Destiny 2 is hard to play alone, but content creators are here to help

The Eliksni, a species of insectoid scavenging raiders, are just some of the many types of characters that populate the world of Bungie’s loot shooter Destiny 2. These descendants of an once great civilization are also known as the Fallen. They spend their time searching the universe for traces of their past. It is a terrible thing. I think about what isolation that may bring — rock-hopping across a solar system occupied by Guardians who only ever aim for your head. However, it is possible to be as isolated as a Guardian.

Tens of thousands are reached each week by tens or more Destiny 2Players (called Guardians), reveal their list of to-dos. They include quests, bounties and challenges. It’s a Sisyphean task — the live-service game is enormous. Playing it alone presents a unique challenge, but it’s made easier thanks to the community around it, including Twitch and YouTube streamers whose videos help demystify the game’s raids and puzzles.

Bungie, who was responsible for Halo and Microsoft from 2007 to 2007, published its space epic. Destiny It shipped 10,000,000 copies of its 2014 debut day to retail stores. It sold approximately $5 million on its first day. Bungie’s success with the Halo franchise laid the groundwork for DestinyIt received mixed reviews at first, which led to it being deemed bland and lackingluster. However, the design was eventually redesigned. Fast forward to 2017’s Destiny 2 Bungie is making strides in the realm of crafting: complex, challenging raids and exceptional Exotic gear. The game also has a consistent, if not perfect, gameplay. While there are many activities, Destiny 2 look far prettier than the ones of its predecessor, the core experience remains unchanged — you live and die as a fireteam, a group that tackles the game’s challenges together.

Image: Bungie

The size and capabilities of fireteams are varied, and some activities limit the number of Guardians in a group. Most of the game’s activities are designed for fireteams, including basic Vanguard and Nightfall strikes, Dungeons, and the Crucible game modes Elimination and the agonizing Trials of Osiris. Six-player activities still exist and require far more communication and execution to obtain maximum rewards; these include signature raids and Legend/Master-level missions like Xur’s Dares of Eternity or the latest pirate-themed soiree, Ketchcrash.

There are many solo activities Destiny 2However, it is possible to count on one hand. And many of these occupy a gray space, as some players create their own self-imposed rules to make missions “solo-able.” Single-player content includes Lost Sectors, main story quests, and Exotic bounties. You can also do weekly and daily bounties solo, but you must complete matchmade objectives (such as getting eliminated in Crucible or making melee kills to Gambit). These can prove tedious. In fact, two years ago players were able to script programs so that matchmaking was disabled across all three of their games. Destiny 2Powershell Scripts is the name of these programs. These programs communicated with your PC’s firewall to prevent matchmaking from occurring, allowing players to solo run whatever they wanted.

Space can feel lonely to a fireteam of 1. Some of the most remote places on the planet are the Lost Sectors. Destiny 2 where the word “solo” appears in plain text. These dens span the game’s solar system and can yield sweeter loot when set at harder difficulties — Legend and Master Lost Sectors have a better chance of dropping Exotic armor when played solo. Unfortunately, the winding taverns may be easy to access with the proper loadout. They highlight the lackluster experience of running. D2 alone.

However, the wider implications of this are not limited to these. D2Solo-player experiences vary greatly from Guardian to Guardian. In the game’s subreddit, r/DestinyTheGame, one user lamented their disaffection with the overwhelming isolation they felt while playing. Another user shared the same sentiment, saying that playing alone helped them avoid online toxic relationships.

“If I’m just jumping on to play, it’ll almost always be solo,” Paul TassiWho runs the popular D2Forbes writer, YouTube channel. “Strike playlists, Dares of Eternity — it can be kind of a leisurely grind.” These particular activities eliminate the need for a solo player to find two to five other friends for a play session, according to Tassi. Matchmaking can be enabled for certain activities and randomly selected players will fill the slots. This blurs the lines between solo and group play for Tassi, who said that there isn’t much communication required to complete objectives.

Image: Bungie

“Before I had a bigger community and friends playing, I would miss out on a lot of stuff because I didn’t want to do full LFG [looking for group],” Tassi said. “Trying to do [the raid] Vault of Glass for the first time — if you don’t have that existing group, it’s kind of putting yourself out there to find five strangers, and it could go really well [or not].”

LFG resources exist, like Bungie’s companion app for D2. Players describe what they’re looking to complete and how many members they need to fill out the fireteam. However, complex raids as well as hyper-competitive modes such Vault of glass and Trials of Osiris make it possible for players to request absurd requirements. For example, they may require a certain number of kills per death or have a prior knowledge of the details of each raid. Tassi said that LFG can be complicated by toxic players. For a fireteam that is navigating raids as a group of random players, a skill gap could lead to a long learning curve.

A variety of D2Content creators are known for teaching others how to solve complex puzzles and complete raids solo. Some have even carried viewers who haven’t been able to join a fireteam.

“I’ve played Bungie games since the first Halo. Also, what time? Destiny came out, that was of course something I was going to pick up,” EpicDan22, a Twitch streamer who guides D2Players through LFG, raiding and Zoom. Daniel enjoyed the game right from the beginning, though he felt the only way to enjoy it was based on the number of Guardians that you had. The following was his decision: D2Community needed more support for solo players

“From everyone I’ve talked to, the issue has often been, ‘There’s a lot of content but the accessibility of the content is sometimes very lacking,’” he said when asked about playing solo. He tried to plug that hole.

He meticulously guides two Guardians through the Grasp Of Avarice dungeon to get the Exotic rocket launcher Gjallarhorn. Dan is most known in his community for being wholesome and supportive — even if a player doesn’t have the best loadout, he considers other optimal weapons and abilities to use to help players navigate demanding activities for the first time.

Dan remains optimistic about Bungie’s LFG plans, which he announced at its conference D2In August, showcase A forum-style fireteam finder section of multiplayer activities will be added in-game — previously players had to use the D2App companion to help you find your teammates in activities that are not related. “Things like that hopefully solve some of the problems if you’re a D2 player; [for now] you have to use outside sources to find a fireteam or to manage your inventory,” he said. “Just seeing the youthful joy of helping my friend complete a raid is something I haven’t experienced in such a long time.”

Some YouTubers or Twitch streamers also show their talents with solo builds. These can be helpful for solo players to navigate Bungie’s difficult challenges. Leopard is another well-known streamer. D2community. His solo builds are performed with precision surgically and he has earned a reputation as a leader in some of the most demanding activities. He began streaming seriously and he switched from playing casually with friends to stream solo. However, he is not averse to the idea of how matchmaking could be integrated into the games.

“There’s never a total right or wrong answer, it’s always shades of gray,” Leopard said. “Think of a raid, with six players — you’re 30 to 45 minutes in and someone is throwing constantly, and they cause the best player to leave.” Despite potential problems, Leopard and I agreed that it also eliminates a lot of the choices solo players have in pursuing an activity as exciting as a raid.

The question of solo play is still a hot topic five years later. Content creators like Leopard and EpicDan22 have made it more accessible for solo players to tackle the game’s extensive list of activities that cater to fireteams. The conversation on trends is a topic that’s open to all. Destiny 2’s solo players illustrates just how big and varied the game’s audience is. Still, the urge to participate in all the game has to offer rings true across the player base — no matter the vast space between them.