When Destiny was first announced it took the gaming world by storm in an instant, after a long hiatus Bungie had made a return to gaming in a big way. The scope of the game they were describing was tough for many to wrap their heads around or even find a name for this type of game. Bungie was adamant it wasn’t an MMO but in the end that’s exactly what gamers have come to call Destiny an MMO/FPS. One that has all the problems that you would expect from any other MMO style game.
Where its problems shine the brightest is in the attitude of its community when it comes to certain sections of the game such as raids, the Prison of Elders, or the Trials of Osiris. These are all areas of the game that Bungie intended to foster community involvement but random loot drops have created a divide. There are players who have been blessed by the games RNG and others left empty handed. Those unlucky players are now being shut out of raids and other sections for not being good enough, creating an “elitist” attitude.
That’s obviously nothing gamers haven’t run into in countless other games, yet Destiny stands out because unlike other games there isn’t a way around it. In games like World of Warcraft if you don’t have the gear people say you need to run a dungeon you can go back and run old instances till you find it. Destiny doesn’t give you that kind versatility. Many of the higher level pieces of gear only drop in the raid or now the Prison of Elders. On top of that there is no matchmaking system to help these players find other people in their same place, and if they have no friends who can help they’re out of luck.
The latest expansion House of Wolves has only made the problem worse by introducing the Prison of Elders with its high level challenges and the Trials of Osiris’s secret area. It used to be that players who needed other people to raid with could hop on matchmaking sites like DestinyLFG.com to find a group. A quick look at those sites now will show that things have changed with a huge number of people demanding people join their party with a Gjallahorn.
Gjallarhorn is among the rarest weapons that Destiny has to offer and something that only a small pool of the player base has on hand. Now that DestinyLFG groups are requiring it for higher level Prison of Elder runs, more players are excluded from playing than ever before. Other groups go even further than demanding a Gjallahorn and high level gear putting prospective players through a questionnaire. Trying to make sure they know how to defeat the boss in a special way that they saw on YouTube and turning a fun experience into a job interview.
These problems are not limited to Destiny’s PvE sections either, the same negative attitude has now cropped up in the games PvP areas. Following the launch of the Trials of Osiris multiplayer event a group of players discovered that if you can win nine consecutive matches you gain entrance to a special area. This secret area called the Lighthouse has a chest full of rare loot and a new social area. After players discovered this chest they became obsessed with gaining access to it themselves turning the casual PvP experience into a mock MLG tournament. Players who want to find a group for it now need the best gear and experience possible if they want to get in on the action.
Finding a solution to this elitist attitude problem isn’t easy, its difficult to combat in any game, but the choices Bungie made when designing Destiny have made it harder. The lack of matchmaking in the raids, Nightfall, and other areas have made it easy for top players to push everyone else out. Forcing them to hope for a group without strict standards and that the RNG gods will bless them with great new weapons or gear. That way the next time they want to play they might be able to pass the test and get “hired” for a raid group.
Unfortunately combating that negative attitude is up to the community that created it. Players need to try loosening up and remembering to enjoy Destiny instead of turning it into a job.
