I have a feeling that Bungie is slowly letting slip a few selective details about Destiny 2 in order to prepare us for some big changes – changes that will improve the game across the board, and changes that not everyone will be excited about.
If you’re a little behind, I’ll give you a quick refresher. Kotaku’s Jason Schreier has posted a pretty comprehensive article detailing Bungie’s tentative plans for Destiny 2 . Bungie apparently had an internal briefing on Wednesday in order to solidify a few things, and straighten out a few priorities. After the meeting it seems like a few employees started yapping, and details have trickled in from a few independent sources via NeoGAF, Eurogamer, and Kotaku.
One of the more exciting revelations to come of the meeting is the fact that Destiny 2 is being developed for PC as well as for consoles. With Xbox 360 and PS3 out of the picture, and the widespread availability of next-gen GPUs with expanded memory, Bungie has new freedom to pursue more ambitious goals and experiences.
Part of Bungie’s vision for Destiny 2 includes what sources are calling “play-in destinations.” The world will be designed more as an integrated whole, with social hubs, “towns,” and “outposts” connected more naturally to quest areas. No more going through series of menus every time you want to embark on a quest or group up for a raid. The game’s engine is apparently getting a total overhaul as well. Sounds pretty ambitious, right? But all of this progress comes at a cost.
According to Schreier, his sources indicate that Bungie wants Destiny 2 to be a fresh start; brand new. That means that several parts of Destiny will get left behind – including your old characters. For some of you, that would be unthinkable and inexcusable. I’m willing to bet that there are players numbering in the thousands that have poured hundreds of hours into their characters at this point. Originally Bungie pitched a vision of players maintaining their Guardians over a decade of Destiny . That’s what was supposed to make “becoming legend” feel so legendary.
If we have to leave our old characters behind and start Destiny 2 “from scratch,” I’m sure there will be some measure of outrage from a large population of the player-base who feel they were lured into a bait and switch. Others won’t care as long as Destiny 2 improves upon its predecessor. The article states that while “The Taken King was a reboot for Destiny 1 to fix small things, this is the overhaul to fix big things.”
This is all rumor at this point, as nothing has been announced or revealed officially by Bungie. We don’t know for sure that our Guardians will be left behind for Destiny 2 , but Schreier thinks it likely. “I know they were at least thinking about it,” he says, pointing out that it wouldn’t be in order to force everyone to “grind all over again,” but rather to get a totally fresh start. That’s what the team wants to do.
Honestly, I feel like Destiny could use a totally fresh start. I’ve easily spent over 100 hours with my Warlock, but I’d fork him over in a heartbeat if it meant exciting new classes and a story worth playing through. I loved my time playing Destiny , but to me, that’s a great trade-off. What do you guys think? Would you be willing to start completely over in Destiny 2 if it was much improved over the first game, or would you feel ripped off and lied to?