A respected Destiny expert and former gameplay specialist from Bungie has now opened up on Twitter and criticized something that many might consider the biggest problem of Destiny 2.
Who is speaking? The criticism comes from Destiny expert Mercules. He is a well-known and respected theorycrafter around Bungie’s shooter series. Many may know him as Mercules904 on Reddit and through his excellent weapon reviews as well as extensive, in-depth analyses on planetdestiny.
Moreover, he was employed as a gameplay specialist at Bungie for a while alongside two other experts. This was when the studio sought help directly from the community in 2018 to align the upcoming Forsaken expansion more closely with the community’s wishes.
The biggest problem with Destiny 2 in two sentences: On Twitter, Mercules criticized the current state of Destiny 2 in a series of messages.
Every “Game as a Service” game like Destiny 2 or The Division 2 struggles with difficult phases and content droughts. Negative sentiment is sometimes unavoidable.
However, for Mercules, these negative feelings in Destiny 1 and Destiny at comparable times show a significant difference that simultaneously highlights what might currently be the biggest problem with Destiny 2. He says:
There is so much to do, but somehow it feels like none of it matters, he added afterwards.
What’s behind the criticism? He is not the first prominent critic of the game. Recently, professional player Gladd also spoke out about the current status quo in Destiny 2. The game is increasingly developing in a direction aimed at casuals, many things are becoming easier, players are just being handed everything, according to Gladd.
However, Mercules strikes a slightly different chord than Gladd, but may resonate with many Destiny players. He does not see the problem in the decreasing challenge, the lowering difficulty, or the number of activities offered, but in the activities themselves – as many of our readers pointed out in our survey on this topic: What do you say – Is Destiny 2 too easy again?
What else does Mercules criticize? In further tweets, the expert continues. This should not just be a rant; he wants to express how he really feels and why he had to take a break from Destiny 2.
In Destiny 1, he still felt that certain intrinsic joy when playing. It helped him unwind after long workdays. Now he feels increasingly stressed at the thought of playing Destiny.
For Mercules, it feels as if you are constantly forced to play the game in a certain way, at certain times. Otherwise, you risk missing certain things that will never return (like the latest big puzzle). And the positive feeling of achieving something is far outweighed by the negative.
He used to always feel that Destiny was a game you could return to at any time – no matter how long the break was. Currently, it feels to him that if he misses a few weeks, he doesn’t need to come back at all. Because then he will never be able to catch up on what he missed.
It’s a shame to think about the game he has enjoyed for such a long time in this way, and he tries to convey the criticism as respectfully as possible. That’s his opinion on why he is no longer having fun. However, he does not intend to break with Destiny 2 or stop playing – Mercules has emphasized this once again.
How are other players reacting? On Twitter, Merc receives a lot of praise and agreement for his words. Many believe that with his two striking sentences, he has hit the nail on the head regarding what is currently the biggest problem with Destiny 2. While there is certainly a lot to do, there is hardly anything that is truly motivating or fun and feels significant – this is the general tenor.
What do you think about it? Do you think Mercules hits the nail on the head with his statement? Does Destiny 2 have a completely different problem? Or are you satisfied with the current status quo and do not understand the whole fuss?
