Around the time of E3, Destiny 2’s director, Luke Smith, told Glixel that Bungie wished to “unhide the fun” in Destiny. One of Bungie’s objectives has been to make the sequel extra readable: gamers ought to perceive their choices at any given second, with out having to leap out of the sport seeking development ideas.
What else has modified? Here’s everything we know about Destiny 2.
The modifications are welcome for probably the most half. Public occasions are actually probably the most environment friendly route by means of the same old mid-game gear grind, and now that they’re handily marked in your in-game UI, farming them is a breeze. I as soon as tried to do the identical within the authentic, for some quest or different, and it was depressing.
Back then, public occasions had a set schedule for once they might happen, however there was by no means any assure that they would, and different gamers have been a a lot much less dependable presence as a result of this uncertainty. Using third-party apps to chase the schedule felt like dashing to get to a celebration solely to seek out it’s not taking place (or, worse, that you simply’re the one one who turned up). Not enjoyable.
That stated, there’s worth in retaining some secrets and techniques. Bungie clearly understands this relating to the raid, however exterior of that encounter, their philosophy of “unhiding” stuff has been utilized fairly indiscriminately.
This brings me to Xur. When leaks from the sport information revealed that the mysterious Exotic vendor might probably seem on any of the sport’s 4 planets, the neighborhood assumed he was about to get much more elusive. I noticed some weariness, however tinged with affection, even pleasure – eye-rolls, however with a smile.
That anticipation has been undone along with his debut as we speak, for Xur, too, has been unhidden: his location is marked with a transparent icon in your in-game map. Finding him is the work of about 30 seconds, as you may see within the video above. I am unsure it is a good change.
Xur shouldn’t be the identical as a public occasion. He’s not flighty: he seems each weekend like clockwork, and stays in a single place till the appointed time. Unlike the unique’s mercurial public occasions, Xur will not allow you to down. It by no means took Reddit’s megathread or whereisxur.com too lengthy to seek out him, so the inconvenience for gamers was minimal, and the truth that he appeared with no ceremony gave him an in-universe aura that is vital to his character. Now that he’s recognised within the UI, Xur looks like a part of the Destiny institution. This is, I believe, the next worth to pay for a marginal achieve in comfort than Bungie have reckoned.
But if that appears trivial, there is a extra appreciable neighborhood impression. A fast Google search will present you what number of YouTube channels and video games websites title their Xur movies “the place is Xur?” It’s probably the most-asked query about something in Destiny, and now there isn’t any level asking it.
Xur stock evaluations in all probability will not disappear, as new or informal gamers nonetheless must know which Exotics are value their shards (this week: Merciless). But there are websites whose sole function is to be the quickest to inform you his location. Their raison d’etre has simply been obviated, together with the general public occasion trackers, the lifeless Ghost trackers, and the third-party LFG websites.
That’s probably the most puzzling side of all this. Community engagement with Destiny has been considered one of Bungie’s design focuses from the beginning, and some extent of satisfaction when it began taking place – the studio’s weekly replace highlights neighborhood content material, awarding particular emblems for the very best fan video every week.
Granted, many neighborhood websites stepped in to fill holes that in all probability should not have existed within the first place. It’s in all probability not the form of engagement Bungie need. But “unhiding” Xur is various child to throw out with that bathwater.
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