MMORPGs owe much of their popularity to their addictive, goal-driven design. Even if the means are mind-numbingly repetitive, fans of the genre will put up with the toughest grind if the reward is tempting enough. This takes one of the core appeals of gaming - surmounting challenges - and almost industrialises it, trading bosses and secret rooms for more consistent numbers to be raised. But if the reward isn't worthwhile, that golden trade is lost and the ugliness of the often tedious work shines through. This is the unsavory offer that Destiny makes on a regular basis, albeit not for everything. If you want top-shelf gear, you raid. That's a fine incentive, and the raids themselves are the highlights of the game. But what of difficulty? You have a shot at unique gear if you take on hard raids, but the same isn't true of missions. Why would you play on a higher difficulty when the bare minimum will fulfill bounties and get you the same loot and experience? And what's the point of topping the board in the Crucible if any amateur can roll the same loot at the end of the match? It's fun to win, sure, but what's stopping you from just joining matches and racking up the loot? Destiny's ceiling, the point where you run out of things to do, is uncomfortably low. Beat the raids a few times and you're practically bumping your head; level multiple characters and you'll be picking paint out of your hair in no time.
A freelance games writer, you say? Typically battling his current RPG addiction and ceaseless perfectionism? A fan of horror but too big a sissy to play for more than a couple of hours? Spends far too much time on JRPGs and gets way too angry with card games?
Well that doesn't sound anything like me.
