In Destiny 2, the new exotic weapon “Thunderlord” finally allows casuals to live out their power fantasies, says our author Schuhmann.
How I play Destiny 2: I am a casual player in Destiny 2 and spend about 6 hours a week completing Flashpoints, casually shooting Cabal in the face, and getting frustrated over overpowered enemy teams in Gambit.
Until now, I never felt that an exotic weapon really made a difference for me. I did experiment with some exotic weapons that Xur sold or that I found, but none of them really stood out.
Weapons like the Workhorse, the Wings of Vigilance, or the Scarlet came and went, but none of them really impressed me.
I never felt that I really became stronger with them. Perhaps the MIDA in the early days of Destiny 2 was the closest, but I eventually outleveled it and left it behind.
It was like this all the time: As a heavy weapon, I carried a legendary rocket launcher with homing capability since Forsaken: fine for getting a kill as an Invader in Gambit now and then, but pretty lackluster in PvE.
When I faced a more powerful PvE enemy like a Minotaur, a Hydra, or a Besotted Ogre, I had to shoot quite a lot before they went down. I had to hide, regenerate, and go again. I felt like quite the wimp.
I spent a long time running without an exotic weapon in my loadout until this week when I completed the super easy quest for Thunderlord and got my hands on it.
Exotic quests for casuals: Most of the exotic quests I encountered in Destiny 2, I eventually abandoned or didn’t start at all because they seemed too stressful or at least looked stressful. Furthermore, I didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything.
Okay, the Sleeper Simulant took me out in Gambit a few times, but it wasn’t worth it to start an exotic quest for that and run around in lackluster DLC content forever.
With Thunderlord, that is different now. I completed the first steps of the quest for the machine gun in passing, and the other two, I completed purposefully within a few hours. And just like that, I had Thunderlord!
I understand if hardcore players wrinkle their noses in disgust, but hey, Forsaken has been out for 2 months now and this exotic is certainly made for casuals like me.
Thunderlord is the exotic for the little Guardian
This is why the weapon makes a difference: I approached the MG with no great expectations. But with Thunderlord, I can finally deal significant damage in PvE. I feel the difference. I can unleash consistently high damage in a short amount of time.
Finally, I can also live out my power fantasies as a weakling and blast a Minotaur or a Besotted Ogre with sustained fire, which otherwise blocks the bank in Gambit for seconds. Finally, a weapon that makes a difference.
Before, I would sit for 3 minutes at the final boss of a heroic adventure, having to go through several phases where I had to hide, regenerate, and kill adds, but now I can just shoot the boss with sustained fire.
Finally, I also feel powerful. Thunderlord is like the “Gjallarhorn of the little man.”
Certainly, my colleagues in the editorial team are not particularly impressed by it. They chase after absurd PvP goals, wanting to painstakingly discover the “Luna” or the “Redrix“. For the moment, I am really satisfied with my Thunderlord.
Finally, I can also live out my power fantasies as a weakling and blast a Minotaur or a Besotted Ogre with sustained fire, which otherwise blocks the bank in Gambit for seconds. Finally, a weapon that makes a difference.
Destiny 2 is a multiplayer online loot shooter with MMO elements developed by Bungie. It was released on September 6, 2017, for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and ...
