Destiny

## Description

_Destiny_ is a futuristic first-person shooter set in a persistent world.
When humans first set foot on Mars they discovered the Traveler, a giant
sphere that then allowed mankind to colonize space quickly. Centuries later
the Darkness, an enemy of the Traveler, arrived and waged war against it and
all of its creations. The Traveler is forced to scarify itself as a measure of
protection and what is left of humanity on Earth is forced to live in a city
constructed underneath. The Traveler enlists warriors known as Guardians with
special abilities as a personal army. These Guardians are guided by Ghosts,
artificial intelligence. The player’s character is found by such a Ghost
(acting as a robot companion in the game) and becomes a Guardian.

At the start the player chooses a class (Titan, Hunter or Warlock –
corresponding with the classic Fighter, Rogue and Mage) and then customizes
the appearance through race (Human, Awoken or Exo), gender, face, hair and
marking. Each class has distinct abilities. The Titan is a fighter with an
advanced mech suit, the Hunter is a bounty hunter with a knack for
reconnaissance and ranged weapons, and the Warlock is a magical being that
uses spells and explosives. Each class has various subclasses (unlocked at
level 15) and specific abilities and statistics. None of the weapons in the
game are restricted to a single class. The most distinct differences are the
grenade types, jump abilities, melee attack and a special ability. The game
borrows elements from the MMORPG genre in its design, with the Tower as a main
hub zone to interact with NPCs, buy weapons, gear and Ghost upgrades, receive
mail, buy and upgrade ships etc. Rewards for completing missions can also
usually be collected here. The other major zones are Earth, the Moon, Mars and
Venus, with some additional locations. While fighting, movement and jumps are
important when confronting enemies. A Guardian can wield up to three main
weapons (primary, special and heavy) next to grenades and other abilities.
Only one weapon of each type can be equipped, but nine more for each type can
be stored in an inventory to swap them.

Ships are used to travel through space to other planets. These voyages are not
an interactive scene however as the game does not have a complete open world
design. Each planet has its own story and various quests. Players complete
missions by defeating enemies, collecting loot. Glimmer, the main currency is
used to buy upgrades, vehicles, emblems … The character also gains
experience and levels up, accessing new abilities. From level 18 Vanguard
Marks are unlocked as an additional currency for high-end gear, along with
Vanguard Reputation as a reward for completing bounties. There are daily and
weekly challenges to earn Marks, but the amount that can be earned has time
constrictions. From level 20 the general experience system is replaced by Mote
of Light. At that level the characters also gets to join one of three
factions: Dead Orbit, New Monarchy or Future War Cult. The main story consists
of different campaign missions that need to be completed for The Speaker,
unlocked gradually and opened up on Earth, Moon, Venus and Mars respectively.
Once unlocked however, they can be completed in any order. Next to the mission
progression it is possible to enter a planet in exploration mode, offering
free exploration. Each planet generally has five major story missions. These
can be completed alone or in groups of six players working together.

Players can also optionally organize themselves in Fireteams for Strike
missions, similar to MMORPG dungeons, that are harder with various mini-bosses
and bosses. Fireteams are organized through online matchmaking and it is
possible to make them public or private, and invite players. Only in Fireteams
is voice chat possible. Outside of it communication is limited to gestures and
prompts. Players also do not see all other online players at that location,
only a selection. For the instance missions, the player’s character (and
possibly other team members) are drawn in a private part in the game, cut off
from the open game world. In these section characters can revive each other
and there are checkpoints for respawns. Loot is personalized and does not need
to be distributed between players. Each planet contains five major loot
chests. Certain weapons and armour have a ranking system where they become
better over time. There are also various types of engrams, a type of pattern
for weapons or amour that can be turned into a special item with colour coding
for the rarity level. Decoding them improves a separate ranking system with
leveling to access additional engrams. When dead, other players can attempt to
revive the player’s character with its Ghost nearby or eventually it respawns.
Moving around on planets can be done on speeder bikes.

There are also Raids, much harder cooperative missions added gradually by the
developer that do not support matchmaking and can only be taken on with
players at a high level with high-end gear. Unlike Strike missions, no
objectives or directions are given, players have to figure it out for
themselves. Raids can be paused and resumed, unlike most of the rest of the
game, but are reset after a weekly cycle. Competitive multiplayer is available
in the The Crucible PvP game mode in a separate location. It offers game modes
unlocked gradually including Clash, Control, Skirmish and Rumble. They come
with different team sizes and include team deathmatch, capturing zones, team
modes with vehicles and more. Level differences between players are nullified
except for the skill tree unlocks, but the strength of the gear, weapons and
equipped items makes a significant difference. The Crucible offers Crucible
Marks as a currency along with Crucible Reputation.

Destiny