Alright, I know it's been discussed in the past but I'm having trouble pulling the trigger on The Taken King. I really liked Destiny but got burned out. I didn't get the first two expansions after the general consensus that they are over priced and lacking content.
Now I can get The Taken King with the first two expansions for about $30. My question is:
After a few months with The Taken King, what is Destiny doing better and why is it worth getting back into it? Bullet points would be fine!
The game launched with (in my opinion) 3 main problems:
1. The economy designed expected you to play and replay the same content *far too much*. It's often been said that Destiny was short on content but tbh the campaign length was on par with most modern AAA FPS. The issue was that progressing required Legendary gear, which required very high reputation, which required running the same 5 Strikes dozens and dozens of times.
2. Mission design was absolutely ass tier. Even as someone who loves this game, there is truth to the haters' assertion that missions were ALL literally go here, Ghost scans while you shoot, move, Ghost scans while you shoot. So bad. Also, the dialogue is also comically terrible.
3. The lack of options to play with friends was suffocating. No custom games, no private matches, no split screen, no nothing. Have only 1 friend and want to play a Nightfall? Lol go online and find a stranger because fuck you. Have a bunch of friends online and want to set up teams? Lol what.
Whether the game has improved significantly since launch is not really up to much debate - it has. But whether coming back is worth it will depend a lot on what it is you were most bothered by. Because incredibly, some of these glaring oversights have not been and never will be addressed. Quick overview:
1. "No content" is a tired meme. Destiny+TDB+HoW+TTK is enormous. Like 2 dozen PvP maps, 12 (I think?) Strikes, 3 Raids, who knows how many story missions, a ton of cool Exotics... Tons to get, tons to do.
2. TTK has a "main campaign" and a "post campaign" called Taken Wars. The TTK main quest line is super short (3 hours I think?), but offers the best mission design and dialogue in the game. Cutscenes, new locales, narrative push to keep going etc.
3. The economy is still unnecessarily complicated but no longer as demanding as it was. You can now buy Legendaries with just Rank 1 at a faction, you gain Faction/Vanguard rep simultaneously, bounties are much easier, weapon parts and planetary materials are sold on the tower, Faction drops (shaders etc) now have reasonable drop rates, loot quality is smart and keeps you progressing until you're ready for endgame, upgrading fear is now a piece of cake, the list is huge.
That being said, clan integration is a joke (it means nothing more than a tag). Private games are still not offered. The game expects you to replay content over and over hoping for random chance to help you out. The most interesting content still requires you to look for Internet strangers if you don't have friends who play. It's probably the laggiest game ever shipped. Loading times are still too numerous and too long.
The game feel - shooting, movement -is still unparalleled in my opinion. It's what keeps me here despite some desing decisions which belie disdain for the player base or absolute cluelessness on many issues.
