#other characters (particularly other eves) have full character arcs that have pretty much nothing to do with him

[acediathemelancholy]

Iduna and Nicco in chapter 130: Hey, welcome to the apocalypse, we're glad to have you on the team! :) We've both had a full character arc while you were unconscious/sent on a European adventure so we're all ready to go when you are!

[ultrahpfan5blog]

Rewatching JJ Abrams Star Trek trilogy

First some context. I am not a hardcore Trekkie. I have seen some of the older Star Trek shows but I have genuinely never followed Star Trek until the first movie of the trilogy came out, which led me to Star Trek: Discovery and Picard that I do follow.

That may give you a context to why I unabashedly love this trilogy. I think its genuinely one of the more consistently entertaining trilogies in the new millennium. While I obviously don’t put it on the same pedestal as TDK trilogy or LOTR trilogy, its just a genuinely fun, fast paced, and well cast trilogy. 

Star Trek (2009) is just a genuine blast. I think the movie is near perfectly paced because it starts with a bang and never lets up. It also does a pretty good job of setting up Kirk and Spock as the two leads and then gradually assembles the supporting cast over the course of the movie. I think the pace is key to this film’s enjoyment. Its not a particularly deep movie and doesn’t have a ton of big character moments, but the humor and action in the film genuinely work. The cast works big time. Certainly Pine was instantly appealing. I had seen in him in maybe a couple of rom coms prior to this but he was an instant hit for me here. Lot of natural charisma and comic timing. Quinto is also excellent in this movie as Spock and he has a very tricky tightrope to balance to show emotion without showing too much emotion. Karl Urban as McCoy is hilarious and an instant scene stealer. The rest of the cast including Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, Jon Cho, and Anton Yelchin are all instantly appealing though the film is firmly focused on Kirk and Spock so these characters don’t get a whole lot of depth. I will say that Bana as Nero was probably the weakest of the villains in this trilogy, but that has a lot to do with the film being very focused on introduction to the heroes. Bruce Greenwood as Pike was a very welcoming steady presence. Nimoy as Spock Prime is a delight. Even with my sparse background of Star Trek before this movie, it was lovely to see him and he certainly has a few good scenes with Pine, Pegg, and Quinto. All in all a really strong starter to this series. An 8/10.

Star Trek Into Darkness is understandably the most controversial of the series. I had not seen Wrath of Khan when I first saw this movie. Its kind of a tricky thing this film does. Its both trying to be and not trying to be Wrath of Khan at the same time and the comparisons were inevitable. However, irrespective of comparisons, I still really like the film. The pace of this film is not nearly as smooth but the film has a lot more character moments and the ensemble gets more opportunities to step up. Now, I get that have Benedict Cumberbatch playing a character called Khan Noonien Singh might raise a few eyebrows, but he elevates this film so much. This was at the height of Sherlock popularity, when the the first two beloved seasons had released and everyone was going crazy over him, for good reason, and in all honesty he is worth every penny in the movie, chewing scenery with great gusto. Its a pity that advertising spoilt almost every scene he was in, but all his scenes are terrific. Chris Pine also showed much greater depth in his performance, delivering big time on a lot of dramatic moments while continuing to have impeccable comic timing when required. Quinto has comparatively less to do here than in the first film but he steps up during the climax. Zoe Saldana, Jon Cho, and Simon Pegg definitely get more scope here to deliver. All the other returning cast, like Karl Urban and Bruce Greenwood continued to be excellent. Alice Eve and Peter Weller are pretty good as Carol and Admiral Marcus. The action in the film is still pretty entertaining. The dramatic moments in the films work and the film does a nice job of showing the new dynamic between Kirk and Spock. The Spock and Uhura romance also ended up being a lot more enjoyable than I thought it would be. Some of the Wrath of Khan references are a little clumsy and there a few points in the movie where the film drags a little, and certainly the superblood being a cure for death was kind of silly and should have been a much bigger deal, but overall, I still found the film enormously entertaining. An 8/10

Star Trek Beyond is maybe the most Trekkie of the films. I mean, I haven’t even watched a whole lot of the original show and even I have seen episodes where the crew has similar adventures. The strength of this film really lies in the character dynamics. The film splits up the enterprise crew into a few different groups, with Uhura and Sulu together, Kirk and Chekhov together, McCoy and Spock together, and Scotty with newcomer Jaylah. All of these duos work well together. The film is again well paced so its never boring and certainly it has the most entertaining action sequence of the series in the Sabotage sequence. That was silly but damn entertaining. The film also does well to take a breath and give the characters a moment of two to shine. Certainly the scenes between Quinto and Urban are excellent with Urban probably getting the most scope he has gotten in the series. There is also a wonderful moment with him and Pine towards the beginning of the film which really brings home the friendship between them. Pine again is fantastic. Delivering a more weary and weathered performance. I like that the film doesn’t hesitate in bruising him up. He ends the film with a big bruise over his eye. That’s actually one of the things that I love about Kirk’s character over the series. He is not portrayed as this invulnerable action hero. In fact, he gets his ass handed to him constantly throughout the series and symbolically it works that he wins his first fight during the climax of this movie. I liked the mentor/mentee dynamic with Yelchin’s Chekhov. Simon Pegg in this film is a delight. I really enjoy that he fully embraces the character’s scottishness. Jaylah is also a pretty badass character and Sofia Boutella does a really good job emoting through that makeup. Chu, Saldana, Quinto, and yelchin are all first rate. Idris Elba is excellent as Krall. The one things I would hold against the movie is it makes its twist reveal a bit too late to have impact. The film didn’t really need this to be a twist reveal. I think they missed an opportunity to make the villain a lot more heartbreaking. As it stands, it works well enough, but it could have been the best villain is they had given the character reveal earlier and then given the motivations more depth. I also think the tribute to Nemoy after his passing was handled in a lovely manner in film. They handled it in a way where it added something to the character of Spock and the decisions he makes. While the film’s plot is nothing new, it does its characters well enough and the pace and the action continues to be a ton of fun. An 8/10

I do think fans are a bit to harsh on this series at times. I know knocking on J.J. Abrams is common for fans of series which have the words “Star” in it. I certainly think this series kept the brand of Star Trek alive for new fans. I certainly would not have gone on to see Discovery and Picard if I hadn’t seen these movies. So I do think the movies deserve that credit, regardless of what you feel about the quality. I think Justin Lin took on the directing role for Beyond very smoothly and its a shame we won’t get more from this series because this cast was very appealing. But in a way the series ending as a trilogy seems appropriate. I feel the trilogy did end up having a very full character arc for Kirk, who went from cocksure and overconfident Captain in 2009, to a humbling and learning self sacrifice in Into Darkness, to becoming a senior mentor figure in Beyond. Its a damn good character arc in my opinion. Also, it would have sucked to continue the series without Yelchin, who was kind of the baby of this group. So in a way its poetic for this series to end with the whole core group still in tact.

[lizabethstucker]

Hex Life edited by Christopher Golden & Rachel Autumn Deering

Eighteen tales of witches and magic all written by women.  A few are set in particular authors’ existing series.  The inclusiveness of black characters and authors elevates an already wonderful collection.  This is an ARC that was received late, contained in the box of books due to be published in January.  This actually was published in October and is available now.  I highly recommend this to pretty much anyone.  4.5 out of 5.

“An Invitation to a Burning” by Kat Howard

The town of Merrinvale refuses to admit that witches are needed to keep ordinary magics working.  Instead they burn them.  When villager Ronald angrily takes offense to a woman, she tends to disappear.  Now his sight is focused on Sage.  Very short, but chock full of emotion and sisterhood.  4.5 out of 5.

“Widows’ Walk” by Angela Slatter

The four widows living together on Carter Lane are suspected to be witches by many in the town of Mercy’s Brook, but are not harassed by locals.  When young Chelsea Margaret Bloom is caught stealing milk from their porch to dull her hunger, the women get involved.  Absolutely perfect from start to finish, with a neat twist at the end.  5 out of 5.

“Black Magic Momma: An Otherworld Story” by Kelley Armstrong

Eve Levine is a dark witch who is half-demon.  Her sole focus in life is keeping her daughter safe.  To do so, she works as a retrieval agent, obtaining items wanted by others.  Her latest job attracts dangerous attention.  I’ve not read any books in this series yet, although the first volume is in my ebook library.  I found this story moderately interesting, but not quite up to the previous two stories in this series.  Perhaps it in a matter of context.  3.5 out of 5.

“The Night Nurse” by Sarah Langan

Having a third child that she never wanted, Esme is approached by Wendy Broadchurch at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum.  Wendy is a night nurse, offering to help Esme once the new baby is born.  Already overwhelmed, Esme agrees.  At first she is happy, but soon doubts creep in.  Really creepy and, to be honest, a little more raw than I was comfortable with.  3 out of 5.

“The Memories of Trees” by Mary SanGiovanni

The Faithful plan to hang Martha Weede and her young ward, Ellena, threatened by their refusal to worship in the New Church and to accept the God of Technology.  Instead Martha and Ellena honor the Old Religion, the one older than the now fallen Christianity.  While graphic, it not only harks back to the witch hunts in New England, but warns how easy it is to fall back into that mindset of fear, prejudice, and craving for power.  Loved this story!  4.5 out of 5.

“Home:  A Morganville Vampire Story” by Rachel Caine

A witch has appeared in Morganville, one Oliver had killed centuries ago.  She’s a danger to both the vampire and human community.  She wants Oliver’s blood and will destroy everyone to get it.  Wow, how did I miss this series?  I’ve already got it downloaded from my library to read next.  A short story that makes you eager to know more about all the characters is a great story.  I almost got a Eureka vibe from this, only with vamps instead of mad scientists.  4.5 out of 5.

“The Deer Wife” by Jennifer McMahon

Julie has been meeting her lover in the woods for four years, a witch who comes to her in many forms.  She knows she shouldn’t, but is drawn back time after time.  Julie wants to join the witch forever, be able to transform as her lover does, but the witch resists.  Julie has a son, but Levi is now nineteen, with a girlfriend.  And filled with resentment for the death of his father.  McMahon doen’t give a lot of details, particularly in regards to the death of Julie’s husband and whether the witch was more directly responsible.  Or whether it is love or enchantment that keeps her returning.  An old myth tweaked into an interesting romantic tale.  3.5 out of 5.

“The Dancer” by Kristin Dearborn

Paul Baker is called to the Weavers’ farm to help with the reports by Ani, their daughter, of haunted activity.  They aren’t pleased with his solution.  He’s called back a second time to find the situation is more dire than he expected and takes action.  I don’t know about this one.  It almost reads like a rough outline or a missing scene from a longer story.  Disappointed as it had great potential as a novella or a book.  3 out of 5. 

“Bless Your Heart” by Hillary Monahan

It is never smart to go after a Southern mother’s baby boy, especially if she also has powers.  Pammy Washington and her bully of a son deserved everything they got for the years Colton had tormented Tucker.  Her late Mama warned Audrey to never cook when mad, but a woman can only stand so much.  I laughed at what happened to Pammy.  Not nice, I know, but I grew up in the South and I know women like her.  I’d bet good money that she was head cheerleader in high school, prom queen as well.  She really did get what she deserved, bless her heart.  For those who might not know, “bless your heart” is the genteel Southern way of saying “you’re a piece of shit”.  4 out of 5.

“The Debt” by Ania Ahlborn

After Karolin’s mother died, her father began to change, becoming less talkative, more distant.  He suddenly decides to take her to Poland, to visit his childhood home where his mother lives.  After arriving with no sign of his mother, Greg takes Karolin deep into the nearby woods to hunt for mushrooms.  When her back was turned, he disappears.  Shivers.  No happy or satisfying ending here.  Just the most horrific ending you could imagine.  3.5 out of 5.

“Toil & Trouble:  A Dark-Hunter Hellchaser Story” by Sherrilyn Kenyon & Madaug Kenyon

The witches of Carrion Hill are constantly visited by those seeking a glimpse of their future as well as a way to avoid the bad part.  As time goes on, there are less and less witches and more stupid humans who refuse to listen to the advice given.  Eeri, sold to the witches by her family, hates them, desires freedom and money.  A bit of Shakespeare is threaded throughout the story.  I love the Bard, but I don’t really think it adds to the story as much as the authors might believe it does.  Another series that I haven��t begun reading as yet.  3 out of the 5.

“Last Stop on Route Nine” by Tananarive Due

Charlotte and her 12-year-old cousin decide to drive together from their grandmother’s funeral in Tallahassee to a luncheon in Gracetown, a place both Charlotte’s mother and Kai’s father had fled as soon as they could and never returned to.  Somehow they are lost, caught in a smothering fog before coming through the other side to find a wicked old woman who curses them.  Here’s a sweet bit of horror with the mention of some real-life places peppered into the story.  4 out of 5.

“Where Relics Go to Dream and Die” by Rachel Autumn Deering

After years of conjuring the witch through the flame of an almost spent candle, the old man was dying.  One last conversation with the woman he loves leads to a dream or, rather, a memory that changes the past and the present.  A bit scrambled, but strangely compelling nonetheless.  So many questions.  3.5 out of 5.

“This Skin” by Amber Benson

Frances wanted to confess to homicide detective Harry Longfellow, waiting for just the right moment.  The reaction isn’t what she expected.  Frances comes across as a ten-year-old sociopath.  Unusual story.  I don’t know whether I like it or not.  It begs for more.  3 out of 5.

“Haint Me Too” by Chesya Burke

It’s been 40 years since slavery ended, but there are plenty who would like to just ignore the Emancipation Proclamation.  Shea and her family lived on the Myrtle House plantation, currently owned by the Petersons.  Myrtle House is haunted by the haint of a black woman who was murdered after poisoning her owners.  When local whites try to prevent black families and white sharecroppers from either leaving to go North or demanding better agreements, Shea can not only help her family, but the haint.  Enthralling tale of the South and how little it had changed after the War.  A little scary, but also empowering.  Could be considered a coming-of-age story for Shea.  4.5 out of 5.

“The Nekrolog” by Helen Marshall

I’m not sure how to describe this story.  It involves immigrants leaving Russia, death that isn’t, the State’s experiments in psychic abilities, and much more.  Enchanting and intriguing, a story I wish had been longer.  It really is almost as convoluted as an old Russian tale.  4.5 out of 5.

“Gold Among the Black” by Alma Katsu

Greta, an orphan, owns nothing.  Her only friend is Jesper, her dog.  She works hard at the castle in exchange for food during the day, refusing to sleep there at night because she can’t bring Jesper with her.  Instead they curl up together in the woods.  But Greta is getting old enough to have men watching.  Another worker at the castle has also told her that there are rumors that she is a witch and Jesper is her familiar.  What does she do now?  Nice, a bit of romance with the fantasy.  3.5 out of 5.

“How to Become a Witch-Queen” by Theodora Goss

The newly widowed queen is worried about her son, the soon-to-be king, marrying off his sister to some stranger.  She also needs to consider her own future now that she’s free.  A wild and interesting view of what life might’ve been like for Snow White after her Happily Ever After.  New choices, old friends, and a heroine who realizes it is time to take charge of her own life in order to ensure her daughter has choices.  Absolutely perfect!  5 out of 5.

[antialiasis]

Groundhog Day Rambling: Actually Seen It Edition

So in July I Actually Saw Groundhog Day and it was pretty magnificent! Here are my very lengthy, overanalytical final thoughts on the full thing.

(A bit of context, if you're here from the tag: I had previously heard the soundtrack and audio bootlegs; by the time the video bootleg became widely available, though, it had actually become a realistic possibility that I'd be able to see the show in person, so I very deliberately avoided it. In other words, I knew the songs and the dialogue before I went in, and you can check my #groundhog day tag, in particular these four posts: x, x, x, x, for my extensive thoughts on those pre-actually seeing it, but the staging was all new to me.)

I never really, properly got "There Will Be Sun" until I actually sat in the theater watching it on stage. I understood what it was about, on the object level, but it wasn't really obvious why it was there, why Tim Minchin really wanted to open with this relatively uninteresting ensemble chorus rather than getting straight to the far more punchy, eccentric and memorable "Small Town, U.S.A." and properly introducing our leading man.

When you're actually watching it in the theater, though, it's different. It's beautiful. It's atmospheric as hell. It introduces us to these people, in a kind of solidarity with them, before we zoom in on Phil's self-centered, condescending worldview for the rest of Act I, establishing an understated little thread of but these people aren't really just annoying props in Phil's day before that thread gets thoroughly pulled on in Act II, and it's exactly right. In some part it's the blue lighting and everyone's colorful winter gear, creating a genuine cold winter atmosphere even in a warm theater, but I also think simply the presence of these people is a huge part of it. Listening to a recording is a whole different experience than actually being in a room with people singing. Group singing is a social activity, and it's a strange kind of bonding experience just sharing this moment with the residents of Punxsutawney as they sing a hymn to the end of winter. In Iceland we have bonfires on New Year’s Eve, where people get together and gather around the fire and sing old folk songs in the snow; that's what it felt like. The actual Groundhog Day celebrations as we see them later feel pretty goofy, particularly as we see them filtered through Phil's perception, but while we listened to "There Will Be Sun", I felt like I really got why they all want to celebrate this ridiculous holiday and why it means something to them. It's a little local tradition that brings them together to sing and dream of spring, and that's beautiful.

Connecting more with the people of Punxsutawney was possibly one of the biggest things about seeing it on stage on the whole. In the audio, they're just occasional voices popping up here and there, but seeing these same people just being present throughout the story - celebrating Groundhog Day, sitting at the diner, on the ride during "If I Had My Time Again" - really adds a lot, one way or another. I cared about everyone who was dancing during "Seeing You". Wilbur and Jeff are barely even characters but it was still the sweetest thing in the world to see them get together in the background. There was something so viscerally satisfying and happy about the end that I didn't even care about Nancy not getting more of an explicit resolution. She's there, and she's fine, and she's seeing... Larry, but that's fine! He seems like a nice non-douche! She will probably be okay! Everything seems like it will be okay.

Even more important, though: Phil is significantly more visibly neurotic and not okay than you can tell from the audio alone. Needless to say, I was delighted. "I'm sure there was a pack of Xanax in this jacket" sounds like a throwaway line that might just be him making a joke, but no, he actually has a bottle of Xanax and takes one, and throughout day two in particular he's popping pills like his life depends on it. I especially like this in the context of the movie; the movie's Phil Connors is just a sour, grumpy dude, but in the musical he's clearly consciously, canonically suffering from depression/anxiety from the start, and that casts a lot of his behaviour and arc in a different, even more interesting light. Act I Phil isn't just a dick; he's poorly coping with serious mental problems (by being a dick), and that's clearly the actual intended canon and not simply cool headcanon. Have I mentioned I love this musical

(It lends an additional punch to "Hope", too. He doesn't go from zero to suicidal merely because he's trapped in a time loop; he was already in a bad place, and when the temporary high of 'I can do whatever I want' wears off and he's still trapped and there's nothing he can do about it, it just makes sense that's where he ends up. Nggh.)

The staging itself was an absolute delight. I knew about the car chase and that miniature cars were involved, but even that was even better than I imagined, with the several different perspectives and creative ways of playing with the idea without it getting old. The other bits with the miniature van were amazing. "Hope", of course, was magnificent. God, this was just so much fun to watch throughout.

I finally properly got the thing about the boots; couldn't hear Rita rubbing her feet every day in the audio, so while I gathered her feet were cold and he got boots for her at some point, it wasn't entirely clear what happened until I could actually see it. That was really cute, clearly something Phil would notice and then want to actually help her with as he begins to expand his perspective.

There were some little things as well. It’s been a few weeks now (I’ve been busy or I would have written this post sooner) and I can't recall some of the bits I wanted to mention, but what I can remember at the moment is that at the end of "Everything About You (Reprise)", too, Andy sang it with a slightly different intonation, more questioning than on the soundtrack, so that it was audibly an "I know... everything?" as he started to reconsider the idea that he knows everything there is to know about the people around him. I liked that moment a lot; I love when you can tell what a character is thinking just by one small thing they say or the way they say it.

I think my personal take on exactly why Phil broke out of the loop when he did is that Phil's character development was largely driven by his admiration of Rita, the realization that he's been a shallow asshole using his infinite time to just meaninglessly dick around when she has all these plans and dreams and desire to help people and make friends - that he doesn't deserve her, as he said in the movie's equivalent of "Everything About You (Reprise)". So when Rita actually falls in love with him, he realizes that unexpectedly he has become someone she could love, after everything he's learned. Breaking the loop required him not just to become a better person, start to see others as people and do good while accepting the things he can't change, but also to be able to reflect on that and understand how he's changed. "Seeing You" is that first time he properly reflects on his journey and where he's come and realizes he's actually happy and content with himself now (I'm here, and I'm fine), and Rita makes it happen. It’s not about him getting the girl, but it’s still triggered by her falling for him, so that’s not just some weird coincidence.

Anyway, this musical is wonderful, it was even better live than I expected, and I'm so happy I got to see it in person. Thanks yet again for accompanying me, @negrek!

[lostsolsdestinyblog]

Destiny 2, Warmind one month in: Thoughts on what has worked and what still can be improved

June 5, 2018

As we sit one month into Warmind and on the eve of the first reveal for the fall expansion, I want to give my thoughts on Warmind (and D2 as a whole at this time) and what has worked and what still can be improved. The first thing I want to say is I have enjoyed Warmind. I think that of the 4 initial expansions to releases, The Dark Below, House of Wolves, Curse of Osiris and Warmind, it is easily my favorite overall and the fullest experience. It isn’t on par with The Taken King, but it also wasn’t intended as that level of expansion, but it does feel closer to comparable to Rise of Iron in terms of what it’s brought to the game and what there is to do.

Story/Lore/Campaign

I know this is still a spot of contention for many and I think that Bungie would acknowledge that it can and hopefully will still be even better, but that said I think there is a lot of good here in the context of actual story to play and an overarching story that seems to really be going someplace. I also think it is still a good chance to learn and improve going forward. I have read the feedback on how unsatisfying Nokris and Xol are as boss fights and that those subjects couldn’t be done justice in an expansion this size and I would agree they could have been further developed and hopefully that's an area of improvement going forward. Then there is the raid lair which is the expansion's real endgame but is telling a completely different story arc and so further waters down/muddles the overall story being told. What I think would be a better way to go forward is to have these initial bump expansions be tied more directly to the original release. In D1 it was a little bit different because everything was new and so TDB fleshing out the Hive and HoW, the Fallen made more sense. However 3 years into Destiny I don’t think the jumping around to contained stories is the best or most engaging approach. I think for what D2 did with the reset and setting up the Red Legion and Ghaul as villains, to have that essentially be wrapped up at the end of the campaign was a misstep, and while the Emperor Calus story is tied into Ghaul/The Red Legion, it was poorly transitioned and I would guess that there are a lot of players who don’t really know what that connection is really all about. I think the first misstep was the way Calus was introduced as an optional adventure with no real prompts to do before even going to the Leviathan and I think that these first expansions would have been better suited if at least the first had continued/fleshed out the initial release rather than jumping to unrelated stories that couldn’t fully do justice to the material particularly in the case of Osiris who went from mythical legend to obnoxious screw-up. I have less issue with Warmind branching off and potentially setting up the story moving forward, particularly because there is more story and lore there that, while Nokris and Xol may not have been as epic as players expected, they could be seen as harbingers foreshadowing a real threat to come in the next expansion. To the story and lore itself I know that players expected everything to be fixed this release, but going back to the Summit we know that Warmind was basically a finished product and while Bungie were able to make shifts from the direction and particularly the tone of D2’s story telling, we will most likely really see the full shift of what they’ve gotten from our feedback this fall. That said, talking to players who study and curate the lore like Myelingames, Warmind has been a huge step in the right direction of bringing back what was lost with the removal of the Grimiore and the disappointing scannables that released. The Campaign itself was short, but there are a couple sides to that coin. A lot of players just burn through the campaign as quickly as possible to get to endgame grinding and so a longer campaign to make players go through on multiple characters that they’re just going to want to run through as quickly as possible can easily be seen as something that could end up with less focus, but I think that a better approach would be to make players want to be engaged and invested in the campaign more. It is a huge amount of content that essentially ends up wasted. This was especially true with the original D2 campaign and though less so in Warmind, it could still be better. I would still love to see the eventual implementation of fully replayable campaigns with normal and prestige difficulties and reward incentives for time investment in both. We can go grind strikes for reward drops to progress us, why can’t players grind and replay the actual campaign to do the same?

Progression/Rewards

This brings me to the real make or break for many people with Warmind which is the progression and loot drops. I understand the shift to more grind in Warmind, but I also remember D1 and how we ended up with the more inclusive play of D2 and I don’t think the one extreme or the other we seem to have gotten from expansion to expansion is sustainable. True story, so when The Taken King released there was an actual forum campaign against Bungie and anyone who played/purchased the expansion in which the players were labeled addicts and Bungie accused of putting in systems to get people addicted to playing. Now TTK is pretty universally hailed as the high water mark of the franchise. The point of this is that no matter what releases and what good there is, it’s the negative takes that are the loudest and take over feedback. It’s nothing surprising as people tend to want to post more about things they don’t like than things they’re happy with. That in and of itself is fine, but it’s important to understand that it’s not representative of everyone’s views and much like TTK was really fun for a lot of players, D2 also introduced a lot of good in changes it made both at launch and also through the functionality to improve things and raise ceilings that didn’t exist in D1. No one is saying D2 didn’t need more grind or more endgame, but it didn’t need it at the expense of every player who doesn’t play for a punishing grind. I have friends who have been diehard Destiny players since launch and play as much as anyone and they have been completely turned off by the return of the drip feed grind with Warmind and it doesn’t have to be that way. Levels and progression can matter without limiting gains and it honestly makes no sense to do so. If the goal is to make Destiny a hobby again, then how does closing off progression after (x) set of event completions a week accomplish that? I know there is the argument that endgame power level should only be attainable to players who are doing high endgame content like raids, but to that I say why? Why should power level be the end goal and why does it matter if any other player is there as well? The end goal should be the rewards. I don’t want to run raids for weapons like the Spire of Stars fusion rifle that is essentially Main Ingredient with slightly worse perks and feel, but “hey it raised my power level!” We did that with King’s Fall and yeah we ran the hell out of that raid, but it was because the raid itself was so fun and in retrospect probably the pinnacle of balance between actual fighting verses mechanics. WotM showed that raid weapons could be special and worth trying to get without breaking the game and there’s no reason that D2’s raids can’t do the same. Perfect example is the raid arms that can grant power ammo on melee kills. Why limit that to the Leviathan? That is something that should be usable in any PvE activity and would make them a really special thing to go play the raids to try to get. Heroic strikes were bad at Warmind’s launch, but I don’t think raising their loot cap to 360 really accomplished anything either. 370 would have made a lot more sense because that would allow players to get comfortably leveled up to really give Escalation Protocol and Spire of Stars a try if they wanted. I understand that the old raids don’t require that power level, but I think that is a separate story and the entry level for current release endgame should be the demarcation line. Players want to play the game and it shouldn’t matter if they stream it for a living, have time to play whenever or have limited time they can log in and play. When players are able to be logged in and play, they should not ever hit a progression wall that makes them have to stop. It can be frustrating enough doing all of your milestones and raids on a character in a week and not progressing at all because of poor RNG. It’s great that progression and level matter and there are things to strive for, but it’s also really frustrating for players to invest the time to do the endgame content and walk away with nothing to show for it and again, it’s something that would probably be mitigated a lot if that climb to end level wasn’t the overarching goal. If we’re running content and getting weapons, armor, or other drops that have wow factor, then it changes the view of what is a successful run. To get weapons and gear that only benefits us to run the content where it dropped is a hamster wheel and isn’t worth it in the grand scheme in my opinion. Drop a Vex Mythoclast in the raid. Chaos Dogma. Funky Steel Medulla. Vision of Confluence. Give me armor (again like the raid arms) to benefit me in strikes, Nightfalls and events like Escalation Protocol. Those are the rewards and the chase that Destiny needs. What we have now is an illusion. I do think the Ana Bray exotic quests have been a really nice addition and return to what made the OG Exotic quests in D1 so special.

Escalation Protocol

A lot has been written on this and I have had discussions on it with many people including the developers. One of the best conversations I was a part of was with RedwingGirl1999 and Myelingames for what was going to be Episode 65 of our podcast but the file was corrupted and sadly we lost the entire episode. I have seen a lot of thoughts from a lot of people since, as well as Bungie’s official response and change to difficulty levels and… it is all complex, but here are my thoughts on it. EP is I think pretty universally recognized as the best Destiny arena/horde mode to date gameplay wise. It combines the best parts of the previous arenas (as well as adding in a bit of flair from other things like Crota’s End as well). Unfortunately it also brought forward all the things that have held back the previous arenas as well; Lack of matchmaking for meaningful difficulties in PoE and the crapshoot of trying to find people actually in and running events in public zones ala CoO and Archon Forge. I understand why the development choices have been made to try to put these events into patrol spaces. It is a way to make the zones more relevant at endgame, to encourage players to populate the spaces and to also encourage them to work together. It’s a beautiful thing on paper, but I think it is clear at this point that it is something that just isn’t going to work without drastic changes to the way players are allowed to communicate and interact in those zones or are grouped. For all the social possibilities within Destiny, none of it is intrinsic systems within the game. Without proximity chat or other ways to quickly and easily group up and organize, it leads to where EP has landed just like CoO and AF before… which is with players finding ways to cheese larger groups together. I know there is a lot of misconception of what was discussed and the role the Summit played in Warmind. Again it was a finished product, but there was the famous statement that difficulty for EP was raised at the last moment from our feedback. Well something I can tell you as well is that there was feedback given at the summit that we need to either have 6 player patrols in the future or ways to more easily group up because this was going to be what players ended up trying to do. I know because I was having that discussion with many developers. I also know why it’s not just an easy thing to do and the technical limitations of the system that allows us to be in fireteams together on planets or in separate places in the world and still be seamlessly match-made together with other individuals and fireteams. I’ve had discussions with devs on different ways of approaching situations like this and there are actually previous instances in Destiny that allowed for 6 players in patrol zones. VoG and Wrath of the Machine both placed 6 person fireteams into patrol zones (VoG directly and WotM could be travelled to) with other random players out patrolling without breaking the game. It did entail disabling switches within the zones for those within the raid, meaning that things like patrol beacons were unable to be interacted with, but chests, world materials and even matchmaking with other players were still there and it for me shows that workarounds are feasible for these types of events. To give a quick very basic synopsis for players, Destiny planets are made of different zones which are referred to internally as bubbles. There are public bubbles which are the patrol zones and private bubbles which are Lost Sectors, Adventures, Strikes, etc that branch off for individual players and fireteams. The public bubble patrol zones support up to 9 players and specifically up to 3 fireteams of 3. It does this by reserving spaces where if a player is on a planet patrolling then the game will hold 2 more spots in that public bubble for friends to join them in a fireteam there. So adding full functionality for 6 player patrols while proven possible exists, it also would mean having to expand the overall number of possible players in a zone to a minimum of 12 and limit them to 2 possible fireteams in any area and obviously there are reasons why neither may be technically possible at this time or a better overall social experience. That said there have to be workarounds and to that end a couple of ideas I’ve had include 1. Setting events like EP in a patrol zone on a planet like that outside of VoG where it is set to accommodate either the normal 3 fireteams or one 3 player fireteam and one 6 player group. I understand why having it function exactly like VoG and Wrath upon leaving might not be optimal as it could lead to the other patrol zones not having optimal player counts for public events and such depending on how the 6 player group splits off, but it’s worth investigating in my opinion. 2. Another possible solution would simply be to allow fireteams to invite another specific fireteam to join them in that zone (as long as there are only up to 2 groups currently occupying or reserving space in the zone) and limit it to just that specific zone on a planet. It would keep all the game functionality that currently exists intact. If one of the fireteams leaves to another zone, they are match-made to that new bubble and are not tethered to the groups they just left at all. The biggest hurdle I see with this is simply in the system for the initial grouping, but once again I think that could be something that can be achieved. I’m sure there are many other possible solutions as well but at the very least, if players are left with trying to cheese 6 or 9 into zones then there needs to be a better way to more easily facilitate discussions between players in those zones. To Escalation Protocol gameplay itself, I haven’t played a ton but I’ve been in a fireteam of 2 that ended up with a full group attempting it (no organization, just players doing their thing in the zone) as well as a cheesed 9 player attempt and it was fun, but the effort within the current format didn’t seem worth the rewards as we got to level 6 and everyone got multiple chests at 3 and 5 and no one got any drops other than blues. I still like the thought process behind what is being attempted, but again it is a system that still needs work. As for Bungie’s fix for EP, lowering difficulty is the solution I was expecting because I don’t think there are any other real easy solutions based again on how the patrol spaces currently work and the framework of the game grouping us there. Honestly if I could remake EP, I’d have made it a unique zone (private bubble) like PoE/CoE rather than a patrol zone and I would have made a 3 person and 6 person version with the difficulty tuned to each. I’d have kept the rewards the same for both but allowed the 3 person to drop up to power level 370 and the 6 person to drop up to endgame 380. I want to make clear though that while there are a lot of things that can be improved on still, I don’t want to take away from what has been accomplished with EP, because I think it is a huge revelation in play when all cylinders are able to be fired and overall it is a huge step forward in the possibilities for endgame play outside of PvP and Raids.

Sandbox

This for me has been the absolute best part of Warmind. We knew there were going to be big changes coming with the exotic weapon tuning, but I’ve still been surprised at how much fun all the weapon play has been since Warmind released. I honestly think this might be the best top to bottom weapon loadouts I’ve ever run in Destiny. The exotic weapon tunings were genuine game changers and now we’ve got the same for armor. I remember when Destiny first launched and the feeling of getting an exotic and deciding which I wanted to equip and in what weapon slot did I want that advantage. That disappeared over the life of D1 and into D2 and it feels good to have it back again and even more of a feeling of what badass benefit do I choose? I also like what this has done for both PvE and PvP. In PvE I have teammates that love Graviton and Skyburners while Crimson has made a hand cannon my go-to for the first time in Destiny. Now with the new exotic armor tuning, Sunbracers and Lunafaction boots have completely changed the way my Warlock can be played giving me either a mini-add clearing super with Sunbracers or the ability to melt a boss with the Lunafaction Boots. They almost make it feel like a new class. I haven’t really played around with any for the other classes yet, but I love what I’ve experienced so far and I’m excited to see the next batch. In PvP I think the tuning has been very positive as well and I’ve really enjoyed my current loadout of Crimson/Requiem/Main Ingredient. It’s the best I’ve had since HoW and I feel it’s helped make lone wolf encounters vs multiple enemies more survivable. I still think there is work to do for PvP sandbox overall with better melee and faster cooldowns on class, melee and grenade abilities, but this is another step in a positive direction. I also love how it’s brought back the faster TTK options for those who want that but by doing it through the exotics, has once again really made it a fun choice where we want that advantage. This keeps exotics feeling truly special and EXOTIC and has brought a real balance to play that I don’t think could exist if everything were to just get faster kill times. I think the sandbox is in a really good place and we are seeing once more that with Destiny 2 there is a ceiling for things to improve and get more powerful and fun that just didn’t exist in D1 and I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Spire of Stars I’ve written a lot here and may add more after I post this but I want to finish with thoughts on the new raid lair. Our fireteam got our first two completions last night and I will say that it felt REALLY good to beat this raid, but that said I think that there needs to be more balance between gunplay and crazy mechanics. I don’t have an issue having mechanics in raids and I enjoyed the hell out of King’s Fall (the best example of that balance I think we’ve seen) and WotM that got a lot more mechanic heavy, but was still very big on gunplay. Eater of Worlds I thought was really well balanced as well, but Spire seems a bit too far to the mechanics and the gunplay feels more afterthought, particularly once fully leveled. I don’t want to say I don’t enjoy the boss fight because I do think it is very fun and challenging, but when you take that mechanic of the engulfed and the greed and passing the ball and run it through literally the entire raid including the jumping puzzle… It gets a little much. I understand that jumping puzzles are now a staple of Destiny raids, but the question needs to be asked when implementing them, is this fun the first time? The fifth time? The twentieth time? It’s a lot like running the Castellum or going through the underbelly to get the exotic chests in the Leviathan raid. It’s cool and interesting to begin with, but it gets tedious after awhile, particularly when you can’t just checkpoint a boss and have to run one or the other to get there. The throwing the orb around during the jumping puzzle was different the first go through, but in my opinion it’s not a mechanic that makes it more fun on successive runs and takes away from the experience when players start dying from it repeatedly more than it adds to it and I think it very much takes away from the rest of the raid when you go into the boss fights irritated by an unnecessarily drawn out and overdone jumping puzzle. I also again think that raid rewards need to be better. I think that the Spire armor drops are for the most part improvements over EoW, but they’re essentially the R word in many respects and nothing is saving the Titan dung beetle. Raid rewards need to be really unique and not a re-skin of anything seen before and they need to be something that players want to grind to get for more than just cosmetic reasons. The armor should again have unique perks that benefit us in all PvE activities and the weapons should have a unique perk/ability that can benefit play in any other event PvE or PvP much like the Wrath weapons. Finally I think the Lair idea isn’t bad, particularly if it allows a raid every expansion and not having to skip any like HoW, but I think they need to be more tied into the actual campaign story proper and fleshed out rather than be a separate standalone story like Calus has been.