For anyone who's been playing Destiny for a decent amount of time, you've likely heard of Iron Banner and know how it works. For everyone else, this is for you. Iron Banner is an event that puts you against other players (much like Clash or Control), but with a small twist.
Your level and great matter like in Rumble.
The event only lasts a week and you can earn some event only gear by reaching Rank 5. Normally, this would be a simple matter of grinding from event to event, but in Iron Banner, your tank resets after each event, so you only get the week to hit Rank 5.
Luckily, you can equip a few things to earn more rep.
There are emblems, shaders, and class items to be bought at various ranks, these all increase the about of rep earned for the Iron Banner faction by 10% each, and there's another buff called "Tempering" that you can purchase for a Mote of Light that increase rep gain exponentially, increasing each day the event is active, however it last only 12 hours.
On top of those items and buff, if you lose, you gain a Medallion of Iron that will still give you partial rep that is automatically used after a win. You can only hold 5 at a time.
There are also event bounties that function the same way as the others do.
REP BONUS BREAKDOWN:
Class Item, Shader, Emblem - 10% increase in rep for each equipped.
Tempering - 10%, 15%, 25%, 40%, 60%, 100%, 150%, depending on consecutive days used.
Medallion of Iron - 40 rep each, 5 max for a total of 200 rep.
All rep bonus items (shaders, class items, etc) apply to Medallions and Bounties as well.
IRON BANNER RANKS & REWARDS:
RANK 1 - 100 EXP
Rewards:
Iron Banner Emblem, grants 10% rep bonus within Iron Banner while equipped
RANK 2 - 1200 EXP
Rewards:
Iron Banner Shader, grants 10% rep bonus within Iron Banner while equipped
RANK 3 - 2400 EXP
Rewards:
2 sets of armour pieces (light lvl 30)
RANK 4 - 2400 EXP
Rewards:
Weapon, 2 sets of armour pieces (light lvl 30), Iron Banner Class Item, grants 10% rep bonus within Iron Banner while equipped
RANK 5 - 2400 EXP
Rewards:
Weapon, Iron Banner Shader, grants 10% rep bonus within Iron Banner while equipped
Weapon and armour are not the same (USUALLY), so we won't know until the event what the Iron Banner vendor has for sale. You can see what he will allegedly have here.
There's also random loot you can obtain after a match like normal gear, so watch out for that.
If I missed anything, let me know. Otherwise, have fun out there next week, Guardian.
Normally I'd write my own piece on this, but IGN, for what THAT'S worth, has written something on it that has quotes and other hoopla.
I'll summarize it though.
Weekly will be mandatory matchmaking, no premade groups or soloing will be allowed.
This is due to numerous complaints that not enough people have access to the content (no friends.... that play), and that it's too easy with friends.
So yeah, how do you feel about that? I'm fine, I hate waiting for people on my FL to sign in, so I'll be able to do then more often and at my own pace.
Note, weekly is the only the affected, not Nights or Raids.
Now, I know most people are in love with Destiny, our own Ana Gore gave it a solid 9/10. I however, would be on the opposite end of that spectrum, I'd give it a 7 AT BEST (which equates to an average rating).
Now before you tear into me like a lion on a gazelle, let me explain why, in list format, I give it such a sub-par rating. Keep in mind, I refuse to acknowledge any non released patches, if Bungie has said they'll implement something below, great. Until it happens though, they are just words.
In-game chat, where is it?
1. The most obvious and wanted thing, in-game chat of some sort. I'm aware you can create fireteams and chat that way, but when you do PvP, you can't unless you all join a fireteam. There's no text box like every single other MMO (hell, even Defiance has one). This makes it tough to actually do anything, who the hell would/wants to join up with random fireteams? At least if there were a text box, you could do a 'LF' message (LF = Looking For, for those unfamiliar with MMO terms).
LF Crucible, LF VoG (Vault of Glass), LF Strike, etc. Come on, maaaaaaaan.
Ffffffffffffff....
2. Better, and more relevant loot. Yesterday, I decrypted at least a dozen engrams, at least 5 were blue, guess how many were any good. Zero. It seems that after a certain point, the loot stops getting better, and you are FORCED to grind out Rep or Marks to get something decent from vendors, the EXACT OPPOSITE OF EVERY OTHER MMO. Go play FFXIV, or WoW, or LoL and you'll see that the best loot is obtained from bosses, not buying them from an NPC, that gear is usually trash and serves no real purpose.
Also, since the last patch, I get far less drops and when I do get them, they are green 90% of the time.
Instead, I get level 18 blue boots from the level 22 Vanguard Strike. Shite.
Obviously, not Destiny, as Destiny doesn't have a party finder
3. Party Finder. If they refuse to add a chat system, at least let people post to a board saying they are interested in forming a party, instead of making us go online and posting on Facebook, Twitter, and other sites in hopes of finding some party members.
Since I don't have an image for this, here's a pug in a hat
4. More variety. While I'm sure many enjoy the same old tasks such as, go to this planet and kill a bunch of things until you have 200 crystals/gems/parts, get x headshots, and kill x enemies, I need more. The bounties are weak, the patrol missions aren't all that rewarding (granted I've only done them on the Earth and Moon, so maybe the reward is better on Mars and stuff) and there's a handful of Strikes (see #2 why they suck).
Once you've beaten the game, you can do just PvP or Strikes a thousand times over until you get enough Marks to buy the next tier of gear and then repeat.
Kills/Deaths/Assists/Loot
5. Balance. If you've played PvP, you've most likely seen players who suck get rewarded with awesome items at the end of the match yet you, who did well, get nothing. How is that fair? It ain't. Some people say there are other factors, if they were a low-level, if they assisted a lot (which is somehow more vital than actually killing?) and more. BS. The loot system is screwed, simple as that.
If I can join a game, suck, and get an Exotic piece, you know there's an issue.
Honorable Mentions
This was thrown around a bit, but we decided not to include it as the game doesn't have a solid rule on roles (i.e. there is no Tank, no DPS, no Healer)
1-800-DOCTORB - The 'B' is for Bargain
NEED HEALZ!!!! Seriously, why is there no healing class? A simple AoE skill that recovers health/shields, grants buffs, or reduces damage while in it, would be amazing. I know one of the classes has a revive ability, but that's pretty lame and could greatly be expanded.
The Titan has an ability that would be perfect for a Support class, namely the Blessing of Light, that and the Warlocks, Life Steal and Fireborn. Those 3 skills on one class would create a great Support class.
Become Legend, or at least a pretty cool space wizard.
Destiny is the hot new release from Bungie, the folks that brought us Halo and I'm sure a few other games, but mostly Halo. But how does it stack to previous games released by Bungie and other popular games?
Day One sales for Halo and other popular games
As you can see, Destiny is Bungie's best selling game, and one of the highest sellers this year. It should be noted that Activision did spend roughly $500 million in adverts and development for the game as well, so this isn't all net profit, and sales are TO the retailers.
So while the numbers aren't in fully (this takes in to account only US, not worldwide), Destiny is shaping to be a big hit, at least sales wise.
Story
I'm a little lost on the story, however what I take from it is you are a Guardian, a member of a group dedicated to preserving the last remnants of humanity from The Fallen and The Hive. The Fallen are what we would consider mercenaries, and are divided amongst Houses, who are as hostile to each other as they are to humans, adapting a 'survive at all costs' lifestyle, to everyone. The Hive are an ancient species that seek conquest and expansion, having lived for thousands of years, they have been at war with humans and Fallen in their quest for domination (honestly, they remind me of Flood from Halo).
The Guardians must protect the last human stronghold and keep peace at all costs.
Graphics
Graphically, Destiny is gorgeous, the environments are lush and detailed. Characters, enemies and other environmental objects all interact with each other and don't seem to have any AI issues (i.e. clipping). Special abilities have nice special effects, as do weapons and vehicles.
Hunter in the field
Destiny PvP
Objects in the distance also look crisp, versus poorly rendered like some games have had, where they only load if you approach them. Specifically, I like the shadowing from the star in the PvP shot above.
Even the last gen graphics look good, not as good, but still impressive.
Controls
I've you've played Halo: Reach or Halo 4 (or ANY shooter really), the controls are pretty much the same, a few minor tweaks (such as the shoulder being used for grenades vs the trigger). The directional pad is used for 'emotes', these include 'wave', 'dance', 'point' and sitting down, I'm not sure if there are more than those, I've not really used them. The controls are tight and respond quickly, I've had only a few issues where I swear I pulled the trigger after a melee, but that could just be the game mechanic to not allow you to spam the two.
Xbox One Layout
PS4 Layout
So it shouldn't take FPS fans long, or even those who have casually played an FPS, there's almost no real variation. These are, of course, the default controls, you can adjust them as you see fit.
Audio
The game sports a very nice cast of VO, including the loved Peter Dinklage of Game of Thrones, as well as many other names who may be familiar to those who like The Walking Dead (the show), The Matrix, Bleach and others.
The music has a very Halo-like feel, so fans of the series when Bungie was in charge should enjoy it very much. The sounds of gun fire, enemy communications, footsteps, explosions and everything else are very well done and varied.
Other
Destiny can only be played online, as indicated on the front of the box, it is an MMOFPS (w.RPG elements). Players explore various planets on a medium sized map, where other players may also be exploring and doing missions. You can team up with them or ignore them altogether, it's up to you.
You can also customize your character with new armor, colors, hair style, race, skin color, gender and even a few different species. (see Destiny: First Impressions)
The game also has a central Hub known as 'The Tower', where you can buy gear, for parties or just BS around. It is very reminiscent of the Mass Effect series when on the Citadel.
I've only played a few games of PvP, but it's pretty much like most MP games out there, you are on a team of up to 6 (at least in Control) and score points to win. Players bring their own gear in, so a low level player can be at a disadvantage, but if you are good, you can make up for it. Upon completing a PvP match, you earn exp, money, and PvP currency that can be used to buy PvP gear.
The game offers a clan feature as well, I'm not to sure what this means, as I've just started getting involved, but I believe there are in-game bonuses to be had for joining. If interested, and on the Xbox One, feel free to join ours. (The Blood Alliance)
Players can take on 'dungeons' as well, these are longer than normal missions, and can be rewarding. They pit you against tougher enemies, but with a team of 2 other players, so getting a team together before, or getting randoms, is an option.
First dungeon boss
Players also have a special killer move, this move causes MASSIVE damage and kills most things instantly, if it doesn't kill them, it brings them to the brink of death. The video below shows the Warlock special ability, check it out.
The game also has grimoires, which are somewhat like in-game achievements or challenges. You earn them by fulfilling various requirements (i.e. kill X amount of Hive, X amount of Fallen, get X kills with precision, etc), what these do, beside increase you grimoire score, I don't yet know. You can find some exclusive grimoire codes here: Destiny Grimoire Codes
Overall
Destiny is shaping up to be a great game, the variety from main missions to side, PvP and exploration, there's a lot to do. Character customization is great and varied. With expansions on the way, I'm hoping for more awesome content. The only downside is that missions aren't terribly long and going back to the tower to complete them, only to go back to the same world is annoying
If you'd like, I recorded a short series of clips to show the various parts of the game.
9.0/10.0 Pros
- Looks beautiful
- Playing with others is a blast - Dungeons offer a challenge and are rewarding (usually) Cons - Feels tedious to go back and forth between the Tower and worlds so much - Missions could be longer
As many are aware, the Destiny beta has begun. The beta gives players a look at Bungie's next new IP, will Destiny live up to expectations? We won't really know until its full release, but that doesn't mean we can't judge it based on the beta.
Character creation is something new Bungie is including in Destiny, you'll be able to design your character in many ways, including 1 of 3 races, hairstyle, hair color, tattoos, and eye color as well as sex.
Human, ??? and Robot, I forget the second race name, they resemble humans, but have beady eyes and are much more pale
The Robots
Humans
These things
You also get to pick your class, Titan, Hunter or Warlock. Each specialize in something different. The Titan is all about power, using weapons to down their enemies. The Hunter is the assassin of the group, using stealth and quickness to take out enemies, the Warlock, as the name implies, is the mage, the use magic energy to down enemies
The classes and their symbols
The story missions are relatively quick, each mission takes, depending on skill and if you want to explore, about 10 minutes. They generally involve reaching the objective point and then killing a bunch of enemies, killing a boss or surviving until your partner, Ghost, can unlock something.
After each mission, you get a summary, how many enemies each person killed, loot you earned and can go back to Destiny, the safe zone where you can buy new gear, turn in quests, interact with others and more.
Destiny is a central hub where you can see and interact with other players, trade stuff, form parties and accept new quests or bounties (basically challenges that earn more money, exp, and reputation with factions), as well as check new messages you may have.
As of now, the MP has only one game mode, Control. You earn exp and Gladiator rank (think *insert current name of PvP currency in World of Warcraft*, earn enough and turn it in for better PvP gear. You also earn less impressive gear during MP (all the stuff I earned was worse than what I had, so I just sold it).
Character with Superior gear, rare and time consuming
You can earn glyphs, which can be converted to gear during missions as well, these are generally uncommon and pretty good gear (at least for now). The tougher the mission, the better gear you can earn, within reason.
A few modes require teams, these are similar to mini dungeons, I haven't successfully done one yet, as my team usually quits before we complete it.
As one may expect, characters can learn some skills and also be upgraded to increase stats, things like more armor, faster recovery and movement are a few of the things that can be upgraded.
MANY skills to be learned
Weapons can also be customized to some degree, rarer weapons have upgrade slots which can be used to do a variety of things such as increase damage, rate of fire, increase accuracy and much more.
2 upgraded spots, one with 3 upgrade options
For obvious reasons, it's too soon to say if the game will be good or not (although I'm sure it will sell well since it's, well, Bungie (and they have a large fan(boy) base)), the game is interesting so far. I woudn't personally buy it right away, I just don't feel enough draw to it. Halo with RPG elements sounds cool, but it doesn't play as I would think.
