This new loot box is known as a "Prismatic Matrix" and works very much like a package gacha. The Prismatic Matrix has its own pool of ten possible items for players to pull out of it and players can make ten pulls per week. Once the next weekly reset hits, the matrix will refresh with a stock of ten new items. The Prismatic Matrix only awards items players don’t already have, so each pull will award the player with something new. It sounds good at first, but there are a few catches. Players only get one free pull per week and all the others have to be paid for with real money. Players can’t even bank their weekly pulls in order to guarantee themselves something they want because Destiny 2 will only allow players to bank a maximum of three free pulls. This means that the absolute most one could get for free in a week is four items. That...really doesn’t sound like much of an improvement does it? If anything, these boxes will encourage burst spending as overeager players race to make sure they have all the items available for a given week.
Which brings this full circle back to the Strike. With only one Strike to tackle, any Guardian checking out the beta will probably play this a few times. It was with my second group that more problems started to crop up. The beta is a stress test on Destiny 2’s system, so having such sparse…everything...became more noticeable. There is a limited arsenal in Destiny 2 at the moment, and when the party hit the boss, we started to wipe. After the third wipe I began switching out weapons in every combination imaginable, but we just couldn’t land it. Having played Destiny since vanilla, I’d say the skills are there. But here is Destiny 2 presenting itself as challenging, but there is always that inkling that it’s a façade. Again, every Destiny expansion has done this. New encounters, new mechanics, new gear. It makes it all seem like the game has changed, but level up enough, equip the right stuff and that boss that was causing so much grief becomes laughable. One can only hope that this beta is not tricking players into a false experience, but that won’t be revealed until September. So, for now it’s the waiting game.
Now we are onto the post-release downloadable content that tries to add a little bit more to the world. Unfortunately, the first two pieces of DLC don’t much story-related content. The Dark Below does set things up for the Taken King as it introduces the semi-important NPC, Eris Morn, who was the lone survivor of a six-person fireteam when attempting to kill a Hive God. It would seem that the destruction of Crota’s Sword back on the Moon wasn’t enough to completely squash the Hive threat as they’re back with Crota himself, trying to gain access to Rasputin, an AI that’s protecting Earth. After stopping the invasion of Earth once more, you go down into the depth of the Moon and kill Crota. He’s the prince to a Hive God, so he’s not exactly easy to take down.
Going deeper into the earth, we finally found what the Red Legion was searching for, Protheon, the Modular Mind. This giant bipedal Vex machine was the final boss and he was quite the challenge. All his attacks caused splash damage and a single stomp was enough to snuff out a Guardian. While he was quite the bullet sponge, Bungie did make it interesting by constantly changing the arena. A multi-tiered boss, Protheon would destroy the arena, sending us falling down to a new one. Each arena had its own little quirk. The second had a burning effect every now and again that would drain health. The third was surrounded by a lake of a milky white substance that would birth Vex grunts. It’s was an exciting boss battle that was more entertaining and engaging than anything in vanilla Destiny 2 guide.
All activities in Destiny 2 can be played cooperatively, but the real test of a Fireteam’s comradery comes in Strikes, which Destiny 2 provides plenty of. There are five Strikes in Destiny 2 (six if you’re on PS4), and each is meticulously crafted to test a Fireteam. They’re far more exciting than the Strikes in vanilla Destiny and dole out some quality loot. Those looking for a challenge and some of the top-of-the-line loot will want to try the Nightfall, however, which is unlocked later in the game.
Finally, we were able to sneak in a match of Countdown, a new multiplayer mode in Destiny 2. The mode is essentially Search & Destroy. One team is tasked with planting a bomb, and the other is tasked with defusing it. If an entire team is eliminated, however, the round ends. The first team to win six rounds is the victor. It’s a neat mode for those who like these types of multiplayer modes. For those who don’t like it, modes like Clash will return. Unlike Destiny, however, all multiplayer modes will only support eight players, down from twelve.
Assassin’s Creed II, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Mass Effect 2 are some of the greatest sequels of all time, but why? Each of these games had a flawed predecessor that showed great promise, which the developers were able to take and refine into strengths. With Destiny 2, Bungie is looking to achieve something similar. After three years of growing pains throughout the Destiny 1 era, the developer is finally ready to look to the future with a numbered sequel. With an actual campaign, new worlds to explore and an update to the game’s progression systems, is Destiny 2 the sequel fans deserve or is the number at the end warrantless?
