Just when you started saying “you call that a grind Bungie?!”. I’ve got everything I need and I’ve done all the raids and I’m totally bored with Destiny. Well if that describes you you’re in luck. The Dark Below is the first DLC for Destiny and adds quite a few new features that will, in theory, keep you coming back for more. Even if that’s primarily because all your loot is now worthless. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
The first notable feature is the new Sparrow. I know you’ve all been screaming out for it. A Sparrow that allows you to perform wicked flips. Now when you perform a jump you can roll the sparrow before it lands. It also sports a lovely flame decal that really makes it look like something aimed at kids. I really find the entire thing just so tacky. I haven’t spent as long with my guardian as some but I’ve still invested many, many hours into him and making him look cool. Guardians are serious people who mean business. They’re supposed to be defending against the darkness. A slick black and orange Sparrow with armour plating or a ram or something would fit better. Either way you get a free legendary Sparrow with some nice stats and some useless abilities. Glad I didn’t buy one from the quartermaster.
You also get some nice new crucible maps to keep murdering other guardians entertaining too. And they’re well made and fun. Two of them are brutally tight and really allow matches to become what Destiny does best with abilities being flung around and guardians jumping, blinking and floating everywhere. The other map is a horrible long range map with vehicles all over the place. Being repeatedly shot in the head without a contest is no fun and I personally hate PvP vehicle battles in Destiny. If you like sniping or using vehicles then it’s a great map.
There’s a new vanguard strike too for your PvE craving. Most of my time in Destiny is spent in strike missions with players found in matchmaking. There isn’t really much new or different with the latest strike but it feels every bit as well made and fully featured as the original strikes. It’s particularly useful given all the extra vanguard marks and reputation I’m going to need to at least have one fresh mission to keep things a little more interesting. It’s well designed and just as fun to play as the other strikes.
But a much more significant addition is the raise in the level cap for your light level. You can now make it beyond the old level cap of 30 all the way up to 32. But to do so you’re going to have to get stuck into The Dark Below’s new raid. You’re then going to have to play it extensively to get the items you want because as usual all the best gear is handed out primarily according to luck. And there’s an extra layer of difficulty if you want to reach the lofty heights of level 32. All that gear you finally got from grinding the raid over and over will need levelling up before you get all that lovely light. But you can forget about using those ascendant shards and energies you’ve found. You’ll need ‘radiant’ materials that can only be found in the raid.
So that’s all well and good for the hardcore among us but what about those who don’t have a dedicated raid team waiting for hour after hour of high level Destiny action? Well actually there’s loads for you. I’ve spent a lot of time on Destiny but I still prefer matchmaking. I don’t have a huge amount of online friends and certainly not enough to effectively organize a raid. So I’ve been content with vanguard strikes to get my fill of Destiny.
Well your local neighbourhood vanguard merchant has just what you need. They just so happen to have a new set of armour available that, when upgraded, will get you to level 31. Sure you’ll have to wait for the irritating weekly limit on vanguard, or crucible, marks but other than that you can guarantee your way to 31 and use your ‘standard’ ascendant materials to upgrade them. It’s not about an enormous grind anymore so much as it’s about re-grinding and doing the same things to get very slightly better equipment.
Everything about the latest update to Destiny make me feel like I’ve been wasting my time. Raising the level is one thing but replacing the items that I bought for items that are just plain better for the same cost is punishing me for owning the game earlier than some players. All the ascendant shards I’ve used on armour are now almost completely worthless as I’ll need to replace my armour. So a new player, that hasn’t bought a season pass (you can get to level 31 without owning The Dark Below), can easily be a higher level than someone who played Destiny for days on end and just hasn’t played for a week or two. That seems a little backwards to me.
Everything about Destiny’s latest update devalues everything that you previously earned. It opens up options for more grinding and gives me a good excuse to play some more Destiny, which is never a bad thing, but there really isn’t much value in The Dark Below. The bike is a cheesy gimmick at best and since I’m not ever likely to be able to complete a raid The Dark Below only offers me a few campaign missions that while not bad, don’t make me feel like I got a good deal and some crucible maps.
As with a lot of Destiny Content the raid players get exclusive access to content and everyone else gets nothing. It’s one thing to keep rewards for the hardcore but to exclude others is just unfair. So I get punished for not having enough friends interested in raids. But somehow Destiny manages to make raid players feel robbed at the same time by providing ‘nearly as good stuff’ easily at vendors; and even worse they’re available without paying. This expansion does nothing but alienate and punish those who are dedicated. If you haven’t got much loot and don’t pay for the DLC you’re in the winners group. Everyone else seems to lose in some way.
