The MMO shooter Destiny is supposed to establish a franchise that lasts for ten years. But before the release of the next installment, doubts arise. Will the future of the game be decided by the DLC “House of Wolves”?
The franchise “Destiny” is supposed to endure for ten years. “But how, actually?”, one wonders at the moment. Because Destiny suffers from having simply too little to do. An ailment it shares with other MMOs, of course. At the beginning of December, the last DLC for Destiny was released, and it was thin. Very thin, in fact.
Darkness Lurks is generally perceived as disappointing
“Darkness Lurks” only brought one strike for everyone. The second strike “The Immortal Spirit” was exclusive to Playstation. And they are hardly envied: Because according to statistics, it is the least popular strike ever.
There were three new story missions, which already seemed too few the first time and offered even less new content. They were essentially just existing missions in reverse. The only new aspect, how the missions were assigned, seemed like an interesting addition to the existing concept: With the tragic fate of Eris Morn, there was something like a red thread in Destiny.
Additionally, there was the raid “Crota’s End”, which performed rather poorly compared to its predecessor “The Glass Chamber” and fell short for many under the high expectations.
The truly motivating element that was newly added was the item reset: Players had to, under much grumbling, exchange their old legendary armors and weapons for newer ones. This time, it also partially applied to exotic weapons and armors. However, they intend to forgo this next time.
The main problem with “Darkness Lurks” was that players had to pay €20 for it, and for this price, they had expected so much more from Destiny. Because as good as the game is and no matter how much time players spend with it, it is evident, how much better the game can and must be at numerous points. The DLC “Darkness Lurks” did not evolve the game or (when looked at kindly) only very little, but merely delivered “more of the same.”
The second problem is that Darkness Lurks has been the only new content players have received for 4 months. Since mid-January, when the Hard Mode of “Crota’s End” opened with a 6-week delay, players have been waiting for new tasks. And “House of Wolves” apparently seems far away. It is supposed to be released between April and June 2015. With each week, expectations rise. It seems unlikely that House of Wolves will come in April; otherwise, first promo campaigns would have already started.
What can be expected from House of Wolves?
House of Wolves, which many have already paid for in advance thanks to the season pass, is unlikely to differ significantly from “Darkness Lurks”. At least first leaks pointed to this, painting exactly the same picture for the new DLC as for the old: few missions, one strike, one raid.
However, this leak had already emerged before the release of Destiny. Bungie had several months to react to player feedback and incorporate it.
On one hand, there was the clear announcement that they would not conduct another “reset” for exotic weapons. On the other hand, hints appeared that a kind of “second tower” might be introduced to the game.
Otherwise, there is currently silence about what Bungie really has in store for the DLC. Everything we think we know about the DLC (and that’s a lot) is months old and likely outdated. Bungie’s policy seems to be to let us look a maximum of a few weeks into the future. At the moment, they are gradually presenting patch 1.1.2 for Destiny.
Why is House of Wolves so important for Destiny?
The next DLC “House of Wolves” is so important for Destiny because many players have already purchased it through the season pass and will definitely check out the DLC, even if they are currently bored and/or disappointed.
Looking at it from a different perspective, “House of Wolves” is now the first point at which we can see whether Bungie has truly accepted and understood player feedback. From the release in September to the first DLC in December, there was too little time to really react to player feedback. With one exception: Eris Morn was introduced and made the central focus of the story, after hearing that players missed a story.
Now, before House of Wolves, they had a few more months to respond to feedback: However, one will likely not achieve miracles. An MMO is too complex for that. Bungie seemingly still has difficulties making changes to Destiny. This is evident from the lengthy issues, such as the missing fixes for exotic weapons or the bug with heavy ammunition.
… but it is not the last chance for Destiny
However, one cannot, like many fans do, now say: “This is Destiny’s last chance!” This is an understandable reaction borne out of frustration, disappointed hopes, and a feeling of powerlessness: a counter-reaction born from the feeling that developers do not take one seriously. Players want to gain power with this statement and exert pressure.
However: If you look at the disastrous state The Elder Scrolls Online was in after its release. If you remember how bad the mood was there for a long time and how TESO now sparkles and shines, you can see that players forget. Especially in light of an advertising campaign, boredom, palpable potential and if the game has great gameplay.
Experience has shown that players quickly become angry and swear never to touch a game again. But they are terribly inconsistent in sticking to those decisions.
Even if “House of Wolves” were to disappoint across the board, Activision and Bungie would certainly have the means to rally enough for the next, larger expansion “Comet” that players would give the game another chance.
However, Bungie and Destiny would be in a much better position if they could get the DLC right so that it appeases current players and meets their expectations. But what exactly are those? What do players expect from the DLC?
What does Destiny need to do differently with House of Wolves?
At this point, we would like to hear your opinion. We will compile “known demands” into a list. You have the opportunity to choose the most important point from below. And of course, you can express your opinion in the comments.
Which statement do you agree with the most?
- More story and atmosphere: Destiny should urgently begin to tap its potential and tell a more exciting story – with cutscenes and … revolutionary idea: a kind of tension arc and plot. The great side characters should be highlighted more, the many blank spots in the story map deserve to be filled. And if someone could ensure that Ghost does more than just open doors for 3 minutes while we have to defend his robot butt, we’d be very grateful!
- A better raid and more interesting enemies: It would be desirable that Bungie continues where they left off with “The Glass Chamber” and relies on more interesting boss mechanics and perhaps also brings some new enemy models. It’s no fun when every boss in the game is just an existing enemy that has eaten too much Chappi and grown five times larger.
- Higher replayability of old raids and strikes and generally more choices: One of the biggest shortcomings of Darkness Lurks was that the old raid “The Glass Chamber” was devalued by not bringing the items there up to the latest level. Also, the strikes lose a lot of their appeal on their tenth visit. Here, Bungie should come up with random modifiers or other gimmicks.
- More exotic quests, treasure maps, events, and adventures: Even outside the rigid procession, Bungie should introduce special features for solo players, very specific missions that end with a reward in Destiny that not everyone has, and for which the trouble is worth it. What about treasure maps or what about more PvE events?
Which of the four statements would you agree with the most? Or are you for point 5 “Something else …”? Then write it in the comments.
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And you are welcome to comment on the question in the header:
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