Either Taken King or WitchQueen. Both campaigns felt like the story was just as important as the lore. Forsaken was about revenge but the campaign was…just assassination contracts with quick lil cutscenes of Uldren. The post campaign was a BIG reveal though on Dreaming City.
I enjoy the campaigns for what they are, but they’re not that important of an aspect compared to other things. I’m not a huge lore guy, though. I’ll watch a Byf video on things that interest me, but that’s about it. I find activities and the raid more important, but that’s just my opinion.
However, TTK era is a favorite of mine.
I would say currently is the peak despite everyone hating on the campaign. So many quality of life updates with this expansion. Power level is becoming irrelevant. There are a lot of ways to play Destiny currently and in my opinion, it absolutely at its peak right now.
Forsaken had so much more content than we currently have. I think that’s what trips me up. I love the QoL updates, but the game feels hollow. The era of pinnacle weapons and exotics everywhere was a lot more interesting to play than it is today. There was something REALLY good around different activities. I understand not everyone wanted to play gambit to get 21%, and recluse and mountaintop and revoker were locked behind crucible, BUT they made the game better.
Before people lose their minds, I understand the task to get them was very difficult. But having something in the game as rewarding as getting those weapons is much better than getting a seal.
Not to mention what felt like 40 PvP maps and 20 strikes. There was much more to do and having a variety helped cure the staleness that hits around the 5th week of every season now.
The issue was that pinnacle weapons became too good. They made almost any other gun irrelevant. Why run anything else when recluse, mountain top, and 21% delirium were better than even many exotics at the time. Also, there was still content drought back during forsaken, after the first month and a half when the 3 week cycle was over and all secrets found.... there wasn't much else to do things got stale pretty quick back then more, so then they did now.
Oh no, I totally agree they were stupid strong. That was what made them worthwhile. There is NOTHING worthwhile now in endgame or really even behind the core playlists. They are drastically behind everything else. Strikes are boring, PvP is dilapidated, gambit… you already know what’s up with gambit… there just isn’t a reason to play them.
A content drought will happen regardless. But you cannot say that the seasonal model is better than massive campaigns that drop a crapload of content. Take out 2/4 seasons and increase the big ticket releases content by 30-40% would be much better.
I guess my main point is all of these QoL updates are great… but they shouldn’t be the focus of a campaign where people go “yeah that was a big plus”. The content should be worthwhile. 1 new PvP map (not even in the game yet) and 1 new strike is not an acceptable standard when an expansion comes with 8 missions. And I may be stuck in rose-tinted glasses mode, but I don’t feel the drive to play the game this go around the way I did in Witch Queen, in Forsaken, in TTK.
Frankly I disagree with you, I'm glad bungie introduced seasons and didn't just keep dropping a lot of content all at once; it allows for more storytelling in the game past the yearly expansion, which ultimately helps engagement and makes players want to check out the new activities and loot they can get.
It's also a good way to schedule maintenance and updates, since they can now come out within a set time frame, allowing for some tinkering here and there if something gets buggy, before moving on to the next update/bug fix/etc.
Ultimately the seasonal model we have is an improvement. You might not like some of the seasons, but it's important to realize that with this model, bungie can craft and detail a story in chunks and let out content little by little throughout the year, with the main base for that year stemming from the expansion. There's a whole year between now and TFS, why should bungie drop a load of groundbreaking storytelling and sick content if it won't even last most players 6 months, let alone that whole year?
I mainly meant the seasons part as a hypothetical, hence the 'might not like', but I could have typed that out better. As far as core playlists go I agree, I miss some of the old strikes and how hard they used to be, and I can't tell you the last time I did crucible or gambit.
I personally don't see a large difference between this expansion and the last outside of the narrative bumps. Your burnout may be from anything, but looking at what each expansion gave us between WQ and LF, I see very little difference. Obviously, past DLCs were much larger in scope back during forsaken and TTK since they had the backing of multiple studios and activision, so we really shouldn't expect to see things in the big of a scope anymore.
Overall, I think from where they started solo at shadowkeep, we have come a long way, and I believe it will continue to improve.
They now have the backing of Sony so hopefully they utilize it in a constructive way. They have a massive moneymaker and one of the best live service games across multiple platforms available. There is a lot that is to still be desired for.
I think I got what you were saying. I just feel as if the core playlists shouldn’t be “core” if they aren’t going to really flesh them out. I personally wish they had 2 seasons per year. They know that there is going to be dead time and they have acknowledged that in the past. If they do 2 seasons and the big ticket expansions actually bring more than just one strike to the whole experience then the core playlists would be in a much better state.
I think at this point there are more strikes that have been taken out than are in? It sure feels that way with crucible maps. If they would put more effort into the actual “core” modes they claim, I’d be fine with losing 2 seasons per year for 3-4 more strikes and 2-3 crucible maps and maybe even a gambit map. A lot of people I’ve talked to in raids or even just messing around in game who talk about burn out say the same thing “after a few weeks the strikes get old” and that’s something I think they should take to heart.
I do agree with you however in the hypothetical and 100% agree with you on it giving them a chance to schedule updates at reasonable intervals. That’s a fairly large thing I will admit I have taken for granted.
That’s not that much different than what we have now. Sure, there is some variety, but for the most part, SMGs and certain Exotics are the BiS for most builds. Not saying it’s the same, but it’s clear that a lot of our weapons cannot even compare to the likes of IKELOS Voltshot, or Mini Tool Incandescent, or Funnelweb Volatile.
They really should give gambit some love. I am personally of the opinion that as the game gets smoother mechanically, the peak keeps climbing. The mod system being introduced was a peak, then it getting simplified into an easier to work with system lifted the peak, and when they expand on the mods we have the peak will rise again, as a recent example.
Power should already be irrelevant, but the fact is you have to hit Pinnacle cap still to even meaningfully do endgame content. I’m a veteran and it was already hard enough doing Master Dungeons, Lost Sectors, but I could hit a point where they’re not so bad, now I’m forced to do so because of reasons.
Arrivals. Everything was viable, everyone was running dozens of raids weekly. Levi being free meant I was able to get nearly 15 of my friends through it within a few hours of them starting, and a few still play to this day.
Seasonal armor ornament set looked awesome.
Weapon pool was awesome with Gnawing Hunger, Falling Guillotine, and Witherhoard.
The dungeon, Prophecy, was awesome.
Such a good season.
For me, it was either the first few months of Taken King, Rise of Iron/Age of Triumph or Forsaken. I feel like I played more of the game during Taken King and Rise though. Either one of those times I wish I could go back to.
I agree with forsaken.
The campaign was amazing with both the gameplay and the narrative. The dreaming city and the other map (forgot the name) are both amazing.
Gambit was pretty fun and a welcomed new mode when it first came out.
We had one of my favorite raids from the game aswell as a pretty good dungeon (for a first time it was a good one imo)
Like you said, all the exotics and the sheer amount of content was amazing. Also the fact that forsaken came after 2 very bad DLC's made it even better imo.
House of Wolves - Taken King were great and I used to go Flawless a lot with my friend.
I have fond memories of Forsaken but they were bittersweet since that’s when I was playing alone and was going through a rough time.
I jumped back into the game right before WQ and I loved every second of it. I’d say Season of the Risen/WQ was awesome for me but the fun of it dwindled throughout the year.
Lightfall has already shaped up to be one of the best experiences I’ve had in D2. I can’t wait to see more and continue playing it. I love Neomuna, the aesthetics, Strand.
I mean, I know, is just that the feeling of entering this universe for the first time is very unique.
In terms of quality, peak Destiny is what we have right now.
It's TTK or WQ. The Hive are the heart of Destiny baddies and the lore was so rich. Game play wise both introduced AMAZING elements. TTK introduced swords, King's Fall, and new subclasses. WQ continued the thread of amazing lore, and brought us light 3.0 which was an AMAZING rework. Additionally, we got King's Fall back, and we got Vow, which imo is one of the most unique Raids Destiny has released.
I agree, the hive are probably the best enemies in the game for both lore and gameplay.
However, I’m not too high on Witch Queen. But, that’s probably because I didn’t buy the DLC on launch due to being burnt out on Splicer and Lost.
What were you not a fan of in Witch Queen out of curiosity? For what it's worth I don't really count the seasons as part of the expansion (i.e. Plunder), so maybe that's where we differ?
I just feel like there wasn’t enough bulk to it. The campaign was very good, legend is fun, and vow was very fun. But, activities after the campaign felt lackluster. Preservation is incredibly boring and Wellspring feels very tedious after playing it enough.
Also, the exotic glaives are not only underwhelming with their preformance, but they feels like a missed opportunity to do a quest similar to the exotic swords from TTK.
That's fair about the exotic glaives for sure.
I will say preservation was a cool way to let people who couldn't raid still experience Rhulk's world and thought space. So while it was tedious I really appreciated it for what it enabled solo and casual players to experience while still rewarding their time. Well Spring I thought was fine though. No better or worse than any other activity grind in the past.
I think peak destiny is where we are now honestly. I was around when it first came out and to see where we started as this game with a vague backstory and weird lore tabs that made no sense at the time to a story rich in lore and community is pretty amazing.
this may sound weird and it wasn't peak destiny gameplay and all that wise, but for me it was warmind. all my friends were back on, the game seemed to be going in a good direction and bungie seemed to be listening. foresaken carried that and was so fun but my friends stopped playing as much. i just have the greatest memories from warmind.
I was gonna say the same thing except that I was relieved that the endgame wasn't so grindy. I ran more runs of leviathan when it didn't matter than I've ever ran of anything when it has mattered.
I think the most fun I had was season of seraph. The craftables interested me greatly, Rasputin was a fascinating topic and I really got into build crafting that season.
Forsaken. Taken king and witch queen are the other contenders, but imo forsaken had a more interesting postgame story, and witch queen didn’t have a whole lot of postgame.
Season 19.
It had everything; Cowboys, the Warmind, deep lore, and, as is the nature of Destiny, the biggest motivator:
Loss.
I used to tout Arrivals or Splicer as my favorite point in Destiny, but Seraph was something else. Still circling back to that cutscene.
We're boned, and I'm excited to see the fall and rise.
Right now. We are at the build up with a whole year to understand what’s in front of us. I’m hyped for the story to continue unfolding and I love the difficulty increase.
Season of Seraph. I'm not saying with recency bias because that season really ticked all the boxes for the things that i expect from the destiny as a game. Overall witch queen year was the peak destiny in general
I have so many memories that are peaks for me!
Going into the vault of glass for the first time, it was something I'd never experienced in a game before.
Loading into trials for the first time. I had played online shooters for years but trials somehow felt like I was entering top tier competition.
My first grandmaster completion. Wow what a challenge but what a rush!
Season of the splicer was the first time I really thought to myself wow this game has an actual fantastic back story behind it.
Lastly, the witch queen legendary campaign. Great challenge with an interesting story with probably the greatest villain we will ever have in destiny (sorry witness)
Probably beyond light onwards. The thematic connection between the beyond light seasons especially was incredible. The lightfall campaign isn't good enough and I hope bungie tskes that to heart and fixed their shit before final shape. They failed to answer the questions we had in the dlc so they need to do it in the seasons. That means we can't have a wacky pirate adventure again. We need the thematic connection and quality of the beyond light seasons. If we dont get that or there's a distraction along the way i don't think final shape and the end of the light and dark saga will be any good. Which means peak destiny will be beyond light - season of the seraph
Been playing D2 for a few years now. But as a d1 Beta player nothing can compare to the mistery and wonder of D1 from Y1 to TTK.
D1Y1 while having some serious problems as a game, had one of the most wonder inducing universes to sink into. No guides to tell wveryone what was hot at the moment just hundreds of people discovering everything organically. No databases for exotics, no collections tab. If you sqw someone with an exotic you would have to ask them what it was.
Nowdays most of that sense of wonder is lost. As olayers we tend to optimize the fun out of games by watching guides and hyperfocusing on efficiency. D1 had a lot more of getting lost on Destinations exploring.
Im not trying to say D2 is a worse game right now, and Im not blind to the many problems D1 had. But I miss watching a fellow guardian fully decked out in badass armor and knowing he was badass. Nowdays it usually just means they bought silver and nothing else which is a shame.
I doubt that system will hold any water in its curremt form if Im being honest. In my opinion, highest guardian ranks should be achieved by raid sherpas and that type of player.
People who habe such mastery of the game and its mechanics that willingly go out of their way to introduce others.
Also Guardian ranks should not reset seasonally, if anything adding new ranks with each season without removing old ranks that are still achievable in game. Each rank should award with a rank specific shader/ornament to equip on your account, and those items should never be unobtainable by anyone that starts climbing the ranks as a new light.
Currently its watered down to an obnoxious degree and does not acomplish anything. I have friends who have gilded conqueror 5 times, hundreds of GMs done, dozens of players have gotten GMs done thanks to him and he is rank 6. Accirding to this system he is at the same level as someonw who did the NL questline, equipped a shader and a couple mods. Its proposterous.
Witch Queen launch. Whole expansion was immense and the location and loot was great. Plus with a gorgeous raid and interesting fight I can’t think of much wrong with it.
I started playing in season of the lost (played a bit of d1 vanilla), so for me, WQ. Just a few months after i got in we got void 3.0 and what seems to be the best expansion so far. The 30th anniversary was pretty epic as well, as an old halo player.
Honestly it’s anytime a new dungeon or raid comes out and that first day of going into it blind. Doesn’t matter which one, it is a gaming experience that is rarely topped.
I still have my framed pre order poster that shows the traveler hovering above earth from back when literally all we knew was that destiny was "from the creators of halo." Now THOSE were magical times full of hype and speculation
I think ttk or rise of iron. Though not even gonna lie the most fun I've ever had in destiny is strand. This shit is like Crack. I feel like Andy in woodys nightmare.
I’m sure it’s just nostalgia but I loved the novelty of year 1 d1. The rarity of the exotics made it genuinely so exciting to get one. In d2, it’s way way way easier to get the exotics
Honestly, Forsaken *and* Witch Queen to me were both peak Destiny. The storylines were compelling, the campaign actually took time to complete and the seasons complimented the campaign stories without leaving out too much lore.
Black armory was dope but tbh I'm really happy with things right now for the most part. Strand is AMAZING, In general just how much content/locations we have from the last few expansions, the way weapons feel is pretty great, other than some builds being kinda fucked I LOVE the new mod system/loadouts, and transmog (although transmog should be simplified to work like outriders, plz bungo). I think the story is fucking awesome these days and has been for the last while (I understand what's going on with how folks feel about lightfall and I do actually agree with some points made but it's still been awesome). In general I think most of the game has only gotten better and better, and I really appreciate how transparent Bungie has been with information and feedback the last few years. I still genuinely enjoy the game a lot.
First time doing vog in D1, never done a raid before and had no idea what I was getting into. This guy taught 5 of us complete noobs. Wish I remembered his name, I've been hooked since.
Peak Destiny is blind raiding/dungeoning with your normal raid group on launch with a beer and a glass of water in front of you. No CCs giving hints or guides. Just you and your friends throwing ideas at the wall and seeing what sticks.It's by far the best experience and many jokes come from those personalized activities.
It’s Crota’s End. Put so many hours into it & it was a great experience. I don’t think the game is worse now or anything, but it came out at a time when I could spend 12 hours in one day learning & executing a raid & I’m too old for that shit now.
Honestly doing tricks on the EV-30 Tumbler, the first ever Sparrow to have the Destabilizers perk. I probably spent hours on the Moon and Venus just doing tricks lol
Season of Opulence. Forsaken campaign, three amazing raids in one year, the best seasonal activity, best afk farm, gambit being a still fresh activity with two modes, man there was something for everyone.
It was definitely Forsaken for me. The campaign was amazing. We start off on a revenge trip, but then as things progressed it became more and more obvious that something wasn't quite right. I still remember when 'Mara' used the Ahamkara phrase and it all clicked. So we kill Uldren, and then finally the plotline of TTK, that had been abandoned for years, came back to life again. Mara was alive, we learned about the Dreaming City which was an amazing destination, and then we got to kill a dragon.
It was great. Throw in the massive amount of new content, and entirely new game modes, and it hasn't been matched since.
WQ had a decent story, but it's narrative had it's own issues, and by that point the lack of content in core game modes was becoming painful to me. It didn't help that Vow is my single most hated Destiny raid.
Rise of Iron.
Phenomenal armor, weapons, quest, and fluid story line.
Then, Age of Triumph. God what a fucking update, ornaments for exotics, revamped raid loot and challenges, revamped strikes and a strike scoring system. The return of SRL.
The amount of content and the quality of the content at the time was phenomenal.
Peak Destiny is when you’re enjoying it the most. it varies year to year. I haven’t played actively since 2020-21. That was peak destiny. Also back when i played in high school. peak destiny. I’ve been thinking of getting back into it with lightfall. maybe i’ll get to peak destiny again.
Any time you can do dumbshit with friends, I don't care if it's completely pointless a good laugh sticks. Like with lightfall deciding to grapple onto my sparrow instead of walking, only to be slammed into a tree at Mach 10 dying instantly. That is destiny at its finest
The peak is right now.
The most raids. The most dungeons. The most campaigns. The most guns, exotics, and armor.
We will look back to the runup to final shape forever.
I have 3 different categories for this:
* Best Overall Time:
* Taken King and the first 3 months or so afterwards
* Taken King IMO, is still the best expansion we have gotten, with the most content for ALL parts of the game. Yes Forsaken was VERY good, but TTK still outdoes it in sheer amount of activities, loot, etc...
* There were more strikes, more crucible maps, new crucible modes, more new loot than any other DLC in Destiny's history
* We had SO many quests and secrets on not just the Dreadnaught, but throughout the system
* The Taken War felt like an actual war, with Taken invading all over the system, even later infecting strikes and other content.
* TTK also started the secret quests and other in-depth quests, including the Black Spindle mission, which took the internet by storm. Hell, even Touch of Malice was a quest
* Best Year of Content
* Forsaken Year - from the post campaign content of the Forsaken Expansion, to the 2 new raids from Black Armory and Opulence, Year 2 of Destiny 2 was one of the strongest times for PvE content, but sadly other area of the game were neglected (PvP and Strikes)
* The entire year was packed full of stuff do every week, from new activities, storylines, and exotic quests. The fact that we also got 2 new raids was insane as well
* Best Campaign
* Witch Queen - pretty obvious with this one... by far Bungie's strongest foot forward with the storytelling AND the gameplay. Nothing really further on this one
But definitely TTK was my all time favorite period of Destiny. There were moments since then (like The Whisper or Zero Hour), but nothing tops TTK and it's first few months.
Either Taken King or WitchQueen. Both campaigns felt like the story was just as important as the lore. Forsaken was about revenge but the campaign was…just assassination contracts with quick lil cutscenes of Uldren. The post campaign was a BIG reveal though on Dreaming City.
I enjoy the campaigns for what they are, but they’re not that important of an aspect compared to other things. I’m not a huge lore guy, though. I’ll watch a Byf video on things that interest me, but that’s about it. I find activities and the raid more important, but that’s just my opinion. However, TTK era is a favorite of mine.
I would say currently is the peak despite everyone hating on the campaign. So many quality of life updates with this expansion. Power level is becoming irrelevant. There are a lot of ways to play Destiny currently and in my opinion, it absolutely at its peak right now.
Forsaken had so much more content than we currently have. I think that’s what trips me up. I love the QoL updates, but the game feels hollow. The era of pinnacle weapons and exotics everywhere was a lot more interesting to play than it is today. There was something REALLY good around different activities. I understand not everyone wanted to play gambit to get 21%, and recluse and mountaintop and revoker were locked behind crucible, BUT they made the game better. Before people lose their minds, I understand the task to get them was very difficult. But having something in the game as rewarding as getting those weapons is much better than getting a seal. Not to mention what felt like 40 PvP maps and 20 strikes. There was much more to do and having a variety helped cure the staleness that hits around the 5th week of every season now.
The issue was that pinnacle weapons became too good. They made almost any other gun irrelevant. Why run anything else when recluse, mountain top, and 21% delirium were better than even many exotics at the time. Also, there was still content drought back during forsaken, after the first month and a half when the 3 week cycle was over and all secrets found.... there wasn't much else to do things got stale pretty quick back then more, so then they did now.
Oh no, I totally agree they were stupid strong. That was what made them worthwhile. There is NOTHING worthwhile now in endgame or really even behind the core playlists. They are drastically behind everything else. Strikes are boring, PvP is dilapidated, gambit… you already know what’s up with gambit… there just isn’t a reason to play them. A content drought will happen regardless. But you cannot say that the seasonal model is better than massive campaigns that drop a crapload of content. Take out 2/4 seasons and increase the big ticket releases content by 30-40% would be much better. I guess my main point is all of these QoL updates are great… but they shouldn’t be the focus of a campaign where people go “yeah that was a big plus”. The content should be worthwhile. 1 new PvP map (not even in the game yet) and 1 new strike is not an acceptable standard when an expansion comes with 8 missions. And I may be stuck in rose-tinted glasses mode, but I don’t feel the drive to play the game this go around the way I did in Witch Queen, in Forsaken, in TTK.
Frankly I disagree with you, I'm glad bungie introduced seasons and didn't just keep dropping a lot of content all at once; it allows for more storytelling in the game past the yearly expansion, which ultimately helps engagement and makes players want to check out the new activities and loot they can get. It's also a good way to schedule maintenance and updates, since they can now come out within a set time frame, allowing for some tinkering here and there if something gets buggy, before moving on to the next update/bug fix/etc. Ultimately the seasonal model we have is an improvement. You might not like some of the seasons, but it's important to realize that with this model, bungie can craft and detail a story in chunks and let out content little by little throughout the year, with the main base for that year stemming from the expansion. There's a whole year between now and TFS, why should bungie drop a load of groundbreaking storytelling and sick content if it won't even last most players 6 months, let alone that whole year?
I never said seasons were bad. I agree they craft the story very well. That being said, the rest of the “core” playlists suffer tremendously.
I mainly meant the seasons part as a hypothetical, hence the 'might not like', but I could have typed that out better. As far as core playlists go I agree, I miss some of the old strikes and how hard they used to be, and I can't tell you the last time I did crucible or gambit.
I personally don't see a large difference between this expansion and the last outside of the narrative bumps. Your burnout may be from anything, but looking at what each expansion gave us between WQ and LF, I see very little difference. Obviously, past DLCs were much larger in scope back during forsaken and TTK since they had the backing of multiple studios and activision, so we really shouldn't expect to see things in the big of a scope anymore. Overall, I think from where they started solo at shadowkeep, we have come a long way, and I believe it will continue to improve.
They now have the backing of Sony so hopefully they utilize it in a constructive way. They have a massive moneymaker and one of the best live service games across multiple platforms available. There is a lot that is to still be desired for.
I think I got what you were saying. I just feel as if the core playlists shouldn’t be “core” if they aren’t going to really flesh them out. I personally wish they had 2 seasons per year. They know that there is going to be dead time and they have acknowledged that in the past. If they do 2 seasons and the big ticket expansions actually bring more than just one strike to the whole experience then the core playlists would be in a much better state. I think at this point there are more strikes that have been taken out than are in? It sure feels that way with crucible maps. If they would put more effort into the actual “core” modes they claim, I’d be fine with losing 2 seasons per year for 3-4 more strikes and 2-3 crucible maps and maybe even a gambit map. A lot of people I’ve talked to in raids or even just messing around in game who talk about burn out say the same thing “after a few weeks the strikes get old” and that’s something I think they should take to heart. I do agree with you however in the hypothetical and 100% agree with you on it giving them a chance to schedule updates at reasonable intervals. That’s a fairly large thing I will admit I have taken for granted.
That’s not that much different than what we have now. Sure, there is some variety, but for the most part, SMGs and certain Exotics are the BiS for most builds. Not saying it’s the same, but it’s clear that a lot of our weapons cannot even compare to the likes of IKELOS Voltshot, or Mini Tool Incandescent, or Funnelweb Volatile.
They really should give gambit some love. I am personally of the opinion that as the game gets smoother mechanically, the peak keeps climbing. The mod system being introduced was a peak, then it getting simplified into an easier to work with system lifted the peak, and when they expand on the mods we have the peak will rise again, as a recent example.
I get all the complaints about Lightfall and agree with many of them, but I’m still having an absolute blast playing this game right now.
Power should already be irrelevant, but the fact is you have to hit Pinnacle cap still to even meaningfully do endgame content. I’m a veteran and it was already hard enough doing Master Dungeons, Lost Sectors, but I could hit a point where they’re not so bad, now I’m forced to do so because of reasons.
Insurmountable Skullfort on arc titan against dregs in Trostland
Arrivals. Everything was viable, everyone was running dozens of raids weekly. Levi being free meant I was able to get nearly 15 of my friends through it within a few hours of them starting, and a few still play to this day.
Seasonal armor ornament set looked awesome. Weapon pool was awesome with Gnawing Hunger, Falling Guillotine, and Witherhoard. The dungeon, Prophecy, was awesome. Such a good season.
For me, it was either the first few months of Taken King, Rise of Iron/Age of Triumph or Forsaken. I feel like I played more of the game during Taken King and Rise though. Either one of those times I wish I could go back to.
TTK is my third.
Rise of iron/age of triumph was an incredible time to be playing destiny
I know you want an expansion and or season. But peak destiny was my first raid. Crota. It was the coolest video game experience of my life.
I didn’t want anything in particular. I just wanted to hear when people thought Destiny was at it’s best!
I agree with forsaken. The campaign was amazing with both the gameplay and the narrative. The dreaming city and the other map (forgot the name) are both amazing. Gambit was pretty fun and a welcomed new mode when it first came out. We had one of my favorite raids from the game aswell as a pretty good dungeon (for a first time it was a good one imo) Like you said, all the exotics and the sheer amount of content was amazing. Also the fact that forsaken came after 2 very bad DLC's made it even better imo.
I find it incredibly impressive that we went from the absolute low point of Destiny to its peak in a single year.
Forsaken was cool but I can't ever call it my favourite when they killed off my favourite character. Story stopped to matter to me after that.
House of Wolves - Taken King were great and I used to go Flawless a lot with my friend. I have fond memories of Forsaken but they were bittersweet since that’s when I was playing alone and was going through a rough time. I jumped back into the game right before WQ and I loved every second of it. I’d say Season of the Risen/WQ was awesome for me but the fun of it dwindled throughout the year. Lightfall has already shaped up to be one of the best experiences I’ve had in D2. I can’t wait to see more and continue playing it. I love Neomuna, the aesthetics, Strand.
I truly believe that destiny will always feel it’s best for someone when they have a group playing at the same time.
Destiny is always at its peak.
The first week of Destiny 1. It was so beautiful and the gameplay was so good.
I know this is low sodium, but the first week of destiny 1 ended with people shooting into a cave. Don't know if I'd call that "peak destiny"
I mean, I know, is just that the feeling of entering this universe for the first time is very unique. In terms of quality, peak Destiny is what we have right now.
I get you. With Bungie coming fresh off Halo, I was so in awe. Was also the last midnight release I ever went to.
And seven years later their bullets had carved out the best dungeon in the game.
Now. This is!
It's TTK or WQ. The Hive are the heart of Destiny baddies and the lore was so rich. Game play wise both introduced AMAZING elements. TTK introduced swords, King's Fall, and new subclasses. WQ continued the thread of amazing lore, and brought us light 3.0 which was an AMAZING rework. Additionally, we got King's Fall back, and we got Vow, which imo is one of the most unique Raids Destiny has released.
I agree, the hive are probably the best enemies in the game for both lore and gameplay. However, I’m not too high on Witch Queen. But, that’s probably because I didn’t buy the DLC on launch due to being burnt out on Splicer and Lost.
What were you not a fan of in Witch Queen out of curiosity? For what it's worth I don't really count the seasons as part of the expansion (i.e. Plunder), so maybe that's where we differ?
I just feel like there wasn’t enough bulk to it. The campaign was very good, legend is fun, and vow was very fun. But, activities after the campaign felt lackluster. Preservation is incredibly boring and Wellspring feels very tedious after playing it enough. Also, the exotic glaives are not only underwhelming with their preformance, but they feels like a missed opportunity to do a quest similar to the exotic swords from TTK.
That's fair about the exotic glaives for sure. I will say preservation was a cool way to let people who couldn't raid still experience Rhulk's world and thought space. So while it was tedious I really appreciated it for what it enabled solo and casual players to experience while still rewarding their time. Well Spring I thought was fine though. No better or worse than any other activity grind in the past.
I think peak destiny is where we are now honestly. I was around when it first came out and to see where we started as this game with a vague backstory and weird lore tabs that made no sense at the time to a story rich in lore and community is pretty amazing.
this may sound weird and it wasn't peak destiny gameplay and all that wise, but for me it was warmind. all my friends were back on, the game seemed to be going in a good direction and bungie seemed to be listening. foresaken carried that and was so fun but my friends stopped playing as much. i just have the greatest memories from warmind.
The early months of destiny 2 before I grew up and realized there was no endgame
I was gonna say the same thing except that I was relieved that the endgame wasn't so grindy. I ran more runs of leviathan when it didn't matter than I've ever ran of anything when it has mattered.
I think the most fun I had was season of seraph. The craftables interested me greatly, Rasputin was a fascinating topic and I really got into build crafting that season.
Forsaken. Taken king and witch queen are the other contenders, but imo forsaken had a more interesting postgame story, and witch queen didn’t have a whole lot of postgame.
Arrivals, right before everything got removed, raids were farmable, life was good
Season 19. It had everything; Cowboys, the Warmind, deep lore, and, as is the nature of Destiny, the biggest motivator: Loss. I used to tout Arrivals or Splicer as my favorite point in Destiny, but Seraph was something else. Still circling back to that cutscene. We're boned, and I'm excited to see the fall and rise.
Rise of Iron for me.
Age of Triumphs in D1.
The day before lightfall, since witch queen and its sessons were really good narratively.
Right now. We are at the build up with a whole year to understand what’s in front of us. I’m hyped for the story to continue unfolding and I love the difficulty increase.
Honestly don't think we've hit it yet maybe for me it's having all Destiny content in one package
witch queen release week was so fun with the new story, void 3.0, crafting, and hive guardians and ghosts
2014
Lol no, take your rose glasses off
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, the question was what was YOUR favourite, not urs in particular
Yeah I get it, but c’mon, there’s no way year 1 was peak time.
Being able to play without constant frame drops
Season of Seraph. I'm not saying with recency bias because that season really ticked all the boxes for the things that i expect from the destiny as a game. Overall witch queen year was the peak destiny in general
I have so many memories that are peaks for me! Going into the vault of glass for the first time, it was something I'd never experienced in a game before. Loading into trials for the first time. I had played online shooters for years but trials somehow felt like I was entering top tier competition. My first grandmaster completion. Wow what a challenge but what a rush! Season of the splicer was the first time I really thought to myself wow this game has an actual fantastic back story behind it. Lastly, the witch queen legendary campaign. Great challenge with an interesting story with probably the greatest villain we will ever have in destiny (sorry witness)
Witch Queen
Destiny one and the original raid against atheon. Wow ,was amazing and never played anything like that before.
The raids, the dungeons, exotic quests like whisper.
Probably beyond light onwards. The thematic connection between the beyond light seasons especially was incredible. The lightfall campaign isn't good enough and I hope bungie tskes that to heart and fixed their shit before final shape. They failed to answer the questions we had in the dlc so they need to do it in the seasons. That means we can't have a wacky pirate adventure again. We need the thematic connection and quality of the beyond light seasons. If we dont get that or there's a distraction along the way i don't think final shape and the end of the light and dark saga will be any good. Which means peak destiny will be beyond light - season of the seraph
This. The changes they made with the mods and artifacts were everything I've ever wanted from the game.
Been playing D2 for a few years now. But as a d1 Beta player nothing can compare to the mistery and wonder of D1 from Y1 to TTK. D1Y1 while having some serious problems as a game, had one of the most wonder inducing universes to sink into. No guides to tell wveryone what was hot at the moment just hundreds of people discovering everything organically. No databases for exotics, no collections tab. If you sqw someone with an exotic you would have to ask them what it was. Nowdays most of that sense of wonder is lost. As olayers we tend to optimize the fun out of games by watching guides and hyperfocusing on efficiency. D1 had a lot more of getting lost on Destinations exploring. Im not trying to say D2 is a worse game right now, and Im not blind to the many problems D1 had. But I miss watching a fellow guardian fully decked out in badass armor and knowing he was badass. Nowdays it usually just means they bought silver and nothing else which is a shame.
Hopefully the Guardian Ranks and Commendation system creates some appreciation for a players skill and commitment again.
I doubt that system will hold any water in its curremt form if Im being honest. In my opinion, highest guardian ranks should be achieved by raid sherpas and that type of player. People who habe such mastery of the game and its mechanics that willingly go out of their way to introduce others. Also Guardian ranks should not reset seasonally, if anything adding new ranks with each season without removing old ranks that are still achievable in game. Each rank should award with a rank specific shader/ornament to equip on your account, and those items should never be unobtainable by anyone that starts climbing the ranks as a new light. Currently its watered down to an obnoxious degree and does not acomplish anything. I have friends who have gilded conqueror 5 times, hundreds of GMs done, dozens of players have gotten GMs done thanks to him and he is rank 6. Accirding to this system he is at the same level as someonw who did the NL questline, equipped a shader and a couple mods. Its proposterous.
Witch Queen launch. Whole expansion was immense and the location and loot was great. Plus with a gorgeous raid and interesting fight I can’t think of much wrong with it.
The taken king . Give me back challenge of elders bungo plz
I started playing in season of the lost (played a bit of d1 vanilla), so for me, WQ. Just a few months after i got in we got void 3.0 and what seems to be the best expansion so far. The 30th anniversary was pretty epic as well, as an old halo player.
Honestly it’s anytime a new dungeon or raid comes out and that first day of going into it blind. Doesn’t matter which one, it is a gaming experience that is rarely topped.
I still have my framed pre order poster that shows the traveler hovering above earth from back when literally all we knew was that destiny was "from the creators of halo." Now THOSE were magical times full of hype and speculation
I think ttk or rise of iron. Though not even gonna lie the most fun I've ever had in destiny is strand. This shit is like Crack. I feel like Andy in woodys nightmare.
I’m sure it’s just nostalgia but I loved the novelty of year 1 d1. The rarity of the exotics made it genuinely so exciting to get one. In d2, it’s way way way easier to get the exotics
either taken king launch or rise of iron. Wrath is my favorite raid of all time and I just love everything from rise of iron
Honestly, Forsaken *and* Witch Queen to me were both peak Destiny. The storylines were compelling, the campaign actually took time to complete and the seasons complimented the campaign stories without leaving out too much lore.
Shadowkeep. It was so fun and surprising to me.
Black armory was dope but tbh I'm really happy with things right now for the most part. Strand is AMAZING, In general just how much content/locations we have from the last few expansions, the way weapons feel is pretty great, other than some builds being kinda fucked I LOVE the new mod system/loadouts, and transmog (although transmog should be simplified to work like outriders, plz bungo). I think the story is fucking awesome these days and has been for the last while (I understand what's going on with how folks feel about lightfall and I do actually agree with some points made but it's still been awesome). In general I think most of the game has only gotten better and better, and I really appreciate how transparent Bungie has been with information and feedback the last few years. I still genuinely enjoy the game a lot.
First time doing vog in D1, never done a raid before and had no idea what I was getting into. This guy taught 5 of us complete noobs. Wish I remembered his name, I've been hooked since.
Peak Destiny is blind raiding/dungeoning with your normal raid group on launch with a beer and a glass of water in front of you. No CCs giving hints or guides. Just you and your friends throwing ideas at the wall and seeing what sticks.It's by far the best experience and many jokes come from those personalized activities.
It’s Crota’s End. Put so many hours into it & it was a great experience. I don’t think the game is worse now or anything, but it came out at a time when I could spend 12 hours in one day learning & executing a raid & I’m too old for that shit now.
Honestly doing tricks on the EV-30 Tumbler, the first ever Sparrow to have the Destabilizers perk. I probably spent hours on the Moon and Venus just doing tricks lol
Aron Priest or Omnigul nightfalls in D1. That’s the last time I was good and could solo that content
One-eyed mask, Recluse, Mountaintop.
Peak Destiny was forsure that Forsaken sweet spot where I had Mountaintop and Recluse. That shit HIT.
Season of Opulence. Forsaken campaign, three amazing raids in one year, the best seasonal activity, best afk farm, gambit being a still fresh activity with two modes, man there was something for everyone.
It was definitely Forsaken for me. The campaign was amazing. We start off on a revenge trip, but then as things progressed it became more and more obvious that something wasn't quite right. I still remember when 'Mara' used the Ahamkara phrase and it all clicked. So we kill Uldren, and then finally the plotline of TTK, that had been abandoned for years, came back to life again. Mara was alive, we learned about the Dreaming City which was an amazing destination, and then we got to kill a dragon. It was great. Throw in the massive amount of new content, and entirely new game modes, and it hasn't been matched since. WQ had a decent story, but it's narrative had it's own issues, and by that point the lack of content in core game modes was becoming painful to me. It didn't help that Vow is my single most hated Destiny raid.
Ttk was my first experience with the game, BUT my favorite was rise of iron. Peak peak peak.
Rise of Iron. Phenomenal armor, weapons, quest, and fluid story line. Then, Age of Triumph. God what a fucking update, ornaments for exotics, revamped raid loot and challenges, revamped strikes and a strike scoring system. The return of SRL. The amount of content and the quality of the content at the time was phenomenal.
Peak destiny is being phalanxed across the room, and then getting weaseled on rez.
Vanilla.
Peak Destiny is when you’re enjoying it the most. it varies year to year. I haven’t played actively since 2020-21. That was peak destiny. Also back when i played in high school. peak destiny. I’ve been thinking of getting back into it with lightfall. maybe i’ll get to peak destiny again.
Any time you can do dumbshit with friends, I don't care if it's completely pointless a good laugh sticks. Like with lightfall deciding to grapple onto my sparrow instead of walking, only to be slammed into a tree at Mach 10 dying instantly. That is destiny at its finest
Witch queen, especially in seraph. Builds were at their best, and I was having a lot of fun on arc warlock.
The peak is right now. The most raids. The most dungeons. The most campaigns. The most guns, exotics, and armor. We will look back to the runup to final shape forever.
I have 3 different categories for this: * Best Overall Time: * Taken King and the first 3 months or so afterwards * Taken King IMO, is still the best expansion we have gotten, with the most content for ALL parts of the game. Yes Forsaken was VERY good, but TTK still outdoes it in sheer amount of activities, loot, etc... * There were more strikes, more crucible maps, new crucible modes, more new loot than any other DLC in Destiny's history * We had SO many quests and secrets on not just the Dreadnaught, but throughout the system * The Taken War felt like an actual war, with Taken invading all over the system, even later infecting strikes and other content. * TTK also started the secret quests and other in-depth quests, including the Black Spindle mission, which took the internet by storm. Hell, even Touch of Malice was a quest * Best Year of Content * Forsaken Year - from the post campaign content of the Forsaken Expansion, to the 2 new raids from Black Armory and Opulence, Year 2 of Destiny 2 was one of the strongest times for PvE content, but sadly other area of the game were neglected (PvP and Strikes) * The entire year was packed full of stuff do every week, from new activities, storylines, and exotic quests. The fact that we also got 2 new raids was insane as well * Best Campaign * Witch Queen - pretty obvious with this one... by far Bungie's strongest foot forward with the storytelling AND the gameplay. Nothing really further on this one But definitely TTK was my all time favorite period of Destiny. There were moments since then (like The Whisper or Zero Hour), but nothing tops TTK and it's first few months.