In the MMO shooter Destiny , 458 players have made it into the Destiny Platinum Club on PlayStation 3 or PlayStation 4. For many others, it fails at “Flawless Raider”, which requires completing the raid “The Vault of Glass” without anyone dying.
Only a small circle has achieved Platinum in Destiny so far
458 Guardians have made it into the Platinum Club in Destiny, achieving every available trophy in the MMO shooter. That sounds like a considerable number. After all, it’s like a gym full or something. But when you realize how many must have tried, 458 is a minuscule number.
This trophy is likely to be one of the more rare and coveted awards. Trophies are achievements for PlayStation players, or “Achievements” as MMO players know them from other games or Steam users from Steam.
For most players, the “I have done everything” award hinges on the partial success of “Flawless Raider”. Players must complete the 6-Guardian raid “The Vault of Glass” with the same group without anyone dying or going to orbit in between. So far, only 675 players have managed to secure this trophy.
Tricky: Here, you are not only relying on doing everything right for often hours, but also the other members of the fireteam must have a good day, as there are millions of ways to die in the raid.
Trickier: “The Vault of Glass” is, on top of that, still quite glitchy in some places, so it’s not designed without flaws. Even with perfect play, something can still go wrong. Bungie fixed one glitch, but unfortunately, it’s one that players exploit to their advantage. And with the changes to the Atheon port mechanic, the raid and thus the AV has certainly not become easier. But at least there is no “Flawless Raider” in hard mode.
What can go wrong can be seen in this Destiny video:
https://youtu.be/3kTUqgEuB1Y
Achievements divide the MMO community, but reach the industry
Achievements are also sought after in MMORPGs like World of Warcraft. In WoW, for instance, there are coveted titles like “The Immortal,” which are based on a “No Deaths Allowed” achievement. In WoW, those were no longer obtainable after some time, as players outpaced the content, making it no longer a challenge to clear the raid with significantly better gear flawlessly.
The topic of “achievements” has long been a bone of contention among MMO fans. While some see it as a waste of time, after all, it’s just a kind of high score, the character doesn’t get stronger, and there is no loot for it; it is a motivating game mechanic for completionists: they get a kick out of seeing 100% displayed somewhere. And the thrill that comes with this additional challenge is invigorating.
The debate over whether achievements are worthwhile or not has essentially been decided by the industry: it’s a way to give players something to do without requiring actual development resources. So it’s naturally done. By now, the idea can be found in numerous games across all genres. Yes, even outside of games, companies are considering applying this motivational strategy. It’s called “gamification”.
http://youtu.be/MbALcImrUVU
