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Does Destiny 2 feels like a sequel or an expansion?

A sequel that plays it very safe. There is too much content in the game to call it just an expansion. It has four brand new planets (returning planet with no area) to explore, large campaign, tons of new weapons, many quests, five new strikes, whole new set of maps, whole new raid and so on.

It's enough content to warrant a whole new game. It just seems ignorant to call it just an expansion.

I think this sums it up pretty well. There's too much new content and overhauling of certain systems to just consider it an expansion. It's just the fact that it's not all that ambitious in pushing the game forward and some basic QoL improvements weren't made (not to mention a healthy dose of reused content) that gives it an air of expansion-itis. Ultimately it feels like a sequel to me though.
 

orborborb

Member
It is much more formulaic than the original, but it has plenty of new 'content' to keep you busy, unless you care about PvP which was utterly destroyed.
 

GhaleonEB

Member
It's a sequel if ever there was one. They play it relatively safe with the gameplay, but in terms of game content, the progression is enormous.
 

Mossybrew

Member
Obviously a sequel, but one which certainly aims more to fix what was wrong with the original than to really push the gameplay formula forward.
 

deleted

Member
Since this is more or less in the Diablo Genre I would have loved a jump like D1 to D2.

This seems much more like Borderlands 1 to 2 - or even less. Very similar classes combined with similar enemies and some QoL changes but not really reworking things that didn't work - just refining.

In that sense it seems much more like a traditional modern shooter sequel in the sense of Modern Warfare to MW2 or Black Ops to BO2?
 

Brandon F

Well congratulations! You got yourself caught!
I still wish they'd have added a brand new element and subclass for each class OR a 4th class or something to that effect. It's not like there's a weakness triangle like Void > Solar > Arc > Void or anything, so how hard would it have been to balance?

In theory that would make the elements feel a bit more functional than current(hard to get excited over elements when they largely add bonus matching damage on such a few cross-sect of enemies. Often just a small handful on a strike).

The issue I suppose largely stems from then forcing the player to maintain the triangle with such a system, prioritizing the elements over the guns probably was to be avoided. Factor in not having the ability to easily switch elements without digging into the submenu, and it sort of makes sense to even the playing field with situational advantages through equipment passives and occasional enemy types. It's not interesting I agree, but satisfying when the stars align.
 

Taker34

Banned
Compared to Destiny it's surely a sequel. Personally I'd say it's Destiny 1.5 but I can also understand why it's a sequel. I just expect game sequels with heavy asset reuse to have a very substantial upgrade in terms of content. A lot of new assets would let me expect content along the lines of the previous game. Since Destiny isn't too shy about tapping into the MMO genre I did at least expect twice the amount of moons/areas/planets - even though I'm satisfied with the size of the new areas.
 
Massive step up from Destiny 1 (I don't PVP, so this is from a PVE angle). Sequel.

There is still more they should do with the open world element to make it feel more living and breathing but everything has been a step in the right direction.

Nessus is a god tier zone/setting.
 

E92 M3

Member
An amazing sequel - fixed everything I wanted and improved the quality of life. Unlike other games, it didn't change the core formula.
 

Brandon F

Well congratulations! You got yourself caught!
Since this is more or less in the Diablo Genre I would have loved a jump like D1 to D2.

This seems much more like Borderlands 1 to 2 - or even less. Very similar classes combined with similar enemies and some QoL changes but not really reworking things that didn't work - just refining.

In that sense it seems much more like a traditional modern shooter sequel in the sense of Modern Warfare to MW2 or Black Ops to BO2?

This is my view. A sequel in name, but a rather timid one that refines and smooths over certain aspects rather than truly evolves or improves.

In many ways I find some of the changes swing too far in the opposite direction from D1 creating new problems(mostly surrounding progression in equipment and character best reserved for a different topic). But there are several improvements that will please many dejected from the launch period of the first game for sure.
 
No for me but I think majority of the criticism is really coming from an aesthetic point of view. Bungie didn't do enough to change the surface look of the game to separate itself from part 2 and I think that's what does it for people. I think a drastic change in looks could of did better here.

Like look at the different between Persona 4 and Persona 5. If D1 and D2 had that drastic of a change, I don't doubt it would have sold a lot but they put no effort into that. That's just my theory...after the gameplay reveal, pretty much everyone was like, "Yup,it's destiny all right" and that set the tone right there.

that persona example feels weird to me as there was 8 years and 2 console generations apart from their releases.

I dunno, the Modern Warfare series always felt like each game after the original was a sequel for me, regardless of being very same-y in look.
 

JWiLL

Banned
I can understand why people feel this way playing/watching it on console right now, but holy hell does it ever feel like a real sequel on PC - and that was just the beta.

Full release is going to be fucking majestic.
 

Brandon F

Well congratulations! You got yourself caught!
Where is the inevitable article or thread about what Destiny learned from Dark Souls?

Since you brought it up...

Arguably the first game hedged far closer to Dark Souls(unabashed focus on lore over plot, myriads of collectibles and secrets to uncover and unearth through community discussion, external research, and player perception. No map. Only the most basic roadmap to progression offered)

Destiny 2 is the exact opposite. Big map with objectives and waypoint markers. Collectibles and optional content highlighted everywhere on said map. Huge focus on a big bombastic story that is prioritized upfront, even ahead of activities. A far slimmer power curve, far slimmer.
 

Raven77

Member
Interesting replies in here. I have several friends bugging me to get this. I am debating between it and Mario Kingdom Battle on Switch. I haven't played Destiny since Taken King and I definitely didn't do everything it had to offer so some of this stuff might be brand new to me even if it's re-used.

Side note, do you guys think Bethesdas "Anthem" will greatly alter what we get for Destiny 3? As in, do you anticipate Anthem, if it is a success, having a big impact on changes to Destiny 3 and Destiny 3 altering things in much larger ways than the differences between Destiny 1 and 2.
 

Apdiddy

Member
It definitely feels like a sequel to me. The story has more logical cohesion
(although we STILL don't know who the Exo female Stranger from Destiny 1 is)
. There's some genuinely great moments and it is probably one of the most beautiful games I've seen. The soundtrack is god tier at times.

Crucible isn't as robust as I would like (just Quickplay and Competitive Play?) and I really want to get a Guided Games Beta so I can do a Nightfall strike. With everything I've seen thus far, I have fewer complaints at this time than I did with Destiny at the same time/launch period.
 

TyrantII

Member
Sequel.

New engine, new real time lighting, load more fx, new animations, retoolings of the races (AI, ability, especially animations) , much bigger and better involved worlds, full story, new systems.

A quick glance you might mistake it for a expansion, but anyone that's put a lot of time in D1 can list of pages off changes, updates, and new content.

The only thing that feels the same, rightfully, is the shooting / combat mechanics.

Side note, do you guys think Bethesdas "Anthem" will greatly alter what we get for Destiny 3? As in, do you anticipate Anthem, if it is a success, having a big impact on changes to Destiny 3 and Destiny 3 altering things in much larger ways than the differences between Destiny 1 and 2.

Isn't Anthem EA/Bioware?

For what it's worth, we have no idea what Anthem is beyond a non-playable tech demo. It could be the next Destiny, better, or the next Mass Effect Andromeda. Gonna have to wait for real gameplay and impressions, let alone it's influence on Bungie at this point.
 
It's like a Mega Man sequel:
There is reuse of assets
The game play is mostly the same but tweaked
There are new areas, bosses, new/changed enemies and weapons

Its like when we went from mm1 to mm2 was Destiny 1 to TTK. This is the mm3 that changes more but also makes things feel better in most ways. It's even like this for the difficulty curve changes, imo.
 
tldr:
Destiny 1: EARLY ACCESS
Destiny 1: The Taken King RELEASE
Destiny 2: RELEASE

FTFY.

This a pet peeve of mine where you see games that are disappointing and every patch/release people say it is now fixed. The same happened with No Mans Sky where the patch came out a few months after release and some people went crazy saying the game was going to completely change.
 

cakely

Member
Definitely, absolutely a sequel.

I can't roll my eyes enough at people that think an entire new world (patrol areas, missions, pvp, raid) is just an expansion pack.
 

Gator86

Member
Definitely a sequel. They reuse assets like crazy and just lift a lot of stuff straight from D1, but the worlds and structure are so radically different it earns the sequel title, I think.
 
It feels like a sequel but they've seriously gotta do a better job at endgame, there isn't enough content in endgame to keep me entertained. For example with ffxiv Stormblood you've got multiple roulettes to do, 24 man raids, 8 man raids, relic quests and so on. Classes need to mean something in addition to way more loot. I wanna feel unique to a certain degree.

6 strikes, crucible, flashpoint, replay certain campaign, nightfall, patrols(become pointless), public events just isn't reall enough for me. There also should've been something new in the way of endgame.
 

Freeman76

Member
It is much more formulaic than the original, but it has plenty of new 'content' to keep you busy, unless you care about PvP which was utterly destroyed.

Im your opinion. I much prefer the pvp in D2.

It feels like a sequel but definitely a familiar one. I am surprised they didnt create more long term hooks, I dont know if it has the longevity of D1
 

Brandon F

Well congratulations! You got yourself caught!
It feels like a sequel but they've seriously gotta do a better job at endgame, there isn't enough content in endgame to keep me entertained. For example with ffxiv Stormblood you've got multiple roulettes to do, 24 man raids, 8 man raids, relic quests and so on. Classes need to mean something in addition to way more loot. I wanna feel unique to a certain degree.

6 strikes, crucible, flashpoint, replay certain campaign, nightfall, patrols(become pointless), public events just isn't reall enough for me. There also should've been something new in the way of endgame.

Yea, the progression is way too focused on the short-term proposition. Destiny 1 arguably went too far on the long-term, which disgruntled many over the steep grind for valuables, but they tipped the scales way too far in the sequel. This decision is great for weekend players, but I am a bit baffled as to what their plans are to retain audiences? Legendaries and exotics are practically the new greens and blues, and without committal to upgrades there is no real investment or excitement. What's left is the content itself, which isn't really evoking much for me either and we are a mere week out...
 

AEREC

Member
Feels enough like a sequel size and content wise but I still dont think it's it's anywhere close to where D1 was at by the end, but I didn't expect it to be really.

Sure there are a lot of QoL improvements but it still feels shallow compared to D1's final content. Aside from those QoL improvements it still really feels like D1...I expected more of a change since they didn't have last gen holding them back this time.

Feels like Destiny 1.75 to me basically.
 
Played 60+ hours so far. Definitely feels more like an expansion than a full on sequel. I've enjoyed my time with it so far, but the game is still pretty far from what it should be.
 
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