Several issues arose with Destiny 2, including balance problems, bugs, and player dissatisfaction.
Several issues arose with Destiny 2, including balance problems, bugs, and player dissatisfaction.
So this is a constant debate me and my friend have when we screw around in the Tower. So firstly what was Destiny's downfall prior to D2? Destiny had a Identity crisis, it couldn't decide what genre it was going to be in. It couldn't decide weather it was a FPS, RPG or an MMO. It thought it was an FPS game when it came to the crucible which clashed with the PVE aspect which was Strikes, Raids and PVE aspects. How? Weapons where being balanced around PVP which caused the PVE players (RPG/MMO) ones to suffer damage output on Enemies and being under handed when it came to weapons that where hard to get. As when you grind for a weapon which is Hard to get you expect it to be really good but because of Crucible it caused them to be balanced nullifying the ones using it for PVE. Destiny only survived it's first year purely on the Vault of glass and the grinding people done for the weapons from it. The expansions helped keep it afloat then came the DLC that brought it out of Life support. The Taken King. This brought Better Gameplay, actual Character development and proper storylines. Among this it added many features to entertain all aspects of the community. At the end of Destiny one it was better than when it started. The crucible was enjoyable and actually showed skill differences between players. Strikes, Nightfalls and Raids where getting played weekly for enjoyment sake and just for banters and people where given the chance to just explore and chat (Which I done a lot). Now to talk about Destiny 2. Among the EA trailer and gameplay the game storyline looked great! It added the aspects missing from Destiny one or so we thought. The opening Story acknowledged players of Destiny1 and showed them all their achievements but other than that they where forgotten. not only the players achievements where forgotten after the opening but the whole of Destiny 1 in general. Shaxx acknowledged the accomplishments that you made during Destiny 1 but Salidin forgets that your even a iron lord now and doesn't even acknowledge it. The Grimoire from Destiny 1 is Gone unless you go to third party websites and the lore in Destiny 2 contradicts ones from Destiny 1. The storyline of Destiny2 falls flat and is predictable. The cruicible doesn't allow players with Skill to flourish when going against multiple players as your health melts faster than you can react. The Grinding is nullified due to the fact all weapons have FIXED roles. Now this isn't bad but it means your pretty much only grinding for certain weapons etc. In short the game is too Casual now. This can be visible by the fact you have clans. If your clan does the raid, crucible or nightfall together with or without you. you still get a reward that could be better than the ones who put effort to try and get them. Their isn't anything to grind for endgame as their is very little gameplay unless you do crucible. Now some aspects that I think would have improved Destiny 2 is what's listed below; 1. Story missions where the Ai fight along side you. Not this first mission thing where Zavala hides behind a rock then throws up a bubble every now and then but actual Ai along side you Like Amanda holiday helps you out during the mission she require to pick you up. Maybe she providing covering fire while you unlocked a sealed gate etc. but something that gives you the sense of 'Oh shit, I can't do everything on my own' 2. Dungeon type thing in the tower. You walk up to the door near ikora in the tower and that will transfer you to the Last City where you can help clear out the remaining cabal forces that are hiding or something and get rewarded for it by your vanguard (Similar to the Taken King court public event and the Iron Lords one) 3.Bring back the old PVP system. Where players choose what gametype they wanna play and actually have it that skill matters. Yes their are some people who can do 2v1's and win but they are either lucky to get a jump or have used grenades etc to aid in it. 4.Bring back the RNG roles, as much as grinding for them was a pain they made the game more interesting as it means you are not just seeing the same weapons being used in the crucible every match. Like it's no longer funny on the amount of Uriels Gifts and Antydope-D is among the crucible among other weapons. Yes I know they are good weapons but it removes the challenge of making a weapon your own and having you perform better with it than others if you all use the same weapons. Now I know this looks like someone ranting about a Dead game or nearly dead game but it is someone that doesn't want to see the efforts of Destiny 1 go down the drain. Please feel free to post your opinion or suggestions to what you think could improve Destiny 2. And if your one of those people feel free to tear into me in the sense of 'oh just another bad player complaining, what's new their.
Destiny 1 had its challenges, but if you started from day one you’d notice the progress (though you’d have to invest in a fixed version). The content behind DLC still offered quality comparable to the vanilla experience. Weapon scaling felt reasonable, and character balance was solid—no need to rely on a particular role to shine. You could play as a titan or a hunter, and vice versa. In Destiny 1, Warlocks received the biggest health regeneration boost, which was impressive compared to what you’d see in other games. During my reload tests with an SMG, a Warlock gained shields almost instantly—real improvement.
The balancing remains uneven, with static boosts favoring certain classes while others gain advantages. Warlocks receive regeneration boosts, Hunters get movement speed improvements, and Titans see defense enhancements. However, Titan defense doesn<|pad|>'s advantage doesn't significantly increase survival chances, and Hunter movement gains only boost aiming accuracy and base walking speed. Their sprint remains consistent with other characters.
The core issue was spending a lot of time on strikes and PvP, yet achieving fewer unique items compared to organizing a big public event. That didn’t make sense. This wasn’t the first time. After finishing the core experience, players often jump to another game since there seemed to be nothing left. Bungie aimed to simplify Destiny 2, removing complexity to make it more accessible. While this seemed appealing to many, it ultimately failed in practice. In Destiny 1, the challenge was still present but required effort; players earned rewards through work. Destiny 2 shifted the focus to instant gratification, letting players skip grinding for quick rewards. However, this approach ignored the essence of the game—persistence and effort. Bungie prioritized visual appeal over substance, resulting in a disappointing experience. Another concern was their emphasis on graphics at the expense of gameplay depth. Sure, the visuals are impressive, but they don’t compensate if the content is shallow. If someone plays only a short time and then gets bored, it doesn’t matter how beautiful the game looks. They overlooked the importance of a solid core experience and instead treated the game like a DLC without the original foundation.
The issue lies in how easily exotics appear at public events compared to strikes. This is because Destiny 2 is more casual, unlike Destiny 1 which offered rewards for effort. Public events therefore attract more exotics since casual players are more active there. As mentioned earlier, Bungie seems focused on moving away from Destiny 1, removing features like the Grimoire system entirely. Their website no longer acknowledges D1 players unless they engage directly with the game or visit third-party sites. Bungie’s main concern appears to be erasing past mistakes, overlooking errors from Destiny 1 and reintroducing them in Destiny 2. They also dismissed their original PVP system, which they had improved upon from the start. All previous enhancements were discarded in favor of a new direction, resulting in a version that many feel falls short compared to the original.
I mostly avoided it since I remembered needing the new DLC. That didn’t mean the update was bad, though—it was solid. The DLC they released was impressive, but adding another full price tag just because I was out of the game for a month discouraged me. Destiny 1 was my favorite. I mainly played PvP because that seemed the main draw. The tutorials and guides helped with grinding for calcified fragments, which was useful. I joined later, during the launch of the taken king.
I was present from the start, arguing that claiming it got better over time isn't a nice comment. They simply kept the top weapons and armor locked away for those who refused to pay. Calling Destiny 2 completely different is a mistake. Both games relied on the same low-quality base game plus DLC and pay-to-play mechanics.