In The Division, developers are desperately looking for suggestions on how to make their MMO shooter fun again. Perhaps a look at Destiny could help?
The YouTuber Skill Up, known for his “The Division” expertise both at Massive and within the community, has recently taken the time to highlight ten aspects that both Destiny and The Division share, in which The Division still needs improvement. The videos are titled “10 Things Division Fans Will (Probably) Like About Destiny”.
The following should not evoke a flame war over MMO shooters – on the contrary. Rather, it aims to appeal to some commonalities and constructively illustrate what The Division could adopt for the future, or at least what it could lean on. Some fans will certainly disagree on every aspect, as everyone has different experiences with the games. The Division should also not lose its own character. But what can the game learn from Destiny, which has been successfully on the market for much longer?
Destiny and The Division – Two Controversial MMO Shooters
Skill Up emphasizes that a large part of the Division agents have at least some experience with Destiny. According to a Reddit survey from a few months ago, around 70% of agents have also been Guardians. After the “King’s Fall” expansion, there was a drought of content for months. Console players were relieved at the launch of The Division and eagerly jumped into the post-apocalypse of New York.
In March, Destiny was declared “dead” while The Division was praised to the skies. Now, the signs are reversed. The Division is currently a cause for concern, while the hype train for Bungie’s MMO shooter is back in full swing.
Massive is willing to steer their shooter back on track. They are inviting people from the community to Sweden to discuss possible changes. The willingness to change is there. How about the following suggestions?
1. Excellent Combat – What The Division Does Well, But Destiny Does Even Better
In Destiny, combat feels extremely good. Why? It’s hard to put into words, but it just feels right. In the console FPS, the sound of the weapons, the aim assist, the perspective – the overall gunplay is excellent. As a Guardian, you feel powerful in combat against enemies, though they are also challenging.
In The Division, combat occurs from a third-person perspective, which imposes limitations on the direct gunplay. However, the weapons still feel excellent from this perspective in The Division. Both MMO shooters do a lot right, yet Destiny excels in terms of console gunplay.
The Division doesn’t need to and can’t change anything about the gunplay. But it must work on making the combat feel better again. Currently, you engage in enemies in Challenge Mode, Help Mode, or in the Dark Zone, enemies that are simply superior to you. You don’t feel powerful as an agent. Sure, The Division is a cover shooter. But the cool heroic feeling doesn’t arise when every random enemy is superior and can take and deal much more damage than you.
2. Raids
Before the launch of The Division, people were passionately discussing in forums whether raids would come or not. When suddenly incursions were mentioned, everyone was sure: These are the raids! This has to be it! However, that wasn’t the case. To date, there’s been no sign of large-scale PvE activities. The incursions are limited to 4 agents and offer hardly any challenging mechanics.
In Destiny, the fourth raid is now coming this fall. For many Guardians, these raids are the highlight of Destiny. People still rave about the first raid, the Vault of Glass. We have an interesting article about the raids here. Although the endgame was quite limited in Year 1, these two raids kept the Guardians entertained for a long time.
In The Division, such PvE activities are completely absent, where one fights against enemies for hours and has to solve tricky puzzles and mechanics.
3. Named Weapons Need More Power
Both in The Division and Destiny, there are special weapons: The named weapons in The Division and the exotic weapons in Destiny. However, here Massive’s shared-world shooter reveals significant weaknesses that need to be addressed in the future. Because the named weapons, like the Liberator or the Medved, are completely useless. Weapons without names with good perks are significantly more powerful – and therefore more desirable.
Destiny does it differently. Here, the “Exotics”, like the Hawkmoon, Thorn, or Gjallarhorn, have unique perks, are stylishly designed, well-balanced, and offer a good choice for various activities.
In Destiny, these weapons are truly something special – just as they should be. Most Guardians likely remember their very first exotic weapon. In The Division, it was probably dismantled right after the first major disappointment.
On the next two pages, we will present 7 more things that Destiny does well.
