2015 was the proving grounds for Bungie and the studio’s living game, Destiny. After a somewhat rocky start, fans had a lot of changes that they desired. And you know what? Bungie did a bang up job of responding to complaints and changing the game as a whole. Throughout the entirety of 2015, adjustments were made to weapons, quests, and events to upgrade the experience and bring it closer to what fans wanted.
September brought The Taken King along with the beginning of Year Two. This was a complete overhaul of the game that introduced a new enemy type, changes to the way quests work, and some cohesion to the story (something that was desperately lacking). A couple of new events were thrown into the mix as well and now we’re here, at the end of the year looking towards a rather questionable future.
There’s no telling what the future may hold, especially with some reports that have been swirling around lately. So let’s take a look at what we may be able to expect from 2016.
No More DLC
In an interview with Eurogamer it was revealed that there would no more huge DLC packs. Year One brought the expansions The Dark Below and House of Wolves, but the developers noticed that it alienated certain players if they opted out of one of the expansions. Certain activities, events, and gear were tied to specific expansions so although you could play basic modes with players that had both, you would never have access to that content if you didn’t.
That meant no Trials of Osiris if you stuck with only The Dark Below and other things of that nature. While it made sense if you look at how other games handle downloadable content, it wasn’t a proper fit for what Destiny was trying to become. The way things are now, if you have the The Taken King, then you have the game and should be able to participate in everything going forward.
Instead, the game is going for an event focus. Things like the Sparrow Racing League that players are currently able to participate in, and the Festival of the Lost. It’s an interesting approach that fans who are tired of shelling out more cash are sure to appreciate. There’s also a good chance that this may be the fruits of the Eververse Trading Co. Bungie had said that the revenue from that would fund events and from the looks of it, the company is keeping its word.
Of course, with how events have been in the past, there are some people that are worried. Most events so far (with the exception of the SRL) have been relatively simple, and nothing more than glorified fetch quests. Bungie will have to do something big.
Raid(s?)
When all is said and done, what keeps players (PvE ones particularly) sticking around is the endgame content. For the most part, that content revolves around Raids. Huge, hour plus long missions that have a team of six Guardians complete multiple tasks, kill hundreds of aliens, and defeat a series of challenging bosses. It’s the reason why so many players spend hour after hour grinding for better gear in all of Destiny’s other content.
The Taken King came with King’s Fall, but there’s but so many times that players can repeately play the same content. The two older raids, Vault of Glass and Crota’s End, didn’t receive any upgrades with Year Two, so playing those is relatively pointless unless you need the achievement because you just got the game. Their weapons and gear stay stuck at Year One values, so grinding them out if you aren’t really a PvP player will do nothing but fill a slot in your Vault.
Sure, there’s Challenge Mode for the King’s Fall raid now, and for a while that will keep players coming back, but once all of the emblems, ships, shaders, and weapons are collected those players will be able to say, with confidence, that they’ve beaten The Taken King. What then?
With the focus on events that Destiny is adopting maybe they can shake up the system of Raids, as well. A temporary Raid that gives players the opportunity to earn some truly unique gear, or perhaps new events that expand upon the older Raids that have been pretty much left in the dust with the advent of Year Two. Perhaps Bungie can provide a Cabal-centered Raid as a sort of last hurrah, finally giving a challenge that pits players against each of the enemy races.
Public Events
Public Events are another element of Destiny that have sort of fallen to the wayside. Each expansion actually introduced a really cool one prior to its release. We got the Swords of Crota, the roaming House of Wolves, and Taken Lieutenants scattered around each of the game’s worlds. These were amazing, but after a while, their purpose expired. But still, there’s no denying that Bungie was onto something.
When Destiny first released, one of the major events was the Queen’s Wrath. Bounties were placed on powerful targets and in exchange for completing these challenges, you got some pretty cool legendary gear. Destiny can use more of that if it looks to survive the coming year without any major expansions.
The developers pitched it as a living game, one that grows with the player base. A game like that needs constant motion if it doesn’t want to plateau, and Public Events are one way to keep things moving. This method may actually be one that is most likely used due to the fact that the studio has done it before and it fits right in with the whole no expansion decision.
As long as the gear looks great, you can expect players to return in droves to take care of whatever new threat that comes against the light.
Destiny 2
Destiny 2 is going to happen, there’s no doubt about that. Bungie was very clear that the “10 year plan” wasn’t for a single entry. The question is when? What would make the most sense is a sequel kicking off Year Three in fall of 2016. Day One players will have had two years to mold their guardian and defeat every challenge that arose from the darkness. After running around the same locations for months on end it will be time to take your adventure to new frontiers.
If Bungie is set on not releasing large expansions and having its Live Team focus on events, then the core team must be hard at work making the next entry in the series. While The Taken King and many patches have improved the game drastically since the launch back in 2014, there’s only so much that the developers can do to change the whole game.
As great as Destiny has become, it needs a new world (or several, for that matter) for players’ powerful Guardians to explore. It’s finally had a solid foundation poured in place, one that took a year to get right. Now that it’s there and new players are able to join in on the fun, it’s time to bust it wide open and create the huge space opera that fans were expecting.
2016 definitely has a lot of secrets that await players, especially since Bungie is keeping its lips sealed where Destiny’s future is concerned. But these few directions and scenarios are really the only things that make sense based on what’s happened with the game up until now. The developers have established a pattern that has kept the game afloat beyond anyone’s expectations, so let’s see what they make of it now that the true crunch time is about to hit.
What do you think of Destiny’s future? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
Safe travels, Guardians.
Published: Dec 17, 2015 05:32 pm