Destiny 2is to this day over four years old, and a lot has changed both in terms of narrative and gameplay ever since the game first launched. It is one of the largest games by file size at the moment, and that’s part of the reasonwhy theDestinyContent Vault existsso that Bungie can remove less frequently used locations and items to make more room for new expansions, making sure loading times and the overall experience are not hindered as a result. The side effect is that many classic destinations and campaigns are no longer accessible, ranging from all the seasonal content to what made vanillaDestiny 2the game it was at launch: The Red War story arc.
The Red War was not onlyDestiny 2’s first chapter, which paved the way for all those that came after it, including the two Year 1 expansions - Curse of Osiris and Warmind - but it also acted as a great introduction to the series as a whole. Many of those who playedDestiny 2at launch came from the game’s predecessor, but others joined the ranks of mankind’s Guardians without knowing much about characters, gameplay, and plot points. With The Red War gone, Bungie tried to completelyrevamp the new player experience through the New Light campaign, which drops players right into the action in the Cosmodrome, and the outcome couldn’t be more different than the vanilla experience.
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Destiny 2: The Red War Experience Compared to the New Light Campaign
The Red War wasn’tDestiny 2’s best content, with many seasons and expansions that came after it making the game peak in terms of quality - both with its storyline and its gameplay changes. However, The Red War campaign had a straightforward plot that any player could understand, even if they had never played Destiny before, making its first hour or so a great way to understand what was going on and what was required of players. This happened through the rise of the Cabal’s Red Legion, with Dominus Ghaul willing to obtain the Traveler’s Light and become one of the most powerful beings in the universe, and mankind paying the price.
Many characters lost their Light during The Red War, and they were down to their final life, which they wanted to count for something while trying to stop Ghaul from achieving his ultimate goal.Destiny 2players controlled the protagonist of this story - a fallen hero who somehow was again blessed by the Light, becoming immortal through in-game mechanics, but also learning why this was the case from a lore standpoint. This also explained the relationship between Guardians and their Ghost, and between mankind and the Traveler, a benevolent paracausal being who gave humanity a blessing that made it flourish through its Golden Age before an apocalyptic event called The Collapse.
With stakes and story points fully explained, players were then able tostart playing the game in the European Dead Zone(EDZ, for short), which also acted as a tutorial area where they learned the ropes ofDestiny 2. This included patrols, Lost Sectors, Public Events, Strikes, Bounties, and the whole process of gearing up by increasing the character’s Power Level, as well as becoming more potent through unlocking abilities thanks to the Traveler’s influence. The start was not the fastest, and players had to grind for every passive point to spend on their classes' trees, and then unlock more subclasses by doing quests that explained how each of them worked and where it came from in terms of narrative.
This is very different from what the New Light experience does, with it doing quite the opposite, and throwing players into the chaos and mix of things before giving them a reason to care about the characters, understanding the story, and learning the mechanics. In fact, newDestiny 2players begin their journey with an introductory video that shows mankind on Mars with mysterious rains coming from the Traveler, and then jumping into action in the Cosmodrome against the Fallen, without a specific indication of what to do nor why.The New Light tutorial is also shallow in terms of gameplay, as players are often forced to complete a Strike as part of the storyline involving Shaw Han when they don’t even know about different ammo types or enemy types.
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How Destiny 2’s New Player Experience Could Change
The new player experience inDestiny 2could be much more streamlined and explained in a way that makes it easily understood by those who know nothing about this universe. If Bungie wants to stick with the New Light campaign, the best addition to make everything clearer and accessible for players would be to add a tab to either the character screen or the destinations menu that contains videos and cutscenes that explain everything there is to know. This could be a grimoire of sorts, with pages in writing and images dedicated to the story that came in the early years ofDestiny 2, and other chapters including short tutorial videos of how each mechanic works.
This would be especially valuable to understand the complex world ofDestiny 2, why the Hive is such a threat, who is Savathun, why the Traveler ended up abandoning the Eliksni and blessing mankind, and evenwhat the Darkness is. In terms of gameplay, this addition could go a very long way in explaining how complicated things like mods, Champions, ammo types, and shield elements work, considering that players will have to deal with those rather early on. Other entries could be all about Exotic items and subclasses, particularly now that the Void 3.0 update is coming with The Witch Queen, which will drastically change the way Void classes are used and each component selected.
Overall, improving the new player experience could also lead those who start playingDestiny 2for the first time to stick around for the long run. The game has a lot to offer, now more than ever, with its seasonal model and the yearly expansions coming regularly. And yet, having a system that pushes newcomers into the game without knowing anything can do more harm than good because those players could easily find themselves in situations where they feel inadequate and don’t know what to do. This is also made worse byDestiny 2’s lack of in-game explanation of mechanics, which often drives players to external websites and platforms in search for answers, when the game itself could offer them, to begin with.
Destiny 2is available now on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
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