'Destiny 2' beta players seem to agree that one key thing needs to change
One of life's few certainties: if there's new Destiny content, Destiny fans are going to pick it apart.
The public beta for Destiny 2 launched on Tuesday afternoon. Now, less than 24 hours later, one critical piece of feedback is evident in many corners of social media where the game is discussed.
As of 8:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday morning there are four separate posts just on the first page of the DestinyTheGame subreddit (1, 2, 3, 4) that take issue with the amount of time it takes for abilities to recharge. Between them, the posts have amassed more than 1,000 comments -- many echoing agreement.
Destiny's recharging Guardian abilities -- grenades, melee skills, super attacks, and the new class abilities -- are part of what makes the game feel unique in an industry crowded with first-person shooters. So it's understandable that fans are taking issue with a balance change that reduces their utility.
"It feels like I get to use a super once every ten minutes. That's not fun at all. Not to mention the grenade cooldown too," Reddit user "_cats______" writes in one of the posts.
"These are killing the game for me. Who else thinks these need to be lowered hardcore pre-launch?"
Many have made the obvious -- and laugh-cryingly on point -- leap of equating the change to the original Destiny's much-maligned Trickle. That modifier applied to various modes of play in the first game, and it worked by slowing ability cooldowns to... well... a trickle.
That change, many argued, was at odds with the spirit of Destiny as a shooter that also lets you cast space magic. Putting a severe limitation on the space magic drained the fun out of the game, they said. As someone who invested more than 1,100 hours into the original game, that's certainly how I felt.
MisterWoodhouse, one of the moderators on DestinyTheGame, has definitely noticed the outcry. He points out that the original Destiny's heavy emphasis on abilities made the sequel's shift to a focus on guns seem inevitable, but the beta feedback has its merits.
"The cooldowns ... definitely feel too long," he wrote in a DM exchange. "I agree with our subreddit users that the the cooldown lengths make our Guardians feel less super, especially in the Crucible, where you might not even get to use your Super."
This kind of discourse is what makes DestinyTheGame such a valuable destination for the community. Things had quieted down in the time between Destiny: Rise of Iron's Sept. 2016 launch and Destiny 2's announcement, but the beta has given fans something new to analyze and discuss.
"They're sinking their teeth into new content for the first time in a while and the feedback has been fantastic," MisterWoodhouse wrote.
"The cooldown length definitely seems to be the most prevalent issue being discussed, since our abilities are what make us Guardians, instead of generic FPS characters."
The Destiny 2 beta on PS4 and Xbox One will continue to run through July 23, followed by a PC beta some time in August.
Topics Gaming
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
