Why The Taken King is a great time to start playing Destiny

There probably won’t be another “great time to start Destiny” for a while

Not to put a gun to your head, but if TTK turns out to be the true Destiny 1.0, with Bungie hitting their stride, learning lessons, and setting a fresh foundation for the future, there won’t be a better time to join in for at least another year. The leaked release schedule — which Bungie has mostly stuck to — includes two more smaller expansions in the style of The Dark Below and House of Wolves.

It’s doubtful that these future expansions will reset the entry level for the game the way The Taken King is. If anything, the new systems seem to be built with the aim of future-proofing Destiny, so that Bungie never has to completely restructure everything again. The next two expansions will probably assume that you’re level 40 going into them.

If you’ve been curious about Destiny, but hesitant because of the initial reviews or the constant hate the game seems to get, Sept 15 is the best time to join in. If you want to get a little headstart and dip your toe in before committing to a $60 game, there’s always a downloadable demo on PSN and XBL.

The amount of content will probably match the price point

Destiny was content-starved on day one. Anyone who played the Alpha or Beta had their suspicions, and when the game came out we all realized that Earth encompassed nearly 25% of the game. As time went on, perception changed, and Destiny fans settled into the repetitive story missions, handful of strikes, and weekly raids because they enjoyed advancing their character and shooting aliens.

It’s easy to forget that Destiny’s original ending had players killing a blob on Mars and receiving a promise from the Exo Stranger that there is “so much more”. Aside from the Vault of Glass raid, there really wasn’t. Each expansion brought a handful of extra story missions, strikes, and end-game content — and it was clear Bungie was getting better at making them — but it still never felt like enough.

That said, if you’re coming in completely fresh, $60 for the core game, The Dark Below, House of Wolves, and The Taken King finally feels like a fair value in terms of content. For the rest of us, we’ve probably gotten our money’s worth in playtime, if not actual content.

An influx of new players means you’ll have some low level friends

It’s quickly becoming clear that September 15 is the day to come back to Destiny, or to play it for the first time. Either way there will be a ton of new players. There will be newbies insta-leveling their first Guardian to level 25 and looking for friends, and there will be grizzled ancients looking to level an alt character or new subclass. Either way, the road to the level cap will be paved in gold compared to how it’s been in the past. Get on Reddit, search the various LFG sites, or just jump into missions and try to make some new friends.

With two expansions under their belt and a year’s worth of lessons courtesy of a rabid and dedicated fanbase, Bungie is poised to make the game players always wanted with Destiny’s next big expansion, The Taken King. The sweeping changes coming to character leveling, grinding, acquiring gear, and even more fundamental things like storytelling and gameplay are substantial. I can’t imagine a better time to start playing the game, or to come back if you gave up on it in the past.

The running joke lately is that Destiny is finally coming out of beta. It’s a bit harsh, but there’s some truth to it, as Bungie is completely rethinking a lot of ideas that simply didn’t work. Entire systems — like the concept of your armor quality tying directly into your character level — are being thrown out. Various currencies are being retired and streamlined. Even Peter Dinklage got the boot, with all of Ghost’s dialogue being re-voiced by Nolan North.

With nearly 600 hours spent playing Destiny (thanks wastedondestiny.com), I feel like I should be more mad about the idea that I’ve been playing a “beta” this whole time, but I’m not. The frustration with the game has never been about how bad it is, it’s been about how good it COULD be. With Taken King it looks like Bungie is finally starting to realize that vision. Here’s a few more reasons why I think you should join in…

The ground floor is reopening for The Taken King

Vanilla Destiny was a series of barriers between the starting player and the “cool” stuff like the raid and the exotic gear. With The Dark Below, Bungie erected even more barriers. They eased up a bit with House of Wolves but only for those who were already at the max level with a ton of cool items.

Those who leveled their Guardians to 30 in the first month of Destiny had the best experience, as there was a lot of camaraderie in suffering together. Fireteams were forged, and those who didn’t stick with the punishment got left behind. It’s possible to get lapsed Destiny players from level 18 to level 34 today (I’ve done it with a friend over the last month) but it isn’t nearly as fun.

With The Taken King, every new or returning player will be provided with a spark of light, a consumable that will advance any Guardian to level 25, the minimum level for the new story missions. But what really makes the return worthwhile is the removal of huge barriers between levels. No more “forever 29” — in The Taken King, players earn XP to level up all the way to the level cap of 40.