6 Destiny Issues That Need More Attention

I’ve been playing Destiny (you can find our review here) since it released.  Like many, I followed the hype train, and was expecting huge things from Destiny.  Now, while it isn’t the greatest game ever made, I’m happy to report that I’ve enjoyed my romp through the galaxy, following the Guardians quest to wipe out the Fallen, the Vex, the Cabal, and revive the Traveler.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of all of Destiny’s flaws.  These are just some things that I, personally, took away from the game.  Some may agree, others may disagree, and that’s totally fine.  This was my experience with Destiny.  Also bear in mind that these are issues that I found during the games launch, and they may/may not have been patched/fixed/resolved/updated.  Okay, with that out of the way, here we go!

Destiny is, first and foremost, a First Person Shooter.  Secondly, it’s an MMO.  Sort of.  I’ve heard debate from people that it isn’t an MMO, and you’re an idiot for calling it such.  And then there are those that argue that it is a first person MMO.  As for me, having to be tethered with an online connection in order to play –at all– makes me lean more towards the MMO.  It’s a massive, online experience, without a lot of the trimmings that other online multiplayer games boast.  Such as…

#1 LIMITED CUSTOMIZATION

Destiny promised you could become Legend.  When you first enter its world, you are revived by a Ghost, and allowed to create a character based on 3 different races, male or female.  There’s a large list of choices, all that primarily have to do with your face.  You spend a good amount of time deciding on your lip and hair color, facial marks, face shape, etc.  It feels like it should be significant.

However, you wear a mask for the majority of the game.  Your choices can only be seen while you’re in the Tower.  I mean, I don’t mind wearing a mask the whole time, since it makes sense that you’re on a hostile, alien planet, so you need to wear a helmet.  Otherwise, there’d be eyeball slush everywhere.

It would have been nice to inject a bit of MMO flair into the customization, giving you the ability to choose height, weight, and maybe even clothing style, aside from just gender and facial aesthetics.  Since your face is covered up for a good portion of the game, being able to distinguish your character among the other armor and mask toting Guardians would be a nice feature to have.

#2 LIMITED COMMUNICATION

While adventuring through this vast world, I usually make my way from planet to planet with my cousins at my side.  However, when I enter the Crucible, or one of the 6 member missions strewn throughout the game, I can’t talk to anyone.

I actually like this.  I really don’t socialize with other players, and I’ve come across a few that I know would have had some snarky, unnecessary things to say to me.  I really don’t need someone yelling obscene remarks at me.  I know I suck, I don’t need it reenforced, thank you.  The ability not to hear them is a great change from other multiplayer endeavors!  I’m terrible at FPS, I’ll admit that.  Chances are, if I was on your team in the Crucible, I was the weakest link.  Sorry.

Anyways, back on track… It’s just a shame that you can only talk to your Fireteam, that comprises only 3 members.  So, at any given time during the game, you can only chat with two people.  There’s no option to add anyone else into the chat, or add anyone to your team.  Two people.  No more, no less.  A simple mute or ignore function would be appreciated.

#3 LIMITED EMOTES

So, with the lack of communication, and no in game type chat to speak of, one way to get your point across is through interpretive dance.  Your Guardian can point, sit, dance, and wave.  These are really fun, and I was surprised at the amount of information you could convey to another player without the need to talk.  But while they are amusing, they’re also very limited.

It would be nice to choose from a large array of emotes, with the ability to map them to the D-pad at will.  Once again, something that’s a part of other MMOs, that would serve Destiny well.  Also, adding more choices would be nice, like signals to stop, follow me, attack this –or that– target, etc.  Oh, and different dance steps, too!  You know, emotes that would allow you to lead/communicate with your team without the need to speak to them.

#4 GETTING KICKED OFF THE SERVER

I mentioned earlier that you are forever tethered to Destiny by means of an internet connection.  No internet?  No Destiny.  This was one of the most frustrating parts for me, after I initially bought the game, because I hate having to be online constantly, just to play.  I mean, if the net goes down, there’s an issue with your router, or you just didn’t pay your bill, you’re out of luck if you want to go adventuring.

But what is more irksome, once I was actually inside the game, is being kicked out of a mission because you were disconnected from the Destiny servers!  When this happens, the game states that there’s an issue with my internet connection, but that usually isn’t the case.  I know this because my wife is playing an online game on my PC, and it runs fine.  Also, I’m never, ever kicked of the net while surfing.  That just isn’t a thing.

Being kicked off the server can happen without warning.  And it happens randomly, and at the worst times.  There’ve been moments where I was in a boss fight, the screen would turn black, and I’d be sent to orbit.  Most frustrating of all was when I defeated the horde, massacred the boss, and was waiting for the count down to send me into orbit and end the stage.  When the counter hit 15 seconds, I was kicked off the server, and had to do the entire stage from the beginning.  What.  The.  Duck.  It would be nice to be able to play offline.  That, or fix the servers.

#5 NO ITEM TRADE

One of the most interesting things to do in other MMOs –yes back to that– is to find rare, amazing items, and share them with my friends!  Or, having one of those said friends give you a new, powerful weapon or piece of armor since they no longer have a use for it!  Trading man, it’s very cool, and very helpful.

In Destiny, there’s no such function.  I’ve read that Bungie said (please don’t quote me on this) that they did this so that each player had to work for their gear, and would have a story to tell about how they got it.  So I guess it’s supposed to represent hours of hard work.  Okay, I get that.

But the loot drops are so random, and you switch out gear without a thought, that it just doesn’t matter.  During my whole playthrough in Destiny, I don’t think I’ve stuck to one single weapon or piece of armor.  That’s because you always find something bigger and better!  And with no way of getting rid of all your loot, you inevitably sell or just discard it.  Sometimes, I can’t even remember where I got it?  So my story would be, “Oh, that?  I killed so many enemies.  I’m not ever sure where that came from!  But look at the damage it deals, cool right?!”

#6 NO LOCAL CO-OP

This is another personal gripe, since I like to play games with my wife.  We play any game we can together, and it’s really fulfilling to annihilate with her at my side!  With the recent console generation, it’s become harder and harder to find any game that allows us to play side by side.  They’re either single player, or it isn’t supported.  I mean, do people not enjoy playing next to each other anymore?  But I digress.

For me, this is the biggest issue.  When I first heard about the game, I was excited!  My wife wanted to play as a Warlock, since she always chooses the mage class, and I was going to be a Hunter.  We looked forward to venturing through space together.  However, to even be able to play together, we’d need another TV, another copy of the game, and another console.  That’s a lot of money we can’t spare.

So, we play solo, teaming up with friends and family, and other random people.  Which isn’t too bad.  But I’m here, and I’d like to play, and she’s right next to me, and she wants to play.  We both wonder how cool it’d be to have our characters side by side, wrecking the Vex and Cabal as a unit!  Yes, I know it will never get any attention –since it isn’t necessary– but it is something that is constantly on the forefront of my mind as I play.  Alas, it is not to be.  We’ll just have to settle for Borderlands 2 and The Pre-Sequel.

This isn’t to say that I don’t enjoy Destiny, because I do!  This is just a list of things that I feel fell short of not only the hype, but could have added so much more to the overall experience if they were fleshed out a bit more.

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