Bungie unloaded a full clip of Destiny 2 PvP Guide to the face and the feels are real . Remember when I said to pay attention to Zavala? Destiny 2 immediately proves it has more heart than the first game, even with all the expansions. Using the opening of the showcasing of Destiny 2 as a platform — having Zavala introduce the player base to a more serious tone which immediately sets the stakes higher -- is a strong move. Zavala’s more serious demeanor isn’t all brooding, but a calculus of everything going around him. Which is why the story to Destiny 2 is already immensely important. While there are a number of things in Destiny 2, the PvE aspect of things makes for the skeletal structure that holds up the Destiny universe. In other words, lore matters.
It's a bit nerve-racking that lore, while mentioned, didn’t come up that much, other than story content. With such a serious overhaul to story, gameplay and the two combined, it’s odd that Bungie would leave out what they’ve done for Destiny lore access to the player base. They introduced a number of needed fixes (maps) and while these are already a drastic improvement to the core Destiny game, lore seems out of reach for the moment. It’s not to say that Bungie won’t talk about it later, but still. While not showcasing access to lore, it's most certainly there. For lore nerds like myself, Destiny 2 already looks to be a dream come true.
Taking place on Nessus, one of the two new planets coming to Destiny 2, the strike in the Beta is called The Inverted Spire and focuses on a Vex mind that has been awoken by the Cabal. Nessus is a neat world that kind of combines the aesthetics of the Vex and the Cabal since it was originally a machine world of the Vex's that has been invaded by the Cabal. The planet itself also has a new look to it, with a muted gray landscape, but one with lush red trees everywhere. It's a really cool look that brings a new feel to the game.
A new set of class specific abilities are being added as well. These abilities stay the same no matter which subclass you choose, and are generally meant to help your teammates. Titans can plant down a shield, Warlocks can cast an area of healing and Hunters get a dodge roll similar to the one that was part of the Nightstalker subclass. The first two are activated by holding down the circle or B button and the Hunter's roll is done by double tapping it. They are all a nice addition to each class' set of abilities and are super tactical. They were all incredibly useful in both PvE and PvP.
Bungie did turn a corner with the laying out of the plan moving forward for Destiny 2, which was a nice gesture, but showing us the content road ahead isn’t what earns trust back ; it’s the work put into Destiny 2. Guardians have been putting in the work of playing the game. Many couldn’t keep up with the grind, but those that stayed see that brighter tomorrow that every NPC is always gabbing about to whichever Guardian will listen.
Bungie is not the same developer that created Halo; that much has been clear ever since the early days of Destiny 1. Ever since Destiny 2 was announced, though, it’s as if they’re not even the same developer that made Destiny 1. The first Destiny had many flaws, as did the company that made it, but Bungie made up for those flaws with real improvements to the game and a passion for it that poured through their announcements, trailers and developer diaries. Fans were willing to stick around because they could feel that passion and the game really did get better.
"Outside of the Prismatic Matrix, players may continue to earn Bright Engrams each time they level up, and they can still purchase these engrams if they want a chance to get everything from the Season 3 catalog. Additionally, we’re increasing the number of items available from Tess each week with Bright Dust, from 14 to 18 items.
Whether they intended it or not, when Bungie stated during the livestream that community was what bound Destiny together, they made relationship clear. Destiny is about playing with friends new and old. It could be a one off, with the new Guided Games or something more concrete with friends who have banded together again to face the encroaching darkness. If community is so important to Destiny, it was only understandable that this path would be traversed eventually. Relationship, is something most of us take part in everyday whether we like it or not. Even the Guardians in the Tower couldn’t escape the inevitable crouchers that would surround you or the dance parties. Oh, the dance parties. People can’t help but be drawn to each other, even if it means joining others only in digital spaces.
I wasn't a huge fan of any of the guns in the Destiny 2 Beta, although I'm usually picky and stick with the ones I really like, but they do seem different and cater to different needs. You're also given a lot of options in the Beta which is nice, including the ability to test out all of the different kinds of guns. They've changed the organization of guns as well, and I'm not too much of a fan, although I could see it working once you have a whole host of guns to choose from. Instead of Primary, Secondary, and Heavy, it's Kinetic, Energy, and Power. Heavy and Power are synonymous, while Kinetic means regular weapons with no energy ability attached and Energy simply means that they do. Energies, remember, are the Solar, Void and Arc powers that a weapon might come with. So now, if one is Kinetic and one is Energy, you could have two assault rifles, two hand cannons or any mix of what we think of now as Primary and Secondary weapons in those slots. What I ended up using, though, was a sidearm in the Kinetic slot and an assault rifle in the Energy slot, which meant I spawned with the sidearm, which was weird. It's different, but I think that when I actually start using it it will make more sense.