In the MMO shooter Destiny, the “hard” mode of the raid “Crota’s End” will only start at some point in January, four to eight weeks after the release of the DLC “Darkness Awaits.” What is behind this decision to stretch the game content?
Yesterday, a lot of new information about Destiny and the DLC “Darkness Awaits” became known. So much so that one of the most important pieces of information was almost drowned in the sea of Destiny news: Destiny players will have to wait four to eight weeks before they can access the centerpiece of the new content “Darkness Awaits” in the hard mode of “Crota’s End,” which will only start “at some point in January.”
This decision by Bungie indicates that they were not entirely satisfied with how quickly Guardians had worked through “The Vault of Glass.” In the “normal” mode, hardcore players cleared it in just a week and were already nibbling at the endgame, which was supposed to last four months.
Near the end of the content, after 14 IDs in the hard mode of “The Vault of Glass,” hardcore players complained that everything was becoming boring: there was nothing new. Months ago, players cleared the raid on hard with three people or worked on some tricks. When only two Guardians cleared the raid on “hard”, it was the end of the line.
Meanwhile, other players experienced the raid for the first time in November and would only now be ready to see it in “hard mode,” but the new content is already on the way.
Bungie opts for a gating tactic: Content needs to last longer
Now Bungie is coming with a “gating” tactic: instead of unlocking the entire expansion from the outset, they are rolling it out in stages. This means that players are initially confronted with locked doors that only open after a certain period of time. Maybe the timing is not even set yet, or they may wait to unlock the hard mode until a certain player threshold is exceeded, which is now ready for it.
Such a gating tactic buys the developers time to create additional game content.
Guardians are supposed to thoroughly experience the raid in a first wave on “normal,” defeating it four to eight times, playing the story missions from Eris Morn, and maybe also engage in new events before the DLC takes the next step in January: a kind of “Darkness Awaits – Part 2 Electric Boogaloo.”
What is behind this tactic in Destiny?
Why is Destiny changing its schedule now?
This could indicate that they are taking a bit more time with the next DLC “House of Wolves” and thus buying more time for the subsequent game content. It is extremely difficult for an MMO to satisfy the growing hunger of players for new content: developers cannot create new stuff as quickly as players get bored of the old. This is one of the core problems of MMOs. Especially as players become more skilled and approach new raids and instances in a more methodical manner, the novelty wears off.
The advantage of such gating for the developer as well: players have a point to “re-enter” the game after a break. Too long breaks are difficult for MMO developers. If hardcore players are finished with the new content by the end of December and the next DLC does not come until April or May, some regular players might be lost. Therefore, they give them another entry point in January. Special events serve a similar function. And some players might check in with Xur at least once a week, even if they are not playing, to see what he has.
Destiny learns from World of Warcraft
These tactics in the MMO genre to stretch content are not new. The current World of Warcraft expansion “Warlords of Draenor” also employs gating. The raids were locked for 3 weeks, then the first raid was opened on “normal” and “hard,” and a week later it would start on “mythic.”
But it will probably take 2 months before the next raid, which is already in the game, opens up. In general, it seems that Destiny is picking up a trick or two from the father of the MMO genre. The idea of being able to complete the same game content, whether it’s a strike or a raid, at more than one difficulty level and thereby significantly extending the content is an established Blizzard idea.
And what to do until then? Nightfall? Old raid?
How Guardians will spend their time in December and whether there will be anything in the endgame besides the new raid “Crota’s End” is still unclear. It is already known that the weekly Nightfall strike will be raised from level 28 to level 30. It will therefore likely remain relevant.
Also, the event “Trials of Osiris” or new editions of “Queen’s Wrath” and “Iron Banner” could keep players engaged.
Perhaps they will also add a new difficulty level in the then old raid “The Vault of Glass” to entertain players. Dataminers have found hints in this direction.
That would be an idea where they could surpass the grandmaster Blizzard.
Perhaps one can only reach the new max level in January
In the “hard mode” of “Crota’s End,” a number of particularly powerful legendary raid weapons are set to drop, all of which count as “primary weapons” and are therefore sure to be sought after.
Moreover, it seems that in “Crota’s End” a complete raid armor will drop, which is stronger than the “normal” version.
This could mean that one might only be able to reach level 32 with this new raid armor. There will certainly be reason to check back in January. One could almost say: The DLC “Darkness Awaits” only starts halfway on December 9; things will really get going in January.
This gating tactic for the raid is currently receiving little criticism, as most players are upset about the upgrades for exotic weapons. Only a “few” percent of players who have already completed the “normal version” of Crota’s End will probably be affected by the gating.
This article is part of a trio regarding new developments in the DLC “Darkness Awaits” that became known yesterday evening. The other two parts can be found here: Destiny wants to be fairer, less loot frustration in the raids and Destiny: Be careful with upgrades – “old” exotic items can be upgraded with DLC
