Finished the main story and hit level 20? Good work. You’re done now, right? Well, actually, no. Get those Uncommon-booted feet off the sofa, Guardian. You’re just getting started.
In most shooters, your achievements thus far would be crowning. In Destiny, you've merely passed the tutorial. Yes, you can aim a gun and kill a big monster and level up a skill tree, but the real game is just about to begin. And what a game.
Level 20 isn't really a cap at all. It’s just the point at which Destiny’s endless high-level game kicks in, along with a wider, deeper scope for self-led customisation.
A new stat, Light, is attached to certain bits of Rare, Legendary and Exotic armour that you only start getting access to in the post-20 world. Wear enough, and your level goes up. Take it off, and it goes down. Yes, it sounds simple, but it’s the catalyst for more than you can imagine.
Do you concentrate on the ‘mainstream’ shops, or pledge your allegiance to the factioned vendors who reward exclusivity with class tailored gear? How do you fulfil your new guns’ spiralling perk potential when upgrade materials seem so rare? What if that unmissable Exotic helmet throws your finely honed ability stats off-balance? There are elegant, involved answers to all of these questions, as Destiny evolves beyond ‘good online shooter’ and becomes a multi layered onion of RPG depth.
Not only that, but the live MMO experience is now starting to kick into higher gear. A new, occasional trader called Xur has started appearing in the Tower market at weekends, with game changing Exotic loot for those who've accrued enough of those rare Strange Coins. The Queen of the Reef is becoming a bigger part of the world too, with limited time Bounties and assassination missions furnishing you with exclusive, unique armour.
Vanguard missions scale to accommodate your new power, with daily and weekly challenges throwing in lunatic combat-modifiers, alongside perks and nerfs for the now standard elemental guns.Raid content appears, ready to punch you in the face with brutal-tough combat-puzzling.And however much shooting, gathering, planning and maths you now need to do, none of this is ever a grind. Because that’s the beauty of Destiny. Its Halo-inspired, second to second combat is so endlessly increasingly fun that even the hard work plays brilliantly.
In most shooters, your achievements thus far would be crowning. In Destiny, you've merely passed the tutorial. Yes, you can aim a gun and kill a big monster and level up a skill tree, but the real game is just about to begin. And what a game.
Level 20 isn't really a cap at all. It’s just the point at which Destiny’s endless high-level game kicks in, along with a wider, deeper scope for self-led customisation.
A new stat, Light, is attached to certain bits of Rare, Legendary and Exotic armour that you only start getting access to in the post-20 world. Wear enough, and your level goes up. Take it off, and it goes down. Yes, it sounds simple, but it’s the catalyst for more than you can imagine.
“The Light stat sounds simple, but is the catalyst for unimaginable things”There are four new currencies to wrangle, which are vital if you’re going to take real control of your character development rather than waiting for sporadic drops. You earn them by playing more Crucible PvP and Vanguard PvE missions, but you can only spend the main ones if you use Bounties those little side challenges you thought were pointless to get your vendor reputations up. Suddenly, development is much more intricate and personal.
Do you concentrate on the ‘mainstream’ shops, or pledge your allegiance to the factioned vendors who reward exclusivity with class tailored gear? How do you fulfil your new guns’ spiralling perk potential when upgrade materials seem so rare? What if that unmissable Exotic helmet throws your finely honed ability stats off-balance? There are elegant, involved answers to all of these questions, as Destiny evolves beyond ‘good online shooter’ and becomes a multi layered onion of RPG depth.
Not only that, but the live MMO experience is now starting to kick into higher gear. A new, occasional trader called Xur has started appearing in the Tower market at weekends, with game changing Exotic loot for those who've accrued enough of those rare Strange Coins. The Queen of the Reef is becoming a bigger part of the world too, with limited time Bounties and assassination missions furnishing you with exclusive, unique armour.
Vanguard missions scale to accommodate your new power, with daily and weekly challenges throwing in lunatic combat-modifiers, alongside perks and nerfs for the now standard elemental guns.Raid content appears, ready to punch you in the face with brutal-tough combat-puzzling.And however much shooting, gathering, planning and maths you now need to do, none of this is ever a grind. Because that’s the beauty of Destiny. Its Halo-inspired, second to second combat is so endlessly increasingly fun that even the hard work plays brilliantly.