The great yo-yo of Destiny has me in its grasp once again. I've now played through the main story for The Taken King and while I was trepidatious about giving in to Bungie's parade of changes once again, I've got to say that I've been duly impressed so far. So let's break some things down and talk a bit about what's changed.
The first changes came last week, when the 2.0 update dropped. A number of exotic weapons were tweaked, but the biggest changes came in a complete re-tooling of the leveling system and loot acquisition and storage. My level and my light score follow a far more logical system that is much easier to understand at a glance; the addition of the collections has freed up a ton of space in my inventory and vault; finally, the new vault space and organization was a no-brainer but a very welcome addition to the mix.
The tower staff must have gotten tired of having Eris's ship parked in a loading zone and moved her closer to the Vanguard mentors. It makes way more sense that way, putting her closer to all the other quest-giving NPCs. She plays a larger part in The Taken King than I had expected, even after hearing that she and Cayde-44 (the hunter mentor, voiced by Nathan Fillion) were the primary quest-givers. I was one of many, many players who hated her depressing droning when The Dark Below was released, and I'm impressed that Bungie was able to write her out of the hole they so diligently wrote her into.
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| As if playing a Hunter weren't awesome enough, the guy on the left is my boss. |
Of all the voice work in TTK, I cannot go on without mentioning Nathan Fillion's excellent work. His character did a great deal of the heavy lifting in the latest expansion and I think it really set the tone for expansions to come. His sincerity, humanity and wit brought a space and depth that I'd rarely seen in Destiny. I don't think I could have worked through more DLC that took itself entirely too seriously.
The Dreadnaught is a real piece of work. It is packed with secret little rooms and pathways leading to all sorts of curiosities. I found one such item during one of the first missions in the massive ship(a little crystal called a "calcified fragment") but from what I've been reading, I've barely scratched the surface.
If you've been doubtful about picking up TTK because you got burned (or burnt out) by past DLC, know that I was too. I was tired of doing the same quests over and over and over and over again and having to work for hours in game to get even the slightest sense of accomplishment. With all of the changes I listed above, it would be logical to conclude that the game requires you to play even more to keep up, but it is easier than ever to get a few things done in a short period of time (ie, 1 to 2 hours as opposed to 4-6).
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| The Hunter's new sub-class focuses on battlefield control. It is my new favorite. |
