In Destiny, scientific methods have been applied to analyze player behavior.
The Player Archetypes of Destiny in PvE
In PvE, according to a seemingly scientific study by Anders Drachen and numerous co-authors, there are five major archetypes, clusters of Destiny players:
- The “High DPS” (23.5% of players) simply love dealing as much damage as possible and use their special attacks as often as they can.
- The Guerilla Fighters (16.7%) adapt to every situation, frequently switch their weapons, and know what they’re doing.
- The Melee Fighters (22.9%) always want to get into close combat, either striking or using short-range weapons. They have a lot of success with those – more than players of other archetypes in Destiny *cough* Pump Men *cough*. Sorry, I have a cold.
- Then there are the “Sitting Duck Snipers” (18.8%), who prefer to kill from long distance and from a stationary position. These are the campers of Destiny.
- Finally, we have the Mobile Marksmen (18.1%) – these are snipers who also get closer to the enemy. However, they stick with their long-range weapons like scout rifles, pulse rifles, or sniper rifles.
The Archetypes in PvP
In PvP, the playstyle inferred from the data changes significantly. By the way, the data was provided directly by Bungie, and we graciously thank them for it.
- The Melee Fans (35.1%) love shotguns – those are their absolute favorite weapons. They also use their melee attack and lead in PvP.
- The Snipers (28.9%) also appear in PvP of Destiny and almost always use sniper rifles, with a few opting for scout rifles. Their secondary weapon is a hand cannon. And with these two weapon types, they excel. Snipers spend more time in PvP than players of other archetypes.
- The “Objective Killers” (20.1%) – these players enjoy the Control mode and focus on holding strategically important points. They can handle all weapons well.
- The “Casual PvP Players” (15.9%) – they don’t actually play much PvP, prefer PvE instead, and are equally competent or incompetent with all weapons.
In Destiny, You Are What You Shoot
The study concludes: Weapons shape the character of Destiny players. They play a central role. In short: Tell me which weapons you prefer to use, and I’ll tell you what kind of player you are.
This is the very rough summary of the analysis – anyone who wants all the details, numbers, and statistics can find everything important in the sources.
Mein MMO says: It’s funny when “science” tells you what anyone who knows a bit about Destiny would also say. These pumpers are incredibly successful but frowned upon. Campers exist in every game, and if someone really wants to win in PvP, they stay at the damn control points and will probably go insane because the others couldn’t care less. Okay, maybe that’s not what the study tells us – but common sense does.
In a standard Crucible match, you will find all archetypes. One person screams “No, stay at A and B, leave C alone”, the pumper runs like a squirrel on crack into the enemy’s player group, the camper doesn’t move two meters from their spot, and the casual player often dies again. Oh, Destiny, never change.
What type of players are you? I hope no one says “Guerilla” and “Objective Killer” – no one will believe those numbers now.
Anyone who wants to read more about Destiny should bookmark this young, hip site “Mein MMO”. They occasionally have something about the MMO shooter.
