@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Something along the lines of hiring an expert on gambling. There’s a lot of game mechanics in games like Destiny 2 which lock you in through little feedback loops.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIuAeFu84kY

It’s a good looking game with decent movement and gunplay, but it fully disrespects your time. RIP if you ended up buying the game in 2017 with the first few expansions because that shit gone now.

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- Buttflapper@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Seems like most live service games these days are built off of addiction or gambling. For example, gacha gaming is becoming more popular everyday, with their rolls and gambling loops. You can see this in games like Genshin impact. Kind of makes me miss the old days where we had games like battlefield and Call of Duty old school style, just running around playing something that we enjoy for fun.
  
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  - vikingtons@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Yup. The gaming industry got lucrative enough for the bean counters to swoop in and bastardise.
    
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tamiya_tt02@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I hate Destiny. It’s my favorite game.

I started playing D1 during the PS4 Alpha, then beta, and release. Loved it. Played almost daily through The Taken King, and got D2 on launch day. Played the Red War, then took a break. Dabbled in curse of Osiris, took a longer break, played a bit of Beyond Light, more break, then got back into Destiny last June and played a lot through Lightfall’s seasons and The Final Shape.

I truly enjoyed my time playing, but now I’m starting to feel pulled in other directions. I got into Warframe, and The Forever Winter looks really good. I tried Helldivers and it was ok, I don’t have a group to play it with and don’t enjoy randos.

Anyway, all that to say Destiny 2 is dangerously addictive. It feels so good to play. I especially enjoyed the 10-year saga wrapping up with The Final Shape. I’m a very casual gamer, but Destiny makes me feel powerful. That’s why I play.

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- eramseth@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  This. Will also add its like a gaming comfort blanket for me.
  
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Hideakikarate@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
TL:DR-I like the story and gunplay most of all. The social aspects of the game also keep me coming back to help friends and strangers.

Background: I started with vanilla D1, then picked it back up after Taken King and have been playing ever since.

For me, the game has become more about story than actual gameplay, which I still feel is one of the best around. I’m super excited about the 3rd Episode especially, seeing as the Hive still has Xivu to deal, and whatever is going on with Oryx’s body.

I still play every week. Once I’m done with my story stuff for the week, I like to help my group get their raid clears and other tasks completed. If they’re not on, I sometimes boot up LFG and help blueberries as best I can. I genuinely like to play the game, even if it’s helping others.

When story stuff is slow, I actually do like PVP, although, within the past year or so, I’ve noticed that I’ve either gotten worse or the average (remaining) player ha gotten better. No longer can I pick up any random weapon (another boon that Destiny offers, IMO. The ability to take a weapon in PVE/PVP and use it ANYWHERE, with varying degrees of success. But where was I?) and do “OK” with it. Everyone uses “easier” weapons or loadouts, and as much as that irks me (it’s quick play, FFS), that’s their right. Is that contributing to the barren, desolate landscape that is the Crucible? Possibly. I’m not, and never have been, good enough to “carry” in the Crucible, and that goes double for Trials. I tried helping a clan mate recently get the Adept Draw Time mod since it only drops from the Lighthouse. He plays on PC. That session didn’t go well.

I got a bit rambling there at the end, but I guess to answer your question, the story and gunplay of the Destiny series are the reasons I like the game. One made friends playing this game. Already been to one wedding, with another coming later this year. Wouldn’t have happened if I never decided to try the game.

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HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
because they enjoy it?

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binchoo@lemm.ee ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
People play the game because they like to play it? Just because the main story is over doesn’t mean that people don’t enjoy the game anymore. There are plenty of games without a clear and direct story that are very popular because people just enjoy the gameplay.

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eramseth@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Because it’s fun and I have friends I play it with.

The thing with destiny is that there are somewhat diminishing returns in terms of time invested vs in-game advancements.

The min-maxing and endless search for God rolls and the best builds can push you that extra 10% or so over the gen-pop player base who doesn’t spend 20hrs a week on the game.

But gen-pop and casual can still approach end game content without feeling like a total noob.

That said, there is still end game content that is geared towards “power users”… master nightfall, master raids, etc.

Also, as a D1 year 1 player who actually kinda gets what’s going on, story-wise, it’s great. But admittedly comprehending the story is very difficult given where they drop you in if you just started the game.

I will also applaud Bungie for making adjustments over the years. For sure it’s a lot less addictive than it used to be, and less of a grind. Or maybe its as much as a grind as you want it to be. The changes over the years have made the core game more approachable while they still held some high-level end game stuff for the die-hards. They tried to do the same with the story and it kinda works a little.

Also, for me, the raids are really great. Haven’t really experienced that sort of game play, teamwork, puzzle solving, and requirement for perseverance and gaming skill anywhere else. they’re just plain fun, especially if you have a good group to play with.

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mechoman444@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
It’s a good and compelling game.

I still play it for the same reason I play og super Mario.

It brings me enjoyment.

As for the rest of you pompous asshats, no one is forcing you to play it. If you don’t like it don’t fucking play it.

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RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Addiction.

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- caut_R@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  I’m sure we can be more open-minded and accept that people can enjoy the core gameplay loops of games that we don‘t personally enjoy without being addicted.
  
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  - RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    It is addiction. Addiction to the adrenaline of the gameplay elements, that’s literally how games like Destiny/League/Genshin are designed. The “loot box” mystery loot rewards is literally predatory and designed to abuse the psychology of the people that play those games to keep them coming back for more.
    
    Destiny especially revolves around loot. And you get randomized “mystery” loot. I would know, I played the first game and the second game until the Shadowkeep expansion.
    
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  - _Sprite@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    I’ve never seen a happy league player
    
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intensely_human@lemm.ee ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I play games for the gameplay, don’t really care about story.

I haven’t played Destiny in a while but if I did it would be for the same reason a person keeps buying new sudoku books: I like solving the puzzles that the levels represent.

I think Destiny is cool in that it’s co-op and you can encounter other players and temporarily team up with them.

I really wish we had the computing power to make a game that was basically massively coop Halo: one big war against the Covenant that everyone can fight in on the side of Humanity.

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KingThrillgore@lemmy.ml ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
The same reason people use ketamine. It feels good.

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TheDonkerZ@lemmy.ca ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I feel as if the “lack of clear path forward” is a bit over an overreaction from the community.

They dropped Lightfall, and people feel burned, saying they’ll stop playing after Final Shape because Bungie never learns. Add the 2 layoffs into the pot, and the player hemorrhage isn’t about the path forward. This is just the first time the players haven’t known the 3 year plan in a long time.

Bungie is still announcing plans at the same rate they used to, the only difference from pre-TFS is they gave the community the names of 3 expansions ahead of time back then.Now all we have are leaks from some twitter accounts and the title of the next year of content.

AFAIK, they are talking about what “Codename Frontiers” is either today or tomorrow. So yeah, no future plans is not really the issue. They have been saying for a long time there will be more D2. The reason people haven’t wanted to play is everything else surrounding the the game (Bungie layoffs, etc).

Source: 3500+ hours of D2, and the ability to read and retain information. A seemingly rare trait in the D2 community.

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- Buttflapper@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  
  I feel as if the “lack of clear path forward” is a bit over an overreaction from the community.
  
  I don’t think it’s an overreaction considering the fact that they have been building up to the end of this story for about a decade now, it was the grand finale of everything in the entire game’s overarching dialogue, and frankly, no one even considered what would come after that other than the release of Destiny 3 if there even would be one
  
  Bungie is still announcing plans at the same rate they used to
  
  This is just the first time the players haven’t known the 3 year plan in a long time.
  
  Now all we have are leaks from some twitter accounts and the title of the next year of content.
  
  You’re contradicting yourself. You’re saying that they are still announcing things at the rate that they used to, but players don’t know what’s going on, and all we have are leaks from Twitter accounts. How does that make any logical sense? We have no idea what’s going on, but we also know exactly what’s coming, but we also don’t because it’s just leaks and rumors… ummm
  
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  - TheDonkerZ@lemmy.ca ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Destiny 3: They have said several times over the years that making a Destiny 3 would not make sense, so there were no plans. Only thing that ever mentioned there was work happening on a D3 were leak accounts.
    
    Considering it an overreaction is a bit subjective I suppose, but since what said was they are announcing things at the same rate, save for pre-TFS, all we had were the names of upcoming expansions… I don’t see how I’m contracting myself. Unless you mean the leaks, which should always be taken with a grain of salt if you are to believe them.
    
    I say it is an overreaction because, sure, they had a decade long story, but more than half of that was by the seat of their pants, *constantly * needing to stop moving forward and needling to fix core elements of this game. Curse of Osiris infamously almost killed D2, and without the Go Fast update and Forsaken returning everything people loved from D1… Game would’ve died.
    
    I implore you to look back on Forsaken and see that it was just… Fixing D2. The campaign, while having some incredibly memorable story beats, was just… Not good. A bulk of the campaign consisted of Lost Sector like missions in the world that had you killing most of the Barons, with some bigger set piece missions spriklnkled in there.
    
    All I’m trying to say is the only difference between now and then is that we had expansion names up front. Otherwise, about 6 months out, we would get our reveal, and them more info from there as we got closer. If anything, they are talking about Frontiers ahead of schedule. Usually wouldn’t expect anything until like… November/December.
    
    They are in damage control mode, trying to push update son content faster, but with less staff to do it. I imagine it’s hell in Bungie HQ for the devs. Fuck their leadership though.
    
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Raglesnarf@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
my friends play it.

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Arkhive@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I’ve stopped playing since Microsoft copilot was announced and I fully ditched windows, but I held on until the final raid because of the gun play, nostalgia, and the representation present in both the studio and the game. I grew up with the Marathon games, and the early Halo series. The DNA of those games is still there and I can’t help but love it. I’ve been chasing a single player experience that gets even close to Destiny’s feel for so long. The System Shock remake is getting close, but I would love a PvE only game from Bungie. For a long time (read pre-Sony-buyout) Bungie was also a sort of hold out for various minority representations I try to support. The studio’s media showed an employee base that is diverse and they often did a good job pushing back against players saying any sort of agenda was being pushed just for including diversity in the game. This made them a company I was much more willing to throw money at, compared to say, activision/blizzard. That sentiment as largely faded for me as the studio had been turned into a “for the shareholders” cow Sony can milk.

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bitwolf@lemmy.one ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I would still play it… If they allowed Linux gamers

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morbidcactus@lemmy.ca ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
My partner and I gave up destiny before witchqueen dropped, played pretty consistently since house of wolves with a pause just before forsaken until shadow keep. Absolutely loved the core mechanics and the PvP is some of my favourite, but it just felt so stale, barely any new maps, sunsetting old ones, lack of committing to ideas (4v4 was actually solid, some of the maps do not play well in 6s, 3s are fine though), rotating gamemode playlists like d1 had (for 6s I find control annoying after a while, 3s I liked relic in d1, mix in elimination and I’d be good)

It’s a shame because as I said, core mechanics rock, slug shorties and hand cannons feel amazing, and fusion rifles are legitimately awesome as well. I have really solid memories of doing stupid things with stuff like the Le Monarque and No Land Beyond. Wasn’t a huge fan of some metas but had some fun times with the games.

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collapse_already@lemmy.ml ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I have been playing it for 6 years. The gun play is great. It gets regular updates. I still have fun. I wish the pvp player pool was bigger so that match making would work better.

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therealjcdenton@lemmy.zip ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
There is no competitor, and no other game offers the same raid experience as d2

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WolfLink@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

Are there aspects of the game that still offer value or enjoyment

I like the core D2 experience as much as I always have. The gunplay is great, the abilities and build crafting is great, the vibes and graphics and soundtrack are excellent.

The current season is kinda eh but they always put the weakest season they have lined up first because it launches at the same time as the campaign. The current season is more substantial than previous first seasons though, which is good since they are doing 3 seasons per year instead of 4 this time.

The main plot line is finished but there are still sub-plots that need to be resolved. Xivu is not fully defeated. We need to come to a more long-term arrangement with Savathun. (The Xivu-Savathun plot is going to be touched on later this year). Some sort of Vex alliance is long overdue. With the bigger threats out of the way, it would be neat to help the Eliksni and Cabal retake their home planets. Clovis could be a full villain any time now. Plus they are trying to sow the seeds for the new plots down the line with their “traveler/witness demise led to magic seeds being shot into space”. Plus they should answer more details about the fallout after the events of TFS.

All that being said, the main reason I’m still playing is simply because I bought the campaign + season pass combo just like I did for the past 5 years, and I intend to play the content I paid for. However there is a good chance I won’t pay for next year’s pass. There is a lot of potential left in the Destiny IP but the current state of Bungie will have to prove they can still tap into it.

It’s also worth mentioning that I’ve definitely been playing less of it lately than I used to.

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Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I didn’t know they even made Destiny 1.

You know what a good game is? Super Mario Bros. It’s a game about a New Jersy plummer who’s out of work. Which is surprising because New Jersy is so full of shit.

So this Mario guy, he starts taking drugs in the 80s…and has since descended into full blown hysteria and mental health issues.

And so you have to commit animal abuse by stomping on turtles, and other various animals. Then you get so high, you feel like you’re jumping through the clouds. But it’s ok, because Mario is the hero of the story…(Maybe).

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