As of Monday, we’ve got six long weeks until we get to see if the final product lives up to all the varied expectations of every single Destiny player around the world (spoiler: it won’t).
Now that we can no longer explore every single corner of the impressively large Inverted Spire strike, or repeatedly murder each other at Midtown or Endless vale, we’re going to have to think of something to do.
Many of us are going to sit right back down and play more Destiny. On the plus side, with no Beta and no Destiny 2 for six weeks, you could happily spend your time playing The Witcher 3, Persona 5, Nier, Gravity Rush, Horizon: Zero Dawn, and all the other incredible games you may have missed out on while relentlessly cursing ‘The Meta’
Please allow me to offer you the following recommendations on how best to spend your time shooting things in Destiny 1 while waiting to shoot more things in Destiny 2:
1) Give Iron Banana one last huzzah
The final Iron Banner begins on August 1st. This is a perfect opportunity to create a six-person fireteam and grind for rankings that don’t matter in order to receive gear you neither want nor need while pub-stomping other poor souls with the same guns you’ve been using since special ammo went bye-bye. I’m certain that, just for old times’ sake, there’ll be lag and salt aplenty. Be sure to furiously curse at one-shot sticky ‘nades, sidearms, Icebreakers, and the horrible people who use them.
2) Fail, for the last time, to reach the Lighthouse
On August 11th, you’ll have your final chance to reach Mercury’s Lighthouse, that sweatiest of destinations. It’s a feather in the cap that eludes many a Guardian, yours truly included. I’ve never particularly enjoyed the Trials of Osiris, and I certainly don’t need to spend another evening hating myself and the choices I’ve made. Perhaps, this time, you’ll make it. Perhaps, when it’s 1AM and you’re considering that once again, you’ve lost your Mercy on the second game, you’ll experience a true moment of clarity; all your despair will be washed away, and you’ll understand – at last – that you really should have peed two hours ago.
3) Complete the AoT Record Book
How cruel it seems to be offered a sip from the chalice, to taste the nectar and ambrosia of what’s to come, and to then be forced back to the drab mortal realm. “But the emblems,” you cry, and child – I hear you, and I sympathize. Mercifully, you only have until August 1 to reach rank 7 and achieve the privilege of buying a t-shirt, thereby cementing your legend in cotton. Truly, I hope that your hard-fought victory comes pre-shrunk.
4) Browse r/destinythegame
Between now and September 6th, the Destiny subreddit will be filled with hope, despair, dreams, critiques, and stories, all of which will be buried under an absolute avalanche of hype. To ensure that you’re sufficiently prepared to play the Homecoming mission for the 4,000th time, refresh r/DTG every five minutes to stay up to date on the latest unfounded theories, feats that you’ll never be good enough to achieve, and terrible puns.
At the very least, every time you watch a clip of a Slayer or Reaper medal achievement in the Crucible, you’ll be reminded that such a thing will no longer be possible once Destiny 2 arrives. Goodnight, Seventh Column – we hardly knew ye.
5) Don’t Play Destiny?
Whoa. That’s crazy talk. Or is it?
You’ve put, what, hundreds – thousands? – of hours into Destiny. D’you know what I discovered from playing the Beta? That I really, really didn’t need to play any more Destiny. By that, I mean that as different as it was from Destiny 1, I was still too familiar with the game – too wrapped up in my own habits of critique and relentless experimentation. I was still too close to Destiny to be anything but clinical.
When I finally see the Destiny 2 loading screen, I want chills to run down my spine. I want to immerse myself in gorgeous and terrifying alien worlds, chase down hidden treasures, and unlock secrets that mean something. I want Destiny 2 to be as magical as Destiny 1. For me, the best way to do that won’t be to bang my head against a wall that’s been abandoned by its builders. It will be to give myself the change to refresh, to allow myself to feel excited again, and to ultimately – I hope – dive into an experience that will become more than just a video game.