Activision Confirms 'Destiny 2' for 2017. Here's What We Need for the Game to Succeed

No surprise that Destiny 2 is coming this year, with Activision hellbent on a year's end launch. While Destiny was supposed to last for a decade as a single game — setting us up for #Destiny2 coming in 2024 — for fans like myself who were disappointed by the first game, we can now breathe a sigh of relief.

But wait! Destiny's 10-year agreement? It doesn't actually exist as a 10-year contract for a single game. Rather, it bound both #Activision and Bungie together for 10 years of development. It means that these two gaming giants will be working together on Destiny for a few more years and possibly a bit more beyond that. However, there's a lot of mistakes from Destiny past that the developers will need to have learned from in order to make the coming game a success.

Destiny's DLC Scheme Sucked. Let's Not Do That Again, OK?

Those who've been playing #Destiny since its 2014 launch likely sank quite a bit of money into the game and have endured a painful experience as a result. A $29.99 USD season pass that didn't mean jack to some, two $39.99 USD large-scale DLCs, then the microtransactions that locked some content away from fans ("Sparrow Race League," anyone?).

Yep, Destiny has been quite the money pit for those of us who invested the time. To get the full experience and to keep playing with friends was a lesson in endurance, a brain-scratching ride that Activision-Bungie took us on. If there is any plan for DLC with Destiny 2, let's make a season pass that screams "all content included."

After all, who wants to chunk out $169.96 on a single Destiny game? I sure as hell don't. Let's not do this again, Bungie. I'm ready for a divorce lawyer over that DLC scheme.

Don't Launch The Game In A Beta-Like State

If there was anything that resonated more with the #gaming community when it came to the first Destiny entry, it was the lack of content at launch. Heck, you played it, leveled up three characters, and watched your time drip away before checking out your info on Bungie.net. You only netted 30 hours with everything completed and equipped with the best gear possible, and you're still itching for more.

But you couldn't get more, so now you have to wait for the content patches. Man, if that doesn't sound painful, especially for a non-MMO, we might as well back away for a few months from release and wait to see what happens next, which may just be what the community does.

Again, who wants an incomplete Destiny game due to DLC and patches? Or any game, for that matter? No one, that's who. Absolutely no one. Lets not do that again, #Bungie. We loved Destiny once The Taken King launched. Can we have a game the size of Destiny as it is now at launch for year one? Please?

Vehicle PvP Needs To Return To The Franchise

Remember First Light and Bastion, those two spectacularly crafted player vs. player maps that highlighted the game's beta? These were the only two maps to support sparrows, pikes, turrets, etc. They were designs that brought the joys of #Halo to Destiny and stopped the game from having a certain Call of Duty meets Borderlands feel.

If Bungie and Activision have anything to learn here, it's that we don't need another Call of Duty, but rather a game that offers variety and originality. After all, who wants corridor shooting? No one, that's who — not on Destiny. Well, a few Halo tropes would be nice, all things considered.

Destiny 2 Needs A Minimum 3 Raids At Launch

So you've played other games that aspire to give a lot of post-leveling gameplay, right? World of Warcraft, Borderlands 2, Diablo III, and even that obscure title, Space Hulk: Deathwing. All these games offered a breath of fresh air, no matter how obscure the gameplay. In #Diablo3 you had bounties, post-game re-killing of bosses at higher levels, and an insane amount of stuff to do post-game. Heck, ever wanted to beat on the Son of Crawmerax in #Borderlands2? You could do that! You could even over-level the game and continue on for better gear.

Even #WoW remains good at keeping post-game content available, whether it's new dailies, raids or heroic dungeons. Crafting gear is fun, and as for catching a few fish? Count me in. What about those PvE factions? Hey, Bungie — you get what's going on here, right? All of these games have plenty of content to keep fans busy. Especially, y'know, multiple raids without buying another expansion. Just make sure to keep us entertained.

Destiny 2 Could Benefit From Cross-Platform Gameplay

If there was anything Destiny could have used as its player base dwindled, it was cross-platform play, which would have allowed for better grouping. This would be difficult to enact, delaying the game and ultimately relying on a dedicated server set. But fans would probably cheer for this, as Destiny was plagued with its peer-to-peer networking scheme using twofold mesh technology.

It was also a game that desperately needed a larger community to enjoy the free-roam element, and also the group strikes or raids. If games like Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, Paragon and Gears of War 4 could do it, I'm 100 percent sure that Destiny 2 could do it, too. For now, we're stuck with a peer-to-peer that may group you with people, or it might not. Let's just hope you do get grouped and we see much larger crowds in places such as the Tower and the Reef.

Community Spirit

While Destiny had a few rough spots, it also has some great ones and created new friendships for many of us who played it. It's a game that focused almost as much on community versus the gameplay. With things like the Grimoire being an added bonus for those with the mobile app or the website, Destiny is in-depth look at progress.