Features I Want to See in Destiny 2

Destiny was a fine game — once it was updated with numerous balance patches and other fixes — but it was far from amazing. Now that Destiny 2 has officially been announced, Bungie has a chance to start over and deliver the kind of game the company always wanted. As a fan, I have a few suggestions for Bungie on how to improve Destiny 2.

In-depth character creation

Character creation is an important aspect of many games, especially MMOs, as it lets players slip into the role of their character more easily. Early games only let gamers select from a limited pool of skin colors and faces, but as technology improved, so did the character creation tool. Today, character creation is robust enough to let players change everything from the slope of their character’s forehead to the depth of their philtrum (the groove between your nose and your upper lip). Destiny’s character creator, regrettably, was extremely bare bones and only provided pre-selected features such as face shapes, hairstyles/colors, and skin colors. Destiny 2 needs a more in-depth character creator tool because modern MMO players expect that level of freedom in their games.

Improved character customization

Character customization is very different from character creation: the latter determines what your character looks like, while the former determines your character’s stats and playstyle. Customization was extremely limited in Destiny. Granted, class abilities could be customized to have additional (or completely different) effects, but the modifications that truly mattered (i.e., stat modifications) came from armor and weapons. Given the random nature of Destiny’s loot system, players could easily find themselves with armor that shoehorned them into a playstyle they didn’t like. To fix this problem, Destiny 2 should split stat boosts between bonuses provided from armor and bonuses received through new passive abilities that are unlocked as players level. Furthermore, and this might be just me, but each race should have its own unique abilities. I personally find it pointless for a game to give players a choice of playable races but not have the choices change how the game is played in any significant way; if all the races play the same, why bother making more than one? These abilities would go a long way towards making each race/class combination feel unique.

Actual item crafting

Despite what some people might claim, Destiny doesn’t have crafting. The game just lets players upgrade existing weapons/armor and that’s it. While some gamers love opening chests for a chance to get a new assault rifle or helmet of +10 shininess, others find more satisfaction in taking the time to collect materials and craft their own shiny new equipment. These people prefer the rush of joy when they make an item they earned instead of receiving a special item by chance. A dedicated crafting system in Destiny 2 would help attract these kinds of gamers.

Player housing

Some MMO players love to relax in a digital house and show off their latest trophies and furniture, especially after a tough raid or boss battle. Many modern games provide some form of player housing, and many players use the system to demonstrate their creative side. Some players decorate their homes with the mounted heads of giant monsters, while others display decorations earned from improving their relations with a specific faction. Destiny might not have had player housing, but Destiny 2 is ripe for such a system. After all, it would be thematically appropriate for players to craft new homes for themselves now that the giant city they called home in the first game is gone.

 

So, what features do you want to see in Destiny 2? Comment down below!