Of course, more elaborate quests also involve more effort for Bungie. But Guardians would appreciate it.
What do you think about the quest system in Destiny 2? Should random elements and time gating be removed?
Recently, the mysterious quest was launched that sends Guardians hunting for the killer of Master Ives. However, the current scope is disappointing. But not only this specific task reveals major weaknesses in the quest system of Destiny 2, says our author Robert. Randomness and time gates drive players to the brink of insanity.
This is the new quest: This week, a new quest started in Destiny 2 that promises a hot reward.
If the leaks are to be believed, at the end of a three-week quest series the exotic machine gun Thunderlord will be handed out, which many Guardians have been eagerly awaiting.
Bungie itself referred to it as a “murder hunt” to whet our appetite for the new quest.
The quest just won’t progress: However, those who were looking forward to a suspenseful crime story may be disappointed after this first quest step.
Because apart from defeating strong enemies, the quest hasn’t really offered much so far. It was even possible to skip this quest step.
Just buy 10 engrams from Master Rahool and you’re done. At least until the next reset. Unfortunately, this quest is not the first in Destiny 2 that is time gated, hidden behind a time lock.
If the story actually continues only at the next reset, the murderer has gained a week of time. Just like that.
The fact that the first quest step had nothing to do with the murder itself adds to the frustration.
Now, players have looked forward to a crime story for weeks and must wait weeks more for the quest to pick up speed. That’s just bad quest design.
Why is time gating problematic? Players complete a quest step and then must wait, without a valid reason in the game.
It’s like a toy that we are given, but can only use briefly before it is taken away, and we must wait until we can play with it again.
But especially the exotic quests in Destiny 2 not only have a problem with time gating but also with another mechanic that makes it harder for players to obtain a certain item: randomness.
What is worse than time gating? Randomness!
When randomness doesn’t cooperate: Not only do many quests struggle with time gating. Especially exotic quests are tied to randomness and leave many Guardians waiting:
- The Misdeeds quest is only received by those who face the Meatball as the final boss in Gambit and defeat it.
- The task for the Chaperone can be obtained randomly from all activities.
- You only get the Lord of Wolves from the loot chests of Spider.
This is why randomness is problematic for such quests: You not only have to play Gambit to have a chance at the Misdeeds quest. At the end of a round, a specific enemy must also appear, whom you then need to defeat.
- Got a bad team? Tough luck.
- The enemy doesn’t spawn? Bad for you.
Admittedly, those who play Gambit a lot and regularly will eventually get the quest. However, if you are unlucky, you can wait a long time before you can finally tackle the task.
This puts players at a disadvantage compared to others completely unfairly. Only randomness decides whether you get a quest or not.
This quest particularly drove me insane: I set myself the goal of earning Redrix’s Broadsword in the current season. Since the quest for the Chaperone is supposed to drop from all activities, it was supposed to fall sometime after a Crucible match.
While most players report that they received the quest immediately after completing the story, I had to reset my valor rank in the Crucible three times (!) before I received the quest.
That’s 6000 valor points or an average of 200 games.
Why wasn’t the quest simply made available to all players after they completed the story?
What purpose does randomness serve at this point, when the weapon isn’t even tied to an interesting story?
There are also good quests in Destiny 2
This is how it can be done better: Bungie has already proven that progress-oriented quests are possible:
- The quest for the exotic hand cannon Pikass is undoubtedly one of the best quest lines that Bungie has delivered so far. To obtain it, the story of Forsaken must be completed.
- While the Sleeper Simulant encompassed a long and elaborate quest line, every player had access to it once the Warmind DLC was completed.
- The quests for the Rat King, the MIDA Multi-Tool, and the Legend of Acrius were received by players “guaranteed” after certain conditions in the main campaign of Destiny 2 were met.
How could these random quests be designed to be “fairer”? By tying their appearance to specific conditions that players can achieve on their own!
Instead of issuing the Misdeeds quest based on a specific, randomly appearing enemy, a quest line could have been constructed specifically for Gambit that unlocks the first quest step of Misdeeds at the end.
This would have given players a goal to strive for. The quest for the Chaperone could have been designed in the same way. There are plenty of possibilities to keep players engaged without causing frustration. This is demonstrated quite well by legendary weapons that can only be obtained in the Crucible.
Quests for legendary weapons show: It can be done differently!
Redrix’s Broadsword and Luna’s Howl as a model? Admittedly, both quests are lengthy and not for the faint of heart.
However, every player knows what they need to do and can earn these weapons (at least to a large extent) on their own initiative. The acquisition of the quests is not tied to randomness, and there are no temporal fillers.
This is how quest lines in Destiny 2 could be designed fairly and excitingly:
- Link the acquisition of quests to achievable goals, as found in the Triumphs. Lore Triumphs provide the perfect foundation for exotic quests that can further advance the story.
- Ensure that players can reach the quest themselves without relying on randomness, as is the case with Pikass, the Sleeper Simulant, and the Rat King.
- Time gating is poor quest design! Stretch the quest in other ways, but time gating simply demonstrates laziness.
Of course, more elaborate quests also involve more effort for Bungie. But Guardians would appreciate it.
What do you think about the quest system in Destiny 2? Should random elements and time gating be removed?
