Destiny 2 is available on PC, unlike its predecessor. Are you unsure whether you should take a closer look at the game? Find out here if Destiny 2 is worth it for you!
Destiny is a mystery. Launched with huge expectations in September 2014, the FPS shooter quickly faced criticism. The story felt incomplete and confusing. The reward system was underdeveloped and the endgame content was almost nonexistent except for one activity.
This reflected in the reviews from the press, which rated Destiny with mediocre scores, sometimes as low as 6 out of 10.
However, the player base didn’t care. More and more Guardians dove into the Destiny universe. The last known number from Bungie speaks of over 25 million created accounts. For many, Destiny is considered the best 6/10 game of all time.
The Fascination of Destiny
If a game is so successful despite all its shortcomings, there must be other reasons for that.
The gunplay of Destiny can only be described as “outstanding”. Intuitive handling of weapons and precise aiming ensure that it has never felt so good to play with a controller as it does with the guns in Destiny.
According to initial tests from the beta, the control with mouse and keyboard on PC feels just as intuitive as with a gamepad.
However, the biggest success factor was the players themselves. Destiny 1 offered only rudimentary matchmaking, and there was no way to find other players in-game for the hardest content. This led the Guardians to become creative. External tools were created where Guardians could meet for various activities.
Often, random acquaintances became true friends and longtime companions. The Internet is full of stories of how Guardians from all over the world met in person after years of virtual acquaintances and reminisced about their shared experiences.
Over the years, a passionate and dedicated community has grown, bringing many ideas to the table and also being heard by Bungie. Many adjustments, especially in the early days of Destiny 1, were made due to player feedback.
Additionally, Bungie has released the API to their own databases. Clever players have developed fantastic tools for item management, finding players for joint activities, or detailed statistics on player performance in the Crucible. If you want to see how much time you’ve spent in Destiny, you can do that as well.
All these points are evidence of why Bungie was so successful with Destiny.
And with Destiny 2, the success continues
The press now presents Destiny 2 in a much better light than Destiny 1. On Metacritic (a site that collects reviews), Destiny 2 receives a metascore of 85 (maximum 100) for the PS4 version based on over 90 reviews. The metascore for Xbox One is even better at 87. This means Destiny 2 scores about 10 points better than Destiny 1.
The gunplay, the story, and the PvE activities, which come with impressive vastness, are particularly praised. The first hours in Destiny 2 are excellent.
However, criticism has been growing louder in the forums for several weeks. The reason: Once you finish the story and reach max level, motivation drops. There is too little to do in the endgame to keep you entertained in the long term.
Bungie has already promised improvements that should enhance the endgame. However, when and in what form these will come is still unknown.
Is Destiny 2 worth it for me?
Destiny 2 on PC has a lot to offer:
- It is a graphically impressive first-person shooter. Especially on PC, it delivers a lot in 4K, HDR, and uncapped framerates.
- It offers a detailed story and plenty of additional PvE content.
- The social aspect is greatly emphasized. You can also play PvE content in co-op – some must be played together with others. For many, this PvE co-op experience is what makes Destiny fascinating.
- But there is also plenty for PvP enthusiasts to do.
- Since Destiny 2 is a “game as a service”, more free updates and paid DLCs will come in the future, which will continually change and expand the gaming experience. There is already initial information on the first expansion coming in winter 2017.
If you are not a fan of shooters or games with online requirements, you should give Destiny 2 a wide berth.
Below are the basics that you should know as Destiny newcomers.
The Races and Classes
In Destiny, when choosing your character, your “Guardian”, you can choose from three different races: Humans, Exos, and Awoken. These races differ only in appearance; your choice has no impact on the gameplay experience in Destiny 2.
Classes are different. As in Destiny 1, you can choose from the classes Titan, Warlock, and Hunter, which we have presented here in more detail. Unlike its predecessor, classes in Destiny 2 will have different special abilities that encourage differentiated play styles.
You can also choose from different subclasses that involve different elements. For Destiny 2, Bungie has designed three new subclasses, which we have examined here in more detail.
The Abilities of the Guardians
Each class offers different special abilities:
- Each class has a selection of grenades, ranging from sticky grenades to homing grenades.
- Additionally, you get a powerful melee attack.
- The centerpiece is the super abilities. These can only be activated every few minutes but are intended to cause panic among your enemies when triggered. Depending on the class, you also have access to flying swords, a Captain America-style shield, or a bubble that protects you from enemy projectiles.
- New are the class abilities. The Titan has a barrier, the Warlock has a healing or empowering Rift, and the Hunter can perform useful evasive maneuvers.
To truly grasp the full spectrum, it’s advisable to try each class at least once. Here we present each one in detail:
- Destiny 2: Class Guide Titan – Sentinel, Striker & Sunbreaker
- Destiny 2: Hunter Guide – Arcstrider, Gunslinger & Nightstalker
- Destiny 2: Warlock Guide – Dawnblade, Voidwalker & Stormcaller
The Gear
If you want to shoot aliens in the face, you need the right equipment for it. The quality of the gear is typically categorized into the colors White (normal), Green (unusual), Blue (rare), Purple (legendary), and Yellow (exotic). Typical for Destiny is that you may only use one exotic armor piece and one exotic weapon. So, the choice of equipment must be well thought out.
You have access to three weapon slots: kinetic, energy, and power weapons.
In the kinetic and energy slots, you can hunt aliens with the following weapons:
- Auto rifles: Effective at medium range; just hold the trigger and plow through the hordes of monsters.
- Pulse rifles: Fire bursts of 3 rounds. Effective at medium range.
- Scout rifles: Single-shot weapons with high damage potential. Particularly recommended at long range.
- Hand cannons: Strong at close and medium range. Critical hits deal massive damage.
- Sidearms: Rapid-firing weapon effective only at very close range. The “panic weapon” when nothing else works.
- Submachine guns: Automatically firing guns with high damage output – when you can control the weapon. Usable only at close range.
Kinetic weapons deal higher base damage than energy weapons, but energy weapons have advantages against enemy shields and in PvP against Guardians with an active super. Read all about this weapon system in Destiny 2 here.
Power weapons include the heaviest artillery in the Destiny universe. There’s something for every preferred range:
- Rocket launchers: Self-explanatory. Pull the trigger once and enjoy the fireworks.
- Shotguns: Absolutely deadly at close range. Shotguns can even take down elite enemies with little ammunition.
- Fusion rifles: Fusion rifles must be charged but unleash their destructive potential after a short time. They are particularly effective at short to medium range.
- Grenade launchers: A new weapon category for Destiny 2. Careful aiming is rewarded.
- Sniper rifles: Even the snipers among you will get their money’s worth. Very strong at long range, even more effective with critical hits.
- Swords: The popular swords from Destiny 1 make a return. Particularly the exotic ones are known as boss killers.
So your Guardian doesn’t have to run around naked, there are armor pieces that are nice to look at and that grant bonuses to the stats Recovery (how quickly you regenerate your health), Resilience (how much damage you can take), and Mobility (how quickly you can move). You can equip a helmet, gloves, a chest piece, and boots. There is also a class-specific item and an equippable Ghost shell.
Throughout the story, you will find better gear that makes your Guardian stronger and increases bonuses to the stats.
The Story
The story of Destiny felt unfinished and fragmented. Characters like the Exo Stranger, famous for her line “I don’t have time to explain why I don’t have time to explain”, appeared as quickly as they disappeared.
In fact, there were significant internal changes at Bungie a year before the release that necessitated a revision of the story.
That Destiny has a thrilling and multifaceted background story is proven by the Grimoire cards, which could be found in the game and read on Bungie.net. One can argue extensively about the method of consuming this story, but not about its content. Bungie has created a highly complex universe filled with countless stories and characters.
For Destiny 2, the same thrilling universe is offered to us. Thanks to the experiences Bungie gained from the predecessor and the feedback from fans, the story will be much more coherent and visually impressive, including more than 50 cutscenes. You will always know why you are doing what you do and why you are being sent on this mission.
Read the story of Destiny beforehand – all that happened before the release of Destiny 2!
The Activities Against the AI
What awaits you in PvE, battling against the aliens, we have already presented in detail in our PvE guide. In essence, it’s about taking down nasty aliens, whether in the campaign, cooperative strikes with up to three Guardians, or the hardest content, the raids with up to six Guardians.
Additionally, there is a lot to do in the open world at various locations. Adventures, treasure maps, and the so-called Lost Sectors, to name just a few.
The Multiplayer Mode – PvP
Sometimes a bigger threat than the computer opponents are the other Guardians themselves. Step into the Crucible against human players to earn loot and honor. Destiny 2 will feature quick play modes as well as competitive modes.
The King’s discipline represents the Trials of the Nine – a weekly PvP event where you can earn the most loot with 7 consecutive victories.
Additionally, there is the monthly PvP event Iron Banner, where you can earn special weapons and armor pieces.
What has changed in the Crucible, we have examined in our PvP guide.
Clans in Destiny 2
Clans in Destiny play a significant role in player interaction. Players can form a community, a clan, and share adventures together.
Previously, clans were just a group on Bungie’s website bungie.net. These functionalities are now more integrated into the game itself.
In Destiny 2, it is significantly more beneficial to be an active member of a clan. Clan members receive rewards for completing activities with other colleagues from the same clan.
You can find information about clan rewards and the clan progression system in Destiny 2 here.
What is offered on PC
Destiny 2 technically leaves nothing to be desired – as long as you have the necessary hardware. 4K, HDR support, SLI support – everything that is currently in vogue is offered in the game on PC. Furthermore, there will be no cap on the framerate.
The seamless switch between mouse/keyboard and a connected controller will also be possible.
The official release of the PC version is on October 24, 2017 at 7 PM. Now you can decide whether to start or continue your Guardian journey on PC.
Note: This article was previously published for the PC open beta and has now been updated.
Also interesting: This is how beautiful a boss fight looks in 4K and 60 fps!
