Destiny [PS3,X360,PS4,XO]

[RancidLunchmeat]

Don't think so. Remote downloads through xbox.com or smartglass are coming in a future update, either August or September.

What? Geez, that's craptastic. I'm pretty sure I can remote download on the 360 as long as the 360 is actually turned on and on-line. Maybe I'm wrong. I can't believe MS went so far on their reversal of policies that their vision for an always on, always online console doesn't allow remote downloads. What a mess. Does the PS4 allow this?

 

[Scott_Arm]

But typically you gain a level, get a skill point and spend it. If that were the case, how does a lvl8 character have 15 skill points? Typically, in Borderlands for instance, if anything you get less skill points than levels - you don't get your first skill point until lvl3 or something.

And where does "training" come in? I figure it's something like Borderlands where you get better machine gun stats if you use machine guns more, but I'm not sure. Also, in Borderlands, it would tell you that you have killed 50/100 people using a pistol and at 100/100 you get +5 accuracy -6 recoil, etc. I don't see those same things here, but it looks like your skills do improve based upon how often you use them.

I take it that you play "actual RPG"'s. The closest that I play are FPS's with RPG elements like Borderlands or Dead Island, and I certainly enjoy having those options over strict FPS's. But Destiny absolutely seems more complicated. If it isn't complicated, then it just isn't explained very well in the game then.

To Orange's point, no - I don't think you'll really be able to "ignore" the RPG elements and just go through the game with a great deal of success. And that is sort of what I'm worried about. Usually, games of this type are designed to reward players for smart use of the skill points and skill/class/weapon combinations. They are also designed to still be challenging to those who have mastered those interactions to really capitalize on them. That makes it more difficult for players who try to "just play" and not spend a great deal of time figuring out the actual mechanics.

Doing some reading it looks like I was wrong. Some of my abilities were unlocking when I was hitting a certain level, so I assumed I got one "point" to spend per level. That is not the case.

Sounds like each column will unlock new abilities as you play. You can only have one ability active in each column at a time. You select the one you want. I imagine each time an ability is triggered or used, it progresses towards unlocking the next ability. That is what the green ring around the ability is. When the ability is fully encircled in green it is unlocked.

http://www.gameranx.com/updates/id/22712/article/destiny-guide-how-class-skill-trees-work/

 

[Strange]

But typically you gain a level, get a skill point and spend it. If that were the case, how does a lvl8 character have 15 skill points? Typically, in Borderlands for instance, if anything you get less skill points than levels - you don't get your first skill point until lvl3 or something.

Level cap is LV8.
Skill cap is LV15.

Usually the level and skill level together, but the level cap is hit first so there's a discrepancy.

So when you hit LV8 you have 7 skill points, or rather you have 7 skills in the subclass. You can keep playing to get the next 7 skills.

Doing some reading it looks like I was wrong. Some of my abilities were unlocking when I was hitting a certain level, so I assumed I got one "point" to spend per level. That is not the case.

You're mistaken, that is precisely the case. Skills unlock together with your level until you hit you level cap.

 

[Xalion]

I don't think there are any 64 rated weapons in the game that you can actually use at the moment. If there is it should be a LV9/10 one and we can't use them. I've leveled up all three classes to LV8 and according to my skills I'm LV15 (I have 14 skills), and after extensive leveling I'm pretty sure Bungie doesn't let us go beyond 14 skills at the moment.

You are correct, it is 62. I was going from memory. You can see the exact gun I was talking about here (if the link works).

The attack rating DOES affect how much damage you hit for, when you upgrade a weapon from 57=>62, there is a noticeable increase in damage of 5-10%.

This I don't believe is true. I am actually pretty certain it isn't. The damage is directly related to the impact field, not the attack field. I believe it even says as much in the game tool text. The attack rating is an arbitrary "level" weapon for the weapon. It does not relate to the damage unless the weapon is being penalized for level of content. The best theory I have seen is that the attack rating is the level of the monster that you get full effect divided by 10. So the 62 weapon would have full effect on monsters 6.2 and below. I don't know if I believe that, because I seem to get full effect on level 8 monsters with my scout rifle. However, any noticeable damage increase would be related to relative level only.

I actually tested this out on the level 2 creatures in the first zone of the exploration with two different weapons (the level 62 Auto Rifle and the level 62 Scout Rifle that you see in that characters profile). On a level 2 mob, there was no difference going from 57 to 62 on a level 2 mob. I did not test it on a level 8 monster, so if the attack divided by 10 theory is correct, then you would see a damage increase due to the sudden jump in level range for your weapon. I can try to find another one and test it later.

Impact is the stat that determines weapon damage. That is the reason for your next quote:

Also, different weapons of the same class deal wildly different numbers. I have a sniper rifle that rate at 62 attack that deal ~ 1000 damage in headshots while the other one also rated at 62 attack deals ~1900.

I am using a level 42 sniper rifle. I haven't replaced it with a 62 because I have not found one with high enough impact yet to match the damage. With that rifle, I hit the level 8 Knights for ~1200 damage. That is enough to one shot them. Unfortunately, many sniper rifles are generated with low impact scores. So I have yet to find one that deals more damage than the one I have that is level 62.

Note that there is an added problem where the impact bar doesn't compare directly across attack levels and weapons. For instance, you can compare the attack rating across all level 57 Scout Rifles, but you can't compare a level 57 Scout Rifle to a level 57 Auto Rifle, and you can't compare a level 57 Sniper Rifle to a level 42 Sniper rifle. You have to take them out and shoot them.

 

[RancidLunchmeat]

Hmmm.... I'm going to stand by my original statement of "this leveling and skill system is more complicated than Borderlands or Dead Island, etc" and also add that based upon the other discussions happening above, the weapon damage system is also more complicated.

So, I started a Hunter class and I have to ask.. is the first loot chest you get in the initial training mission random or class based? Playing as a Warlock, I got a shotgun. I asked Azbat what he got as a Titan and he said he also got a shotgun. Playing as the Hunter class, I got a sniper rifle!

Wow, what a superior weapon (maybe just for my style of game play) to the shotgun. But if it isn't random and is class based, why would they give the Warlock (no armor at all) a short range special?

Scott - since you mentioned it, I do now see the grenade recharge symbol on the bottom left of the screen, I guess I just didn't notice it before being caught up in everything.

As far as the game goes, I took more time to explore the very first level this time and was kind of disappointed that the game didn't reward exploration. I think there really should have been some more stuff to find out there if you looked, rather than just running straight ahead into the wall as instructed.

And circling back to the complexity issue, I'm a bit torn. Because it may be a situation where the game is actually so overly simplistic that it just seems complicated.

For example: at level 2, you get grenades. Grenades look like they have three options, but you can only pick one. I guess as you use grenades more you get the "right" to use the second or third choices, and somehow then choose which grenade type you want to use. But there's no choice in using the skill points. You either have them or you don't. Same at level 3 when you get the jump skill bonus, etc.

And, at least at level 2 and 3, you don't have a choice as to what skill you want. You get grenades, then you get jump, and then (from what you guys have said) at level 4 you get your "special" ability.

So maybe it just looks complicated but you don't really have any options to choose from?

 

[DieH@rd]

Bungie just opened Beta to everyone!
http://www.bungie.net/en/News/News?aid=11962

I'm at 13hr of gameplay, and I liked every minute of it.

 

[RancidLunchmeat]

So, I just finished the first (level 2) earth mission. I finished with 63 kills, 11 precise kills (shut up) and 19 ability kills.

I don't yet have a "special ability" so what are ability kills exactly?

And another question -

So does the game work like this - you level up, you use a skill point to gain a new ability (lvl 2 - grenades, lvl 3 jumping, lvl 4 special), but then as you use grenades or jumping you get EXP to go down the skill tree to get to the second and third levels?

So you don't spend skill points to get to grenades lvl 2. You get there by using grenades in combat?

So EXP = horizontal benefits, opening up new abilities. And using those abilities gives you like "special" exp that allows you to move vertically down the tree?

If that's the case, that's a far easier way to explain it, I think.

 

[Strange]

And circling back to the complexity issue, I'm a bit torn. Because it may be a situation where the game is actually so overly simplistic that it just seems complicated.

For example: at level 2, you get grenades. Grenades look like they have three options, but you can only pick one. I guess as you use grenades more you get the "right" to use the second or third choices, and somehow then choose which grenade type you want to use. But there's no choice in using the skill points. You either have them or you don't. Same at level 3 when you get the jump skill bonus, etc.

And, at least at level 2 and 3, you don't have a choice as to what skill you want. You get grenades, then you get jump, and then (from what you guys have said) at level 4 you get your "special" ability.

So maybe it just looks complicated but you don't really have any options to choose from?

You are right, the skill tree is extremely simple, and does not require your input really.

this is my skill tree for Hunter.

And I'm sure that we can't go any further in the Beta.
The unlock levels apparently is the following, and I'm pretty sure they're the same for the three classes.

02  03  04  05  06  07  08  13
09  10  11  12  14  15  16  21  29
17  18  19  20  22  23  24  28
    25  26  27

Note: up to 23 I'm pretty sure, 24 and beyond is extrapolated from what I've seen so far.

using these numbers as a guide, you get to choose one of 02/09/17 as your grenade.
03 04 05 are fixed abilities and are always on.
10 18 25 are modifiers for 03 and you choose one to activate
11 19 26 are modifiers for 04 and you choose one to activate
12 20 27 are modifiers for 05 and you choose one to activate
you choose one of 06 14 22 for your attribute, enhancing your basic abilities
you choose one of 07 15 23 for your ability modifier
you choose one of 08 16 24 also for your attribute. enhancing your basic abilities
and then you choose 13 21 28 for your final skill modifier

29 is where you lock in your choices and gain some more additional attributes. (Armor for titan, recovery for warlock, agility for hunter).


And yes, from this you can see that in the beta we really only have 3 variables. 1. grenade, 2. attribute and 3. an ability modifier. The beta doesn't give us enough levels to customize it enough.

From what I heard, I believe you can restart from LV1 the same subclass tree after you lock one in in case you want to change it around, and the second time around is much easier.

 

[RancidLunchmeat]

Bungie just opened Beta to everyone!
http://www.bungie.net/en/News/News?aid=11962

Not a surprise, it was pretty clear by how many Beta keys they were giving out that this is more of a marketing deal than anything else. Sure, they want to try to overload the servers on Saturday to do their stress test, but that's all the more reason to give everybody access that they can.

I am in complete agreement with the strategy. Give me a full game to play, but cut it off at a certain point making me either decide it sucks or I want more, and if the game is decent, I'll probably buy it.

I had no intentions to buy Destiny, hadn't even read or watched videos about it because I just didn't care. But after having played the Beta, they've got a sale. Despite my comments about how the mechanics are confusing, it is still a certainly fun game to play. And fun is what I'm all about, and co-op fun is pretty much the pinnacle.

Three VS Four co-op is a bit odd, however.

 

[RancidLunchmeat]

You are right, the skill tree is extremely simple, and does not require your input really.

And yes, from this you can see that in the beta we really only have 3 variables. 1. grenade, 2. attribute and 3. an ability modifier. The beta doesn't give us enough levels to customize it enough.

From what I heard, I believe you can restart from LV1 the same subclass tree after you lock one in in case you want to change it around, and the second time around is much easier.

Thanks Strange, that helps. I do have a question though, you only have two grenade levels. Is that because you didn't use grenades enough to get to the third level? And if those skill levels aren't tied to over all levels, can you continue to play the game and just kill people with grenades to open up the third option?

(If that isn't how it works, then I'm back to square one on understanding how the game works! )

 

[BRiT]

Goddamn it, all this "It's plays like Borderlands + Halo" talk has convinced me to pre-order just to get in on some beta action.

Borderlands is the better game, between the two. ...

The Tower (Sanctuary equivalent) is very dead and boring. There doesn't seem to be any way to have multiple quests active and being able to switch easily between the two. There is no comedic relief, it tries to take itself way too seriously. The story is non-engaging to the point where Alzilla and I went through the motions of the game and at quickly ignored all the chattering bullshit that tried to pass as the story. The going from town (Tower) to the area you want to play in is very tedious and down right annoying because you have to actually travel from Tower to Orbit to the zone. This wastes way too much of your game enjoyment time. Imagine Borderlands where the quick-travel stations require you to always warp to Elle's place just to be able to travel to the place you really want to go to.

Many opportunities lost. If only there was substantially more Halo or more Borderlands and less Destiny in the game, then maybe it would be fun.

Oh yeah, the having to hit "Y" to select an item in the character menu is annoying too, but not as annoying as the Cursor selection system. They're also missing the option to auto-equip better items or quick-equip items too. They should have stole that from Borderlands too.

 

[Strange]

Thanks Strange, that helps. I do have a question though, you only have two grenade levels. Is that because you didn't use grenades enough to get to the third level? And if those skill levels aren't tied to over all levels, can you continue to play the game and just kill people with grenades to open up the third option?

(If that isn't how it works, then I'm back to square one on understanding how the game works! )

You do not need to kill anything with grenades to unlock the next one. You don't even have to use them if you like.
The unlock system is completely level based, not usage based. If there was no level cap of 8 and skill cap of 15, you can expect to be able to choose from all three grenades once you hit Lv 17 or so according to my calculations.
The only reason I don't have the third grenade is because apparently the "skill cap" is 15 and the third grenade is around Lv 17.

Of course that assumes that you don't switch to the other subclass at Level 15, which will probably screw these calculations up

 

[RancidLunchmeat]

You do not need to kill anything with grenades to unlock the next one. You don't even have to use them if you like.
The unlock system is completely level based, not usage based. If there was no level cap of 8 and skill cap of 15, you can expect to be able to choose from all three grenades once you hit Lv 17 or so according to my calculations.
The only reason I don't have the third grenade is because apparently the "skill cap" is 15 and the third grenade is around Lv 17.

Of course that assumes that you don't switch to the other subclass at Level 15, which will probably screw these calculations up

Huh. Those are some interesting calculations but then just make the game more confusing. Well, I don't know about confusing but they at least shatter my theory of "more use of skills = higher skill specific exp".
What you're saying is that all those additional vertical options under the horizontal "main categories" will be filled depending on gross XP.

So I can not use grenades at all, and my grenades will still level up just based on overall EXP?

That leads itself back to the idea that the game is actually overly simplistic that it looks complicated and there's really no choices to be made. At least until you can choose between sub classes and which one you want to spend EXP in.

 

[Strange]

Huh. Those are some interesting calculations but then just make the game more confusing. Well, I don't know about confusing but they at least shatter my theory of "more use of skills = higher skill specific exp".
What you're saying is that all those additional vertical options under the horizontal "main categories" will be filled depending on gross XP.

So I can not use grenades at all, and my grenades will still level up just based on overall EXP?

That leads itself back to the idea that the game is actually overly simplistic that it looks complicated and there's really no choices to be made. At least until you can choose between sub classes and which one you want to spend EXP in.

Exactly.

 

[Brad Grenz]

When I was level three I saw two missions available, one was level 3 mission and another was level 4. What would be the purpose of choosing the level 4 mission?

Also, is there any purpose exploring off the beaten path? Or should you just go straight for the objective markers?

There are loot chests hidden all over the map, so it's useful to poke your head into little hidey holes when you find them. Some will even be hidden in the rafters. I've opened chests by double jumping and holding square while in mid air.

The level 4 mission you saw was the "explore" mission. It basically sets you loose in the Old Russia zone and generates an unlimited number of low complexity missions. Good if you want to grind. You'll be out there with tons of other randoms and there are 4 or 5 public quests that can randomly spawn for you to join in. Most famously there is one where a big spider tank drops in and you have 4 minutes to kill it. If you and the other people around succeed a prize of loot or glimmer will be waiting for you at the post office in the tower. Different areas also have different level enemies so you can keep going back to the explore mode if you want to grind experience, cash or loot. I've played it a ton to save up for a prettier spaceship and a faster sparrow. I've also played enough to find some rare blue weapons and armor, though sadly the ones I have require higher levels than you can achieve in the beta.

 

[eastmen]

games not to bad after playing a few hours of it. It plays tighter than halo 3 . No qualms about canceling the preorder however.

 

[djskribbles]

Judging by the beta, the strengths of Destiny are the level system and coop play IMO. Strike missions are very fun. Mind you I'm not a PvP kind of guy so I haven't touched that part. And obviously I haven't played the full story campaign yet.

 

[-tkf-]

This could be my first big DD purchase on the PS4, played it a bit and i liked what i saw.. will need some more testing of course. hopefully i can do that before the beta ends..

I am still incredible bad with a controller, have to practice a lot more.. like crazy amounts more..

Is this game truely cross platform, as in the same exact missions etc on the different platforms? Do all platforms share the servers so for example a PS3 player can be on the same map/mission as a XBOX One player?

Btw, after the beta opened i started to download the game on my EU/DK account, even though the complete game is on a US account i have to download all 11GB again

 

[Brad Grenz]

Platforms are segregated. PS3 players with PS3 players, Xbox One with Xbox One, etc. You can take you characters from one version to another, though, so if you start on 360 and buy a PS4 your character progress will carry across, or so I've heard.

 

[BRiT]

Platforms are segregated. PS3 players with PS3 players, Xbox One with Xbox One, etc. You can take you characters from one version to another, though, so if you start on 360 and buy a PS4 your character progress will carry across, or so I've heard.

I was able to play the same characters and switch off at will between the xbox360 and xboxOne. No progress was lost and it was seamless. You're never know the character was played on a different console. I've gone back and forth a couple of times now.