This article is part of our Personal Playthrough series.
Hey hey, don't run away! I know what you're thinking. "Destiny 2 is a dead game, what more could you have to say about it?" That would be a fair statement if you've stepped away from the game for awhile. Things are as bleak as ever in the Destiny community, it's true. But what if I told you that there was reason to believe that things could soon be on the up and up?
You see, Bungie has slowly been adding in elements that have been improving the game on a somewhat regular basis of late. It all started with the "Go Fast" update a few weeks back where they tweaked the cooldowns on a lot of your abilities, making things seem to move a bit faster. Admittedly, it didn't feel like much had changed after playing it for a couple hours. Sure, my super charged much faster in Crucible and the characters did move faster. But if you could only drive at 30 miles per hour and then were given the ability to drive at 35 miles per hour, it will technically feel faster. In reality, however, it's an incremental shift that doesn't fundamentally change much.
But Bungie hasn't stopped there. In conjunction with the Go Fast update, the latest round of Iron Banner, the game's monthly PvP mode that's been a popular mainstay since the beginning, brought back 6v6 action after neutering all PvP modes to 4v4 since the launch of Destiny 2. While it may sound like a small change, it has made a huge difference on the feel of PvP in Destiny 2.
For the first time since the Destiny 2 beta last summer, PvP feels fun again. I had dabbled in it occasionally at launch, but it was never much to write home to mom about. Now that 6v6 is back (but only for Iron Banner cause Bungie doesn't want to give us everything at once, apparently), however, Destiny 2 feels like the Destiny of old that captivated me and so many others years ago. I don't think I've ever gotten that "one more game" itch with Destiny 2 once, but there I was the night before my sister-in-law's wedding grinding Iron Banner until 2am. There was just something about it that gave me hope that maybe, just maybe, Bungie can right this ship.
Now, I realize that I have put forth some pretty conflicting opinions on Destiny 2 over the months since release. "They're making changes!" "Those changes suck." "Here's why Destiny 2 can be used as an example of what not to do." "Wait guys, maybe it's getting better?" Basically, I'm in an incredibly toxic relationship with this game.
I dated this woman for three years. Things were pretty rocky at times, but it was an overall great experience. We had fun. We laughed. We explored. We conquered many an obstacle.
But then she did me wrong. Out of nowhere, she completely changed and ended up cheating on me. She said it was just a one time thing, so I tried to move past it. Then she did it again a few weeks later and I couldn't take it anymore. I left her and felt the better because of it. I moved on and started seeing other people (hello, Fortnite and Dragon Ball FighterZ).
It had been about six months and I was doing just fine. Until I ran into her at Target. She looked incredible. She asked me to grab some coffee, I agreed, and we ended up talking for hours. It was a really, really great time. But I'm still wary of taking her back after being burned so bad in the past. So what's a good way to gauge if a person has changed? Send your best friend in to do some scoping.
Out of that terribly long analogy and back to the issue at hand, Bungie held a Community Summit this past weekend that involved many of the biggest content creators in the Destiny community. Bungie flew them all out to headquarters in Seattle to look not just at the upcoming Warmind expansion, but to get some real, honest to God feedback on some of the updates coming down the line this Fall.
Obviously, none of them could really go into detail about what exactly went down or what things were talked about but just look at a few of things they had to say after the Summit was over.
I won't be able to share all details with you for a while but I can say that I feel listened to and I feel my opinions have been respected. We spent most of the day just talking, feeling good about this.
— Ms 5000 Watts (@Mrs5oooWatts) April 20, 2018
The biggest takeaway is that the teams working towards the fall have their eyes set on bringing back the hobby for the hobbyist and a lot more people are hard at work that I expected. Simply as a Destiny player, I'm looking forward to fall.
— Gothalion (@Gothalion) April 22, 2018
Legally, I have to tell you if I got paid to play something.I did not get paid to promote Destiny. None of us ever have, as far as I know.Warmind is already set in stone. What comes after that, though...That's very very much where my eyes are focused for the game.
— DrLupo (@DrLupoOnTwitch) April 21, 2018
Obviously I'm not allowed to go into any details on what was at the summit or what Bungie said. That will come over time. I can say that if everything is executed properly then I'm excited about the attitude, approach, and final destination of Destiny 2's future
— Gigz (@T1gigz) April 21, 2018
All of these people are streamers who used to play Destiny on a daily basis but have since moved on to other adventures given the turn that the game has taken over the months. The fact that they are so positive and hopeful for the future gives me hope. Sure, things could easily crash and burn still, but there is plenty of reason to hold out hope that things are finally looking up.
Okay back to the analogy (I have to see it through!) now that my best friends (I don't actually know any of these people, but I'd like to think that we'd be best friends) have talked with my ex, they've told me that I'm not crazy to think that she's changed for the better. While I should definitely temper my expectations, there is plenty of hope there.
But really, things truly do seem to be moving in the right direction. It definitely shouldn't have taken this long and things shouldn't have gotten this bad in the first place, but the fact of the matter is that this is all positive. I don't expect much at all to change with the release of the Warmind expansion in a couple weeks, but this Fall? That's when things might get back on track. There are admittedly some things like Crucible ranks and the Exotic weapon changes, but the return to the grind doesn't sound like it's coming for a few more months.
I am fully aware that I could be setting myself up for more disappointment by expecting the game to return to its former glory this Fall, but I just want the game to be great again and I'm willing to take the bullet in order to let you guys know when it's safe to come back.
So here's to hoping that I don't end up looking like a fool come this Fall!
