a lot of it is not so much the skill, but the synergy of the group. It seems like some groups just click and it comes together like the A-Team. Other times, you can have several experienced players, but it just doesn't work for some reason.

This is so true, and I'm never quite sure why.

Man, that's not my experience at all. The games I play seem to be full of people who start with NLB or UR and then switch weapons once special ammo spawns, switching back if they die. That much time in menus bugs me, but it's clearly giving an advantage to those willing to jump through the hoop and shuffle their guns.

they may have a weapon loadout saved in DIM or Tower Ghost. Just have to click on the loadout, and not worry about messing with the menu.

by broke, you mean made the game fun and was a great counter to Thorn, then yes.

I was disappointed to hear they weren't bringing PI back, but I'll be the first to admit that while I was having a blast using it, there's no way it was fun for the continually melted corpses of my Crucible foes.

Thinking back, for me it was the day they killed pocket infinity. Literally broke the gun.

The gun literally broke both PvP and PvE.

by broke, you mean made the game fun and was a great counter to Thorn, then yes.

Thinking back, for me it was the day they killed pocket infinity. Literally broke the gun.

The gun literally broke both PvP and PvE.

You now have two ways to get the top tier gear. Short term hardcore tasks, or long term moderate tasks.

That's along my thinking too.

Besides, Destiny is a much better public playspace with people in it all the time than just when new content comes out. Let the grinders earn the same stuff Bungie.

Who am I kidding, Bungie never leans to my way of thinking. It's like they know I like something and go out there way to make things worse. That's why I don't buy a season pass on their games. Maybe someday I'll save some money by walking away.

This is so true. At pretty much every level. I have had regular raid teams over the years.

This isn't the case for everyone. I love the Raids, but it sucks trying to schedule to play one. I don't have hours to devote to these things. I was in a group with fello DBOers, who were max light, and very experienced at raids. I joined them just for the Crota challenge. After 2 hours of not completing it, we gave up. I've still not completed the King's Fall raid. With an experience sherpa, two experienced DBOers, myself and 2 other low lights, we played for 7 straight hours, and ONLY MADE IT TO the sisters.

I get it...the toughest task should offer the highest reward. But when myself at 393 and a friend at 386 are getting destroyed in this current nightfall, we still are going to rely on an elite player pulling us through. Knowing this immediately pulls items off the table for us, so I just go back to patrols and bounties. Which is why I would like to see some long term goals. We have weekly crucible and strike bounties, why not weekly vanguard bounties? Why not monthly? Various vanguard questlines that are purely long term grinds.

You now have two ways to get the top tier gear. Short term hardcore tasks, or long term moderate tasks.

This is so true. At pretty much every level. I have had regular raid teams over the years. I've also had pickup groups or where I got a carry because I was trying to get a third character through that was not quite high enough and my regular group wasn't available on a Monday night.

And it wasn't even necessarily hard to find the groups. My Y1 group was co-workers. My Y2/3 main group are people who a personal friend of mine LFG'd for and invited me in when one of their regulars was unavailable. I've been invited from the tower to do raids.

The only part of a raid I think you might argue as being inaccessible would be challenge modes. But given that most of those can be completed with 4-5 people it isn't like it can't be experienced.

It's definitely the best of the experience.

Adding on to what you and cheapLEY said, if raids were more accessible, they wouldn't be as good or as special. What makes raids fun and unique is the teamwork required, and they were designed explicitly as a social activity for friends to play together. The friendship component is almost a requirement, especially when you're underleveled and learning. There are tons of people who aren't used to having such a requirement, and they're put off by it, but it's like saying I don't have any bananas and don't want to get any, so banana sandwiches shouldn't be a thing.

Thinking back, for me it was the day they killed pocket infinity launched the alpha.

FTFY

It was barely available, but it I have seen these pre-TDB Felwinter's Lies occasionally.

Honestly the biggest challenge is finding the time and people. I'm not a great player and I've done all the raids, if you haven't you just need to make time and use lfg or the tools here. Missing out on raids is a choice, and depending on your real life responsibilities, you might not have the time, but that's not the games fault. Get a babysitter lol

I've done the raids. I like the raids. They were awesome the first time, and fun one or two times after that.

What I don't like is having to do them 40 times to get a gun that gives me +2 range or something so that I can then go and be on equal footing in pvp with the guys I get matched with. It was way, WAY worse in vanilla VoG than it is now (that VoG shotgun was the best shotty in the game by a wide margin for a damn long while, and it never once dropped for me), but it's still a terrible design choice.

IMO the hardest content of the game should reward you with very excellent cosmetic items. The Trials armor tokens were a nice touch, and I think similar high-profile cosmetic items should be all you get. That way the best players can show off, but they don't get a little nudge pushing them even farther ahead of the other players whom they are already better than.

I'd love to see a system like that. I'd like to see cosmetics be completely separate from from stats. Don't make me wear ugly shit to get the stats I want.

It would be glorious!

Sorry, sorry...

It would be FRABJOUS!!!

IMO the hardest content of the game should reward you with very excellent cosmetic items. The Trials armor tokens were a nice touch, and I think similar high-profile cosmetic items should be all you get. That way the best players can show off, but they don't get a little nudge pushing them even farther ahead of the other players whom they are already better than.

I'd love to see a system like that. I'd like to see cosmetics be completely separate from from stats. Don't make me wear ugly shit to get the stats I want.

That's dumb.

You're taking players who need to help to beat the hardest challenges in the game, and then giving them help. All while telling the players who actually need that help "git gud."

So frustrating.

IMO the hardest content of the game should reward you with very excellent cosmetic items. The Trials armor tokens were a nice touch, and I think similar high-profile cosmetic items should be all you get. That way the best players can show off, but they don't get a little nudge pushing them even farther ahead of the other players whom they are already better than.

Before anyone says it, I understand the attitude of "why shouldn't I get the best thing for beating the hardest thing?" The answer is that you clearly don't need the hardest thing to be made any easier. You enjoyed the challenge; why would you want it to suddenly be less challenging? Because you're only going back to farm it for the loot. Be honest, if you didn't get "the best guns" from that hardmode raid, would you even play it? If the answer is yes, then hey - you don't need those guns to have fun in that raid! Leave the guns behind for the people who need them. If the answer is no, then guess what - you can still farm guns from easier activities while leaving hard mode as a challenge for people that seek a challenge rather than a brick wall people feel they "must" throw themselves against in order to get the guns they think they need.

I'd rather run the normal modes with my friends ultra casually.