How Destiny 2 Alienates Solo Players

When the original Destiny first came out, the game gave players the option to either play solo or to play along with others. The game gave you free reign to do anything you want, including playing Crucible, Strikes, and even the Raids with random players, your friends, or solo. Well, in Destiny 2, some of those solo perks have been nerfed. Strikes need you to have a team set up, and if you do go into a strike, it takes forever for you to be paired. Crucible now has four-man teams that require two Guardians to work together to even take down one Guardian. Raids require you to be part of a team — no lone wolfing it! Destiny 2 should provide their solo players the same experience they provide their other players, without forcing them to use outside help.            

Some things that made Destiny a wonderful game were the missions, open world exploration, and boss battles. Others were the mods that happened to change the color of armor and weapons. Destiny was a fun game that had a pretty good storyline and created a world that caused debates among players about which classes were better and what weapon combinations were best during Crucible, Strikes and Raids.

Destiny allowed for players to pretty much choose if they wanted to play with a group or play solo. It did not force its players to join clans, although it was an option and did encourage online friendships. Destiny 2, however, takes away this option and pushes for players to have a more group-based experience, which is demonstrated with the new Crucible, Strikes, and Raids. Crucible is now a four-man team that requires two guardians to take down one guardian on the opposing team. It is relatively fun, but it takes away the ability to work alone, and one-on-one battles are not advised unless you are equipped with enough ammo.

Another issue with Destiny 2 are the Strikes. Strikes used to be accessible by yourself in Destiny before the sequel took that away. Now when you decide to go in by yourself, Destiny 2 will pair you up with a group that is missing a member. This can tend to be a long wait — and even longer if your internet is slow. This does not stop the game from being fun, but it does stop you, as a solo player, from wanting to run things by yourself, and this can piss off your “teammates,” especially if you aren’t a part of the group chat or paying attention to strategy.

The last big issue with Destiny 2 are the Raids. Raids in Destiny could be entered and done by yourself, albeit with some difficulty. Destiny 2, on the other hand, requires a team, clan, or six-man team that you must put together in order to play. After you have maxed out your light level and are equipped with your strongest weapons and armor, you now enter the Raid. The only issue is that the Raid requires six Guardians to play it. When entering Leviathan, you can pass the Cabal guards and enter the main area. This first stage of the Raid requires two Guardians to run and activate staffs that open the second part of the Raid. The second part requires four Guardians to stand on platforms to activate the puzzle, which then leads to the last part of the Raid. This setup of the Raid requires teamwork, and you need to be able to talk in a chat to decide which Guardian will be doing what so that the puzzle does not fail, the whole team doesn’t die, and you’re not stuck starting all over again.

Destiny 2 has such an amazing opening storyline, along with amazing DLC. The issue with this is that as a solo player, you must have friends or clan members to help you play the game because it requires more teamwork and less self-exploration. Destiny 2 has taken away that aspect of soloing and makes it harder for those who are accustomed to playing games alone. Destiny 2 would be a better game if there were more freedom for solo players to be able to play the same way that players with teams do. Destiny 2 should give its solo players back their freedom to roam and play every platform as they want.