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ice-6caydesqueen · 20 hours ago

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finale shape has issues especially when it comes to certain characters but that's a whole other can of words

but cayde was perfect as always a good mix of his d1 self and d2

i haven't done many of the seasons since like beyond light i think the season pass and story tied to it worked better with dlcs/expansions like house of wolves the dark below ttk and rise of iron the moment they got ride of that format it felt off

don't get me wrong d2 has had good story and content i don't know who is in charge now but things need to change

So, I took some time to write some feedback on the latest Act Bungie put out for Revenant and give my viewpoint and feelings on it. Of course, it was too long to post on Bungie's forum so I'm posting it here and the link to this post over on the forum itself.

To any and all who take some time to read it, hopefully you'll find it constructive. 💗

WARNING: This is a LONG post. TL:DR: I’m unhappy with the way the story went, how it was handled, and the apparent laziness that seems to have taken over at Bungie when it comes to Destiny and would like and hope to see that change. If you have the time, please take it to read it. Thanks.

I took the day to ponder how to respond to Act III of Revenant. I wanted to gather my thoughts on it so I didn’t respond with the initial anger I had.

Bungie, at this point I can honestly say I have never been so disappointed in this game and the people behind it as I am now. I know there are some people there working on it and doing their best with what they have before them and those people I am not disappointed in. I know they don’t have control over what the people in charge tell them to do with the game. But to those who have let this game and its story fall and fail so badly, you all are the ones I’m directing this post at.

You had something truly amazing. Even if, out the gate back in 2014 it was a bit rough, you still had something amazing. The world, the characters, the immersion, the story … all of it was incredible. I couldn’t wait to get home and play more. I didn’t even need a new mission or strike regularly to be able to go in and have fun, explore, and learn about so much within the world you created. And it stayed that way for many years.

I will be the first to admit, I am bias. When it comes to anything that happens to Cayde-6, I am bias. He has been and always will be my favorite. Forsaken was heartbreaking but also amazingly done. It really was. Even if I didn’t agree killing Cayde was a smart move, the expansion as a whole, was something I played over and over and over again. Now, six, seven years out, I see that killing Cayde off was a huge mistake. And not for the reason of killing off a character I love. No. It’s because, looking at the story as a whole, it was the start of where I think the whole thing began to fall apart. It felt more and more like an unnecessary emotional dig to try and get players more engaged when you could’ve taken it in a different direction and still had players invested and engaged emotionally with the story.

And then, following that, the start of sunsetting and a greater push of pay-to-play emerging along with the initial story itself starting to unravel and become more and more convoluted and far-fetched didn’t help. The pay-to-play aside, you started throwing so many different plot points at the players from all different characters that it became confusing and jumbled. And then you took away expansions that had missions and strikes attached to them with key story points so anyone who wasn’t with this game from the very beginning had no way to go back and play through the story to understand it or become invested in the characters like us veteran players did. New players were very confused and many times said the game felt like chunks were missing. Which they were. They couldn’t become invested in the story and that led to not being able to become invested in the game. I get some players are very much just here for looter-shooter. They don’t care about the story. But a lot more players do care about the story cause that’s half the fun. To become immersed in the game world.

I’m saying all this cause it leads up to Act III. Well, this whole mess following Final Shape. I have my issues with the story of Final Shape and the Witness and what the Darkness turned out to be, but that’s something for later. Overall, regardless of that, Final Shape was beautiful and heartfelt and you could tell the people working on it put their all into it. So thank you. But whatever was thrown together for after that … I can’t sugarcoat it.

It’s terrible.

I’m not saying characters are terrible, or the world, the graphics, the art, etc. I’m talking about the story. EVERYTHING has felt weak, lazy, uninspired, and disappointing. Not to mention I don’t think many who worked on the current story even bothered to go back and read the lore that led up to these events. You have the Guardian acting like and being treated much like a rookie who hasn’t been doing this for a number of years or slain gods. Hasn’t literally walked through time and passed through the Ascendant Plane. As the Guardian, we are being told by others who have not done what we have done how to do it and to make sure where to look and where to watch out for enemies as if we have no clue what we’re doing but are being tossed into this mess anyway. It’s pretty insulting.

Pushing that aside, you forced us to make a move with Eramis that many of us would never have done because it wouldn’t make any logical sense. And then you had character responses to that move weakened because it felt like you needed the Guardian to be able to get away with it. We stepped foot inside the sealed vault Rasputin was in on Mars and Zavala came down on us like thunder. I literally felt my heart drop as if he were actually yelling at me in real life in that moment. Got none of that here with Eramis and if that was a move we made, that should’ve happened. Zavala and Ikora have, once again, been forgotten and Crow is taking center stage. Cayde chose him. I will respect that. And Savathûn gave him back his memories of Uldren, so I know there are hundreds of years of knowledge there from Uldren he likely has to some degree. But Crow is still new to this. Uldren was never a Hunter Vanguard. He has a lot to learn about that position and the laws, rules, and politics of our world. That should show more. He should have Ikora and Zavala joining in with him more to help guide him instead of being totally silent and useless. Especially now that this story seems to have circled back to the Barons.

Personally, I think Cayde should’ve survived back in Forsaken. Even if he lost Sundance, he should’ve survived. Somehow. And that could’ve led to a very cool Enceladus story, a backstory with Clovis Bray, the role of the Exos, etc. And then, in the meantime, you could’ve had him holding the Vanguard position until he felt he found his successor and handed over the mantle. Crow would’ve been great for that in that case and offered up a very good emotional story mixed in with the action. I mean, with all the backstory of Cayde’s past self being in love with Maya, and we know that name is familiar to him, to learn a version of her had been standing not to far away from him all this time in the FWC room in the Hangar … There wouldn’t be any romantic tie there any longer but to just know that part of his past was right there this whole time and learn about it … And then see what she was doing and have those old journal entires he had written tie in to what she’d been working on and why? You guys had it. And you either forgot about it or just scrapped it and it’s really sad. And then, the last part with he Barons and Fikrul? Forsaken could’ve come right back around full circle and that could eventually lead into this final act where Cayde gets to help in putting an end to Fikrul and the Barons once and for all while guiding Crow on his duties as Hunter Vanguard.

Instead we have gotten a lazy mess of confusing story with no satisfying end to any of it and new players (and old) walking away cause anything that was here to shed light on what’s going on you have removed. On top of that, it feels like we made no real difference in anything with Final Shape, nothing is fixed - like the old Tower - we’re not bringing back the Consensus or seeing any form of the people of the Last City coming together to discuss what happened or how to move forward. No contact from Mara Sov, no consequences for anyone like Variks or Spider who both Zavala and Mara said would pay for what they’ve done. Key events and activities are forgotten - things that were established early on in the game were important for our Guardian to know and do to stay on top of things and be able to fight. It’s like this major thing happened and no one cares. No one takes notice. No one reacts. And it makes the game feel disconnected.

Bungie, if you all want your players back, you need to fix these issues and listen to your players. And, I hate to say it, but you have screwed this up so many times, I don’t think some of them will come back. But you have a chance to get some back and hopefully new players, too. You NEED to listen to them and put in the effort. You think Marathon will save you? It won’t. Players see how you’ve handled Destiny. That is your track record. Why would anyone be interested in a game you are working on that it appears you have taken money, time, resources, and staff from Destiny to create while leaving Destiny in the dust? How are we to know you won’t do that with Marathon? Not to mention, Marathon has already left a bad taste in our mouths because you took from Destiny to make it.

Even though this was a long read/rant, I hope it was constructive to some degree. I didn’t post it because I hate Destiny or I’m going to stop playing it at all. I posted it cause I love the game and the world and characters and I am sad to see it has fallen apart. I miss it the way it was and find myself going back into D1 more and more rather than deal with the depression that has become D2. I’d love to see all we lost come back to D2. Even if that means it needs to be broken up into a D2 and D3. Bungie can say they aren’t making a D3, but it’s what they should do.

Anyway, like I said, I hope this was constructive and some people got something from it. To anyone who’s gonna post “well, stop playing”, “stop paying them”, “touch grass”, “find another game”, “stop complaining” etc., it falls on deaf ears. I don’t care. I love this game and the world and characters. I am disappointed in where it has gone but I want to see it come back and succeed. That’s why I posted this. If you can’t understand that then I don’t know what else to tell you guys other than I just don’t care if you don’t like this post. But to those who did get something from it or felt a kindred understanding in it, thanks for taking the time to read it.

See you starside.

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