When a new expansion comes out for a game, there is often a question of how it will affect the dynamics between new and old players. For old players, there is always the concern that their hard work and hours of time put into the game will not carry over into the expansion. For new players, there is always the concern that they will never be able to catch up to the veterans.
Destiny: The Taken King finds a compromise between those two worlds. While many veterans were disappointed, legendaries as well as certain exotics will no longer be upgradeable in The Taken King. However, there are many new features that give incentive for new players, veterans who have stepped away from the game, and currently active guardians alike to get back on their grinds.
For starters, now anyone can hit the level cap of 40 by an expenditure of consistent effort and time put into the game earning experience instead of hoping for the best from a random number generator. In the August 19 Destiny: The Taken King Twitch Reveal, Deej mentions the forever 29 meme that was popular during the release of vanilla Destiny and how he wanted to eliminate the possibility of players who felt trapped by an invisible barrier within the game. He even went so far as to joke that even if you keep dying as people carry you that eventually you will still reach level 40. At one point Deej literally said, “Filthy casuals of the world unite!”
Another frustrating element of the RNG (random number generator) reward system that caused many players to rage quit on Destiny was the difficulty in attaining coveted legendary weapons and armor. Destiny: The Taken King finally makes a few major changes in how this entire system works.
With Taken King, you can now buy legendary engrams from the cryptarch with legendary marks. You can now also buy legendary weapons from the gunsmith for legendary marks through a weekly event called armsday. Every week, players will have the opportunity to order a specific gun by name, and the next week when players log in, it will be ready for them to pick up. In the Twitch Reveal, Deej mentioned how he hoped what the gunsmith has on armsday might become a topic of conversation similar to how people discuss what Xur will bring each week.
A third change is that there will now also be quests in addition to enhanced bounties that provide guaranteed rewards. Just about every part of the game will now have its own quest line including vanguard, crucible, factions, and story missions. The quests will have different rewards but some will guarantee legendary rewards. With bounties, there will continue to be exotic bounties but there is now also a new bounty that allows players to gain “unknown rewards” similar to that of a nightfall. The idea is that you are guaranteed to get something cool. Something legendary or exotic class, according to the Taken King Twitch Reveal. The point is for the game to be driven primarily by player action and intention instead of randomness and the RNG.
But the improvements don’t stop there. Vault space is being improved. Exotics, shaders, emblems and ships are now blueprints that can be instantly replicated if accidentally or intentionally dismantled. Duplicates of all types of rewards will either be eliminated or drastically reduced through the implementation of systems that respond to what you already have in your inventory. There is a level 25 boost for both newbies and veterans. The extra gear and materials that pile up over long periods of play have now been re-purposed. And both ghosts and emblems have been induced with stat boosters.
There’s a ton of new changes coming for guardians with Destiny: The Taken King. However all of these changes are for the greater good. Not just for the new players, not just for the veterans, but for everyone who invests in Destiny: The Taken King. If you’ve stepped away from Destiny for a while or if you’ve never played the game at all, now is the perfect time to get yourself involved with Destiny: The Taken King. The developers plan a long ten year future for the game and in the big picture, now is still just the beginning.
What do you think about the changes that Bungie is making to Destiny in The Taken King? Are you excited for all the new fixes? Or do you think the game wasn’t broken and didn’t need to be bothered? Or somewhere in between? Be sure to let us know in the comments.
If you haven’t had enough of Destiny, and would like to pursue more useful and/or interesting information about the game, be sure to check out our destiny Destiny Wiki Guide: How to, Tips, Tricks, & More! as well as our Destiny House of Wolves Wiki Guide: How to, Tips, Tricks, & More!
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