I am a day 1 Guardian. This is the first shooter I have truly played and loved. I have put WAY too many hours into this game raiding with my clan mates, grinding weapons and playing in the crucibles. And I’m stoked for Destiny 2.
Those who played the beta earlier would have found that the power ammo (which replaces what we know as the heavy weapon) drops too little throughout the campaign mission. The weapons deal very little damage while the enemies are bullet sponges, but Bungie was able to get those issue fixed, making the beta experience a better one. After all, that is the real benefit of having the beta build out in the public. All the feedback provided will help Bungie make Destiny 2 a better game at launch.
The campaign mission “Homecoming” showed the traveler being abducted by the cabals, and the guardians losing the light. For the very first time, I actually felt threatened at the end of the mission. In the mission, we tried out the new sub-classes at the capped 200 light level. To my surprise, the year 1 sub-classes had a facelift too. In Destiny, when the titan activated the super, Fist of Havoc, it would be a complete discharge of the super. So if you missed the targets, you would have to run for your life. However, in Destiny 2’s beta, activating the super charges the titan with arc energy, allowing the titan to run faster and find another victim.
Upon completing Homecoming, we then played the strike “Inverted Spire” and crucibles. Inverted Spire takes place on Nessus, a new planet, and it is so much fun! Not only does the mission have a very big map, there’s also tonnes of Vex and Cabal to shoot at. But the moment when the strike really shines is during the boss fight. Protheon, Modular Mind looks amazing. His design screams Megatron. At different stages of his health remaining, the floor will dissolve, plummeting you to another arena.
The most I played out of the beta, is the crucibles. The PvP has now changed to 4vs4 and i felt that its more balanced. My go to weapon in the crucibles this time is still auto rifles and pulse rifle, both of which can now take the primary (kinetic damage) and secondary slot (energy damage). The map this time is smaller, with tighter corners and shorter distances between each control point. I still find it a lot more enjoyable with my clanmates. However, at times, we feel that if there’s a competent player in the fire team, it can really snowball to victory.
A new crucible game mode was playable in the beta, Countdown. 2 teams are pitted against each other in a game of attack and defense. It is a game where 1 team will plant the charge while the other team prevents it or defuses it. Any player that gets eliminated during gameplay will have a countdown timer before they can be revived by teammates. I feel that this game mode is even harder to play if not played with friends, as a lot of coordination is needed.
Some of the changes that is implemented in Destiny 2 has already been briefly mentioned above, e.g. the weapon system have been completely overhauled. Gone is the familiar Primary, Secondary and Heavy weapons system. The new weapons system comprises of Kinetic, Energy and Power. Kinetic weapons feel pretty much like Primary Weapons in Destiny 1. It still has hand cannons, auto rifles, pulse rifles etc. Energy weapons still have guns that are similar to what is readily available in the Kinetic slot, but with elemental damage. So you could have 2 pulse rifles equipped at the same time, 1 dealing Kinetic damage and the other elemental damage. The power weapons now comprise of shotguns, sniper rifles, grenade launchers, fusion rifles and rocket launchers.
The skill tree have also been reworked, now showing a simplified skill tree. Some players have voiced concern on how personalised the skills will be, but we can only know more about that once the full game is out. During beta, there are only limited skills that we can customise.
But all things said and done, it is important to note that the beta build that was open to public was only a few months old, and Destiny 2 would be very different from what we’ve experienced in the beta. If anything, the beta has only made me more excited for the game’s release this September 6!
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