No one has rated this review as helpful yet
Recommended
33.2 hrs last two weeks / 2,653.7 hrs on record (729.4 hrs at review time)
Posted: 4 Dec, 2021 @ 1:47pm

There's a list of pros and cons at the end, if you just want to skip.

There's a lot going on with this game, and I personally love it. I've played around 500 hours since the beginning of this year, with around 300 for just this season, and I'm still fairly addicted.

So, Destiny 2 is a sci-fi shooter with what is basically space magic. There are three classes, Hunter, Titan, and Warlock, and each class has 4 subclasses (although the fourth is a part of the Beyond Light dlc). Every subclass has different skill trees (or skill combinations in the 4th subclass as they allowed more customisation). Do you want to fly around with a flaming sword that shoots out fire? Do you want to turn yourself into a lightning missile and kill multiple enemies with a punch? How about turning invisible and running around saving your teammates? Each of those is viable.

Beyond the basics of the space magic is the gear and build crafting. Not only do you get different weapons that each have a chance of getting a selection of a variety of perks, but you also get armour pieces aimed at increasing various stats to suit your playstyle. In addition to this, there are exotic items, which have unique functions, such as massive cooldown reductions or shooting arrows that chain lightning. You're able to combine your gear choices with the right subclass abilities for some ridiculous synergy. In addition to this, you can customise your armour further by adding mods, which can have mild effects, like making ability recharge times a bit quicker, or absolutely ridiculous effects, like making targets you hit take more damage from certain weapon types.

If you're a fan of making a multitude of builds and seeing the chaos that can unfold, then you can always look up a build online. Youtube has quite a few videos on the topic.

As for what you can do, this game has a variety of modes. You can play missions for loot, or for the fun of trying out new gear, at varying difficulties. You can plunder dungeons, which all have great mechanics and fights. You could do raids, which are activities for teams of six that allow you to work together and complete encounters with interesting mechanics, like a dungeon on steroids. If you'd rather chill, you can just explore multiple worlds, find chests lying around, do public events and bounties, and just kill whatever you find. There are also hidden enemy locales known as lost sectors, which provide another fun way to farm loot.

There are also a variety of pvp modes, which often use an entirely different way of making builds. I personally find this to be a great way to encounter more variety. In addition, there is a game mode with a mix of pvp and pve, where two teams compete to complete an objective and kill a boss, with the added twist of periodically allowing a player from one team to invade the other and disrupt progress.

There are also a lot more activities with seasonal content, as each season releases something new to do, but that's not the free part. The free activities are strikes (just general missions to play for loot), the pvp, the pvp and pve hybrid, one dungeon, lost sectors, and going about the worlds for fun and exploration. There's also the tutorial story, but it is more just a quick guide on what to do.

The paid content includes all the dlc campaigns, raids, and dungeons, as well as the seasonal content. The dlcs also grant access to new weapons, but you do have to grind for many of them.

If you're on the fence about playing this game, try it out. The base game is free, and still fairly fun on its own. There's not a ridiculous amount of things to do, but there's still a fair amount. Additionally, the Forsaken dlc's campaign is going to be free from December 7th until the next big expansion drops on, I think February 22nd.

Pros:
Decent graphics despite being years old.
Solid gameplay loop.
Interesting build system that suits a variety of playstyles.
A fair number of activities, even without any dlc content.
The base game is free.

Cons:
Being behind on the expansions can make purchasing new content a bit intimidating.
Old seasonal content and the first three campaigns, along with a few raids, were removed to prevent the game's size from bloating even more ridiculously than it already has.
The build system may be confusing for new players, or those who aren't a fan of making builds.

I would rate the base game at around a 7/10. With all the dlc content, this is around a 9/10 for me. The base game used to be more fun before they had to remove the initial three campaigns and some other game modes to make way for new content, but I still think it's fun with friends, or if you want to go on a fantastical space magic adventure solo.

Have fun!
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