Bungie's highly anticipated online shooter Destiny has finally launched, and the game has plenty to explore and experience. If you're looking for some tips--even if you played the beta and are not new to the game--we've got you covered.
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Below are some suggestions that will hopefully help new players or prospective Guardians cope with what Destiny has to throw at you. These aren't comprehensive, and for now focus on the early segments of the game, but should be useful regardless.
If Playing With Friends, Try To All Stay Around The Same Level
If nobody you know will be playing Destiny, it's okay--the game is still enjoyable when flying solo and is populated by strangers. If you are playing with friends, though, try to keep your characters around the same level. Having one more powerful companion run through missions with you can ruin the fun, as they'll clean up enemies before you can even get involved.
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Playing alone is likely more rewarding than that, unless you're just looking to blaze through areas as quickly as possible. If friends started playing before you got the game and only have high level Guardians, perhaps they'll be nice and start new characters to join your level 1 newbie.
Your Class Choice Won't Matter Too Much
The Titan, Warlock and Hunter do all have varying abilities and strengths, but picking one over another won't define your experience. One might jive with your play style better--the Titan's improved melee attacks and shorter-range Super provide more reason to get up close to enemies, for example--but this isn't a game where your success will be determined by your class choice. It comes down mainly to preference, and you can always start another character to try another class.
Aim For The Head Or Other Weak Points
It may be fairly self-explanatory that headshots will do more damage to enemies, but it really is helpful to practice this in-game, particularly during the story missions. You'll dole out much more damage this way and save ammo, and the advice does not only pertain to humanoid opponents with heads. Enemies such as the orb-shaped Servitors have weak spots, and targeting these will do much noticeably higher amounts of damage. Acting on this advice in the campaign will make cutting through hordes much easier, and could save you from dying in particularly frantic fights.
Explore Areas Extensively, Even If You've Been There Before
Though missions often repeat use of the regions you'll journey through, there are actually a decent number of hidden away areas. These come in the form of secluded caves or downed ships, and while they may not always lead to something tangible (Destiny could use some more hidden loot or item caches--but they do exist), it's usually satisfying to find and explore a new section of a map. Despite playing the beta extensively, I've found small areas I had not seen before--the regions may surprise you.
There Is No Item Selling--Dismantle All Your Unwanted Loot
Merchants at the tower can sell you new items and weapons, but there is no sale function. Instead, you dismantle items in your inventory and convert them to Glimmer, Destiny's currency. You don't have to do this at stores, and can clear up space from the lobby or in the middle of missions.
Even If You Don't Love Online Competitive Play, Try The Crucible
Destiny offers plenty of mission content against A.I. enemies, and you may be perfectly happy to stick to that section of the game. The competitive player vs player Crucible is a lot of fun, though, and offers a nice change of pace to slogging through missions. Even if online multiplayer modes aren't usually your preference, we recommend jumping in every now and then for a couple of matches--you might get more attached than you'd expect.
There's plenty more Destiny coverage to come, and this is just the tip of the iceberg for the game. Check back for additional news and impressions as we're able to sink more hours into Bungie's new game.
