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New to Destiny 2, or "I feel lost and alone in the universe."
- Thread starter Metanoia Prime
- Start date
I tried D2 a while ago and didn't know what the hell to do, so I've hardly played it since. So, being realistic, pretty much any potential revenue from me won't happen. For context, I finished The Taken King, so I knew my way around D1 pretty much okay.
Played like 80% of the Red War or whatever it was called and then thongs were vaulted and I was totally lost. Bought 2 expansions thinking it would help but ultimately I just played through raids or strikes or missions or whatever without any idea what was happening or why I was doing it. Eventually uninstalled, tried to go back to it a year later and it was even worse AND i was just completely lost.
Yea there are story missions to do, but the related prompts don't necessarily scream out at you from among the many flashing things on the world map.
Sounds like you were doing late-game/end game stuff without having done the story stuff.
It's such a shame the new player experience is so bad because, to me, Destiny remains the best FPS on the market for those PvE inclined and it's not even close. I'm thankful I've managed to keep pace with it over the years as it is without doubt my 'home' or comfort game. One that consistently gives me great experiences as a player, both solo and with others.
Do the intro quest. Go to every npc in the tower with an icon over their head. It will intro what they are for ect. Get bounties. Do playlists. (Vanguard, gambit, crucible ect)
Do the seasonal stuff at the H.E.L.M. It has an intro quest as well.
Destiny is about repeatable activities and intense combat. Just do playlist activities and start getting some weapons. Join the LFG discord as well. (Link is in the destiny OT)
The "why I was doing it" part is basically just bragging rights it seems. You grind to get better loot to do the end game content so you can get better loot so you can do the harder version of the end game content so you can beat it and brag about how you did the hard endgame content.
Just wait until Bungie makes a new game. Hopefully then they'll give a shit about more than their hardcore fans.
As someone who regularly plays it, I'm always surprised how well Destiny 2 is doing because I would have no idea how to get into it now. It's probably due to the game not being built for it but tutorials via a block of text in the lower third that appears only once and is never accessible again is absurd.
And that's not even getting into all the other things that the game never bothers to explain or display in game that can only be gleamed through community guides, 90% of which are out of date.
And that's not even getting into all the other things that the game never bothers to explain or display in game that can only be gleamed through community guides, 90% of which are out of date.
As a longtime D2 player I definitely agree the new-player experience needs to be almost completely redone. The intro mission works well enough, but then you are just thrown into the deepest of deep ends. If I just started today, especially as a F2P player, I would just be immensely lost.
The fact that a lot of crucial story was vaulted long ago (and is unlikely to return) does not help things at all.
The fact that a lot of crucial story was vaulted long ago (and is unlikely to return) does not help things at all.
The notable one was when I reinstalled it it made me play the first mission in a expansion I didn't own and it was all choked up about a character I had no idea had died. Giving me no choice to not play that kinda soured me right from the start.
I tried to follow the quest stuff but after the introductory missions so much crap lit up. Do X things on each planet etc. It just felt so aimless.
yea that's no bueno.
Maybe Destiny 2 needs its own skippable 5-10 minute opening for new light and returning players. Like story recaps for new seasons of Netflix shows? Where they take you through the biggest events in the story before plopping you down in front of new cutscenes that have no relevance to you.
Something where while you *can* skip it, it's in your best interests not to if you think you might want to care about the story. While you can't cover everything in 5-10 minutes, I think a Zevala + Ikora + Caital narration opening with their typical art style would be able to hit everything someone needs to know.
Otherwise, the best thing people can do as new players is to go visit Myelin's destiny 2 channel and catch up on the story. Long videos but worth the time.
I think what's really needed is like...a separate UI -- or even a parallel UI -- that clearly denotes STORY ADVANCEMENT activities and missions. Something with check boxes and alternate color icons on the world map.
If people are sort of falling into doing random shit like Strikes without rhyme or reason, the UI and directional clarity are the problem. And once said story has been advanced to completion, they can be thrown in the deep end just like every other looter does. But there should be a very clear and understandable path to getting to said end game. You should only be able to get out of the rails of the story if you go through a prompt to do so, and you should be able to opt back in when desired or once you realize it was a mistake to do so. lol
OP
OP
I'll try to find this. Is this in the Quests tab, or do I need to find some NPC at the tower?
It's a fucking confusing shitshow of a game and I played both the first game and the second one for awhile at launch. I can't imagine how much more confusing it became when it already was extremely clumsy to navigate.
Kind of boggled my mind when Sony wanted to bring Bungie on for 3.6 Billy to design more services like it. The actual service part of it is a goddamn micromonetized nightmare of menus and navigating it is needlessly obtuse and overwhelming.
Kind of boggled my mind when Sony wanted to bring Bungie on for 3.6 Billy to design more services like it. The actual service part of it is a goddamn micromonetized nightmare of menus and navigating it is needlessly obtuse and overwhelming.
It can be very confusing.
It isn't. But having not played since launch, I wouldn't expect you to know that much either. Assume your experience -- which is as the game was...4 years ago? -- is outdated and in need of perspective.
2 years ago. Installed it for a month to play with some friends at pandemic onset. Still not for me.
I keep thinking that a Destiny story collection would be amazing once The Final Shape is out. Just contain all the campaigns from D1 onwards, rework what needs reworkig, add extra cutscenes where necessary, and go nuts.
It's never going to happen, though.
I honestly couldn't even explain what they did to it. I've played both games extensively at their launch and did return to D2 eventually. I couldn't make sense of anything. One of the expansions was already gone. Most of the D2 original content was gone and strangely a whole load of D1 content had made its way in. Its now just in a perpetual state of most of the game being missing.
After experiencing Warframe, Destiny 2's new player experience might as well be a modern Nintendo game with the helper on.
My advice to someone starting the game today is to watch story summaries on YouTube that bring you up to the witch queen and do that campaign. From there you can do the current seasonal activities like the Containment and leviathan patrol stuff as well as the duality dungeon
just gotta try to enjoy space guns go BRRR against bad guys, as that is where destiny is still head and shoulders above any looter/shooter game on the market atm
everything else you will learn in time either by people explaining mechanics or via websites/YouTube/discord
everything else you will learn in time either by people explaining mechanics or via websites/YouTube/discord
I don't blame you OP. I have hundreds of hours in the game and even I still get confused from time to time.
Destiny 2 has possibly one of the worst new player experiences in the genre.
Destiny 2 has possibly one of the worst new player experiences in the genre.
Right out the gate just do story missions. If you have Witch Queen id reccomend that first since it gives you the ability to craft weapons. If not, Beyond Light since that will give you Stasis. Either one will get your levels up and have post story content. When you finish the stories and are strong enough, you'll get weeklies that can range from running strikes as a specific subclass to just getting bounties to kill things with specific weapons/elements.
Then there's seasonal content. I think its 10 bucks every three months but they're new stories that play out weekly. They come with a new pve event and gear to grind for.
Then there's a ton of endgame stuff. But that route alone will hold you for a long long time.
Then there's seasonal content. I think its 10 bucks every three months but they're new stories that play out weekly. They come with a new pve event and gear to grind for.
Then there's a ton of endgame stuff. But that route alone will hold you for a long long time.
It's in the quest tab, you should be able to go down to filter them. The first one will just have everything.
Once you click on the quest you want to do it should mark the planet you need to go to with a green mark on the destinations screen and will tell where to go on the planet (though can be a little buggy on the Witch Queen planet in some areas).
There is a quest vendor/terminal on the tower though, it's hidden next to the postmaster next to the ramp you spawn at (I have no idea why they thought it was a good spot, there's also one on the Helm in a much better spot), worth clearing it out, though mightn't need to.
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Current Destiny 2 seems explicitly designed to be as unhelpful as possible to anyone who dares to try it for the first time and wants to know what's happening beyond "Pew pew aliens"
At this point if you're not already into Destiny, it's too late to get into Destiny, unless you're willing to spend a couple weeks researching and watching YouTube recaps/tutorials.
At this point if you're not already into Destiny, it's too late to get into Destiny, unless you're willing to spend a couple weeks researching and watching YouTube recaps/tutorials.
Honestly, after the beginning tutorial missions, I'd recommend new players just jump straight into The Witch Queen campaign if they own it. By far the best piece of story content in the game so far, even if many story beats will go over people's heads who aren't familiar with all the different characters. It's still a fun campaign to play all on its own despite that.
The worst part is I don't think they are revamping the new light experience until The final shape which is years out.
Even though Destiny 2 is in a really good spot atm, it's hard to recommend unless you want to read up on the lore. It's a shame too because the past two years of Destiny have been utterly fantastic.
Even though Destiny 2 is in a really good spot atm, it's hard to recommend unless you want to read up on the lore. It's a shame too because the past two years of Destiny have been utterly fantastic.
I played the new expansion and did the story missions, I had no idea what was happening or why. After that I just kinda got lost in what to do next and gave up
This is about the experience I had when I tried to play a few times, it's completely bizarre.
The game does have a very helpful community though fwiw, I asked for help once and had three people volunteer and carted me around showing me the ropes for hours on end, they were happy to do it. I haven't played in a long time so I forgot everything and it's lost on me, but still, worth considering.
The game does have a very helpful community though fwiw, I asked for help once and had three people volunteer and carted me around showing me the ropes for hours on end, they were happy to do it. I haven't played in a long time so I forgot everything and it's lost on me, but still, worth considering.
If anyone wants to play Destiny 2 and is discouraged by this thread, join the ERA Destiny Discord community and I'm sure there are several people there who would show you around and explain things to you.
The game is best when played with friends.
And give it time, you'll understand why this game remains popular after so many years. Don't be like, "too many icons on the map blinking, my mind can't comprehend, have to uninstall!"
The game is best when played with friends.
And give it time, you'll understand why this game remains popular after so many years. Don't be like, "too many icons on the map blinking, my mind can't comprehend, have to uninstall!"
OP
OP
The power ups, weapons, even the grenades are beautifully done. I do give them that. Bungie knows how to make a shooter. They just suck at the other part.
No thanks, I mean it's a generous offer, but most of my gaming is done solo. Relying on a community to explain and help guide new players in place of the developer is going to turn some people off, for a variety of reasons. It's a hard ask personally, I'd be more willing to join a community if there was a mutual interest, not join a gaming community to develop said interest. Social anxiety and all that jazz.
as someone with hundreds of hours...just dont, this game is not worth your time or money, it wont even respect your time or money if you did decide to invest into it.
I haven't played in a long time but the quests being items in a weird space restricted submenu inventory also struck me as an incredibly dumb way to handle that.
Even at release it was super confusing for someone who hadn't played the original Destiny
Destiny shines the brightest when playing in a group. I've been fortunate to have found two different groups throughout Destiny 1 and 2. My current group has been raiding together for almost three years now. And my best experiences have been with them, when we are finally able to conquer a difficult encounter, when everyone's cylinders are firing at the same time. It's the best feeling.
Is it stressful at times? Yeah. I remember the Wrath of the Machine final boss fight with my old group. It took us forever to get it down cause and we were losing our cool at times. But after a few weeks, we had it down. And that boss fight is so good, so memorable, with a hell of a soundtrack. Great memories.
Speaking of Wrath of the Machine, I really hope that's the one we get next season.
I know there are rumors, but you never know with Bungie.
I know there are rumors, but you never know with Bungie.
As a big fan of the game, it's an absolute bummer to know that the new player experience is in this state. Feels so difficult to recommend the game cause I'd love to meet new players and find more people to play with.
Bungie needs to invest in redefining this system, but I'm worried it won't be touched for some time. A lot of developer insights and interviews have people admitting that the new player experience is poor but they are focused on pushing out the next two expansions to finish up the story and push the game further forward. As an enfranchised player that is super exciting but I know it's alienating.
Bungie needs to invest in redefining this system, but I'm worried it won't be touched for some time. A lot of developer insights and interviews have people admitting that the new player experience is poor but they are focused on pushing out the next two expansions to finish up the story and push the game further forward. As an enfranchised player that is super exciting but I know it's alienating.
Agreed. Every time they vault content and whenever a season ends, they should put out recap videos summarizing the story that new (or returning) players will otherwise never see. Right now they're leaning on the community to do that, but they should be officially produced and accessible from in game and their YouTube channel.
Never played Destiny 2 but holy shit =p
Attempting to play FFXI back in the day was insane. Needed like multiple guide/wiki pages open to figure out how to get past a certain level, where to level or my biggest mission in that game, how to garden effectively.
Bought and installed and never played. Every so often another thread pops up about how poor the onboarding of New players is designed.
I tried to go back a year or two ago. The hardest challenge was to figure out A) What in the fuck was going on. B) How in the fuck was I supposed to do anything.
I've played D2 like 40 hours now and I am genuinely as lost now I was with my first hour of the game. I've finished Witch Queen. I went back and finished Beyond Light. Every time I play with my friends, who have been there since day one, I have no idea what the fuck they're talking about. Completely lost.
I really enjoyed Destiny 2 for awhile, but then they vaulted huge chunks of the game essentially ruining it narratively, and taking away a chunk from of the game I wanted to revisit. I go back and play a bit once in awhile, but then I just get sad :-(