I've Played Destiny For 950 Hours - And I Hate Myself

Jordan Sims: "We can all see that Destiny shouldn’t be as popular as it is. So how has it enthralled so many of us despite its obvious deficiencies?"

[Sureshot]

Devoting 40 entire days to a single video game is INSANE.
Literally, ask Vaas for the definition of insanity.

"The fact is, people don’t get randomly addicted to games like this. There are always very good reasons as to why people put so many hours into something. Destiny is kind of a great game"
No, no it's not. It's called psychological manipulation and scheduled reward system.

[shodan74]

It's an awful lot, that's for sure! Personally, the most I've ever sank into a game was about 300 into Fallout 3.

That's if you exclude Championship Manager of course. My addictiveness rating was 'remember to breathe'.

[TheFirstClassic]

I've put 500 hours into age of empires 2... Can't believe I've put that much time into it. A lot of it was just sitting in lobbies too. I would never have played that much if I didn't have friends to play with.

Still, I never get bored of the game. And I know people who have put over 1000 hours into it.

Before AoE, the most time I put into a game was demon's souls at 150 hours.

[TLG1991]

It is a terrible game, i played it for about 22 hours total and that is a lot for a game you think is terrible. it was okay for the initial part, but my god it is boring.

It blows my mind that people are still ploughing through this game, i am all for rewards throughout game play to keep you engaged but this game is no where near good enough to justify the play time people put in for an extra rank number or an extra 1 power damage on an exotic title gun.

But each to their own, if your playing with friends and having a good time, then fair enough, i suppose thats what games are about.

[vickers500]

It really is a good game... with friends. I've put a similarly embarrassing amount of time into Destiny as well, but it's solely because of the people I met whilst playing it. Had I not found several of the coolest online friends playing Destiny, I'd have quit 3 months in, perhaps even less. It's also the only reason I'm getting the taken king.

Despite its MANY flaws, it is a really good game to play with friends, more so than most any other online game I've ever played. I mean yeah, there are other online games we could play, but they aren't as addictive and don't bring you back as much as Destiny does, plus, not everyone has the same tastes and can buy the same game all together.

It's not that everyone who plays it thinks it's still a great game hundreds of hours in, it's that it's just plain addictive (in a bad way I'll admit, apparently they hired psychologists to make sure it was addictive) and it's fun with friends. The loot system is crap because it's designed to give you just enough to want more, but never everything you want because you'll stop playing once you have everything. I myself only do nightfalls and weeklies, and only if my group is on. I play games other than Destiny, but I will be returning for the taken king.

I'm not really excusing Destinys quality, every complaint anyone makes about Destiny, has been said by everyone in our group many times, but just trying to explain to those who are baffled at the people who still play the game why we still play.

[Brotard]

I played for 40 hours or so and was so upset cause i couldn't level up and wasn't having much fun. House of wolves came out and it changed everything, drop rates were better, better gear, didn't need as many people for the end game content. This game is incredible when played right.

[KyRo]

Yes destiny is a great game. No it's not perfect and has quite a lot of underlying issues of DLC greed and sub par story but the game is great and one of the best online coop games in AGES.

[Mr-Dude]

Sub par story? The story was terrible with huge canyon like holes and jumps in it...
but hey I don't have time to explain ^^

Gameplay was great though

[AnotherGamer117]

I was among the dedicated to Destiny (over 400 hours) but the "scheduled reward system" finally wore me down. I got so tired of grinding for absolutely the most ridiculously useless rewards that I was finally able to quit the game.

I went back into Destiny to try out HoW expansion and found 2 missions and baren "reef" area to explore (which took all of about 30 minutes to complete). I also found out the "magic" (i.e. psychological manipulation) is gone. Without the desire start grinding again, I didn't try out the prison of elders.

I will not be buying "The Taken King" and I am waiting to see how they handle Destiny 2.0 (a new full version of the game every 2 years). The next full version of Destiny had better be more like Elder Scrolls or the Witcher or I will not buy it.

[Losso-Oso]

I think Destiny is a great game. Just because it is not the game for you, does not mean it's not a great game.

I've put well over 400 hours at this point into the game, and I have loved every minute of it. It does have its problems, the story was virtually none existing, but this has been improved quite a bit.

The DLC plan is very Activision-ish, and honestly if it wasn't because my wife gave me the season pass as a gift, I would have probably not purchased the Dark Below DLC. House of Wolves was pretty great though.

Point is, there are multiple types of games for multiple people, no need to bash a game just because its not the type you like.

@AnotherGamer117

So you want a shooter with light RPG elements to drop the shooter part and become more of a western RPG? Destiny has many and I mean many different elements from many different genres, but for you to say that unless they make it more like games x and y or you will not buy it, why not just buy the game that you want.

You know what games are just like the Witcher and Elder scrolls? The Witcher and Elder scrolls!

[Omnisonne]

Each to his own sure, but I don't think it's a great game by any means.. it lacks in almost everything its trying to do.

If you see 4 people crouching in front of a cave shooting the same wave of enemies over and over and over, for 3+ hours straight, it's gotta raise some questions about the games' design no?

The only thing that I did occasionally enjoy was the PvP, but that too was thrown out of balance real quick

[Losso-Oso]

@Omnisonne

I hate the fact that I can't just reply to you directly, but it is what it is.

Yeah, the loot cave and peoples reaction to it was very indicative of a problem with the loot system when Destiny first launched. And if that would still be the case, I would completely agree with you.

However, and thankfully, that is no longer the case, and hasn't been so in 10 months. The Cryptarch issue was fixed so you no longer got a common or rare item out of a legendary engram, which was beyond frustrating.

There have also been a myriad of change to the patrol areas and public events. So even just going out and about to do bounties and random stuff with friends can be so much fun.

But that is exactly the point I wanted to make with my super long comment down below, Destiny can be an incredibly boring game if you are going at it alone. And now that more content has been released, it can be even daunting to take on as a newbie, specially if you are alone.

Unless you are involved with the community, you don't have to have a clan but it does help a lot, unless you have at least 5 friends that play as well, Destiny might not be worth it for you.

There is nothing that I find more fun, than when my 2 closest buddies and I, go into lfg sites, or the Bungie forums, and help people out to complete their first Raid, or get Flawless in Trials.

We end up making new friends and helping people out. Even today, there are a ton of people that have never attempted the Raids or Prison of Elders, or have never tried Iron Banner or Trials of Osiris, and there are still people buying the game new, and just starting out.

One of the things that we love to do, my friends and I, is we love to do drunken Raids on the weekend. We start the night in PvP, mostly pub stomping people (we are not proud of it, but with out custom matches its the only choice)and we take shots every time we loose a zone, after two or three matches everyone is pretty sauced, then the drunken raid begins and hilarity ensues.

My friends and I have thoroughly enjoyed this game and have gotten a lot more than our money's worth.

And at the end of the day, isn't that the point?

[iceman06]

I wouldn't call that "insane". I would call that someone who must be having some sort of fun with the game. People have amassed thousands of hours in games like LoL, Dota, CoD, various RPG's, etc. That "psychological manipulation and scheduled reward system" is pretty big part of game theory in general. Sure, the rewards differ and the manipulation might not be the same. But, all games have them. From advancing to the next level, beating level bosses, to that magical weapon that's a must have. Hell, even the old school High Score was just a dangling carrot. In the end, games are DESIGNED to hook us in one way or another. How we respond to that hook determines the amount of time we spend with it.
I played Destiny for about 5 months. I had a lot of fun while I was playing. But, eventually, the magic just wore off. The grind was not paying off. So, as easily as I started, I stopped. The hook was out and I just swam away to games that I was having more fun with.

[3-4-5]

* Imagine applying that time to learning an instrument or learning how to paint.

[BigBosss]

I spend most of my time playing Elder Scrolls Online on the PS4 and I love it! Gave up on this useless game few weeks after the release. Game became so dull and Bungie took 95% of the content out of the game.

[Tedakin]

Doing what? I don't get how people keep playing Destiny. I played it for 25 hours and did everything I can find to do.... Is there 900 hours of content? Is it all the PVP multiplayer?

[TLG1991]

it blows my mind also, its all about loot collecting, so its an infinite cycle as you finish quests you may get a gun with and extra 1 damage point and that means soooooo much to some people for some reason.

I know a guy who still plays it day in day out to this day, he buys every other game but never plays anything else. i literally mean he buys them and NEVER play them. i nearly blow a gasket with the amount of amazing games he has just not played because he wont stop playing destiny.

i bought ORI for my xbox and the same guy saw me playing it, when i saw him he said he thought it was my girlfriend playing it... hes one of those...

[spacedelete]

some people on my friends list literally play this 24/7 and play little to nothing else. its not like its even a good game and i couldn't even stand playing the alpha and beta because it bored me to death so its crazy how a trash game like this is the most revenue generated game this gen. fools will be fools.

[Mr-Dude]

If you want loot play borderlands or Diablo, better than the rng from destiny

Destiny and their system doesn't really work

[farrelljade]

@TLG1991

Dude what are you going on about 'extra 1 damage point on weapons after quests?' Can you please elaborate on these as I cannot find them!

[WellyUK]

It's just a massive grind which for some reason people bloody love, it's the same as with games like Diablo where it's just all about the loot and getting that slightly better head piece.

[Oschino1907]

Diablo has a full story, way more overall content, gives better loot and more often while being useful loot, has actual variety to it's grind and isn't stuck in a perpetual trickle of DLC content to barely advance in the story/content.

Destiny will have 3-4 DLC/Expansions before Diablo which came out 3yrs earlier will have 2 and still be lacking in every category. Boggles my mind when people even attempt to compare the two when It's obvious which one offers so much more.

[WellyUK]

Uhm i'm not i'm just saying that they are similar and have similar reasons for why people play them which is the loot, not saying one is better than the other because both are meh to me.

[paul-p1988]

The difference is with other games that you need to grind (my current favourite is Toukiden Kiwami on the Vita) is that you know a reward will be coming soon, no matter how many hours you put in it (for me, normally about 5hrs before a decent gain is found) and you carry on working at it because you can see your goal in sight.

With Destiny, you grind in the hope that after a week or 2 you may have FINALLY got a blue engram for a gun that is 2 more attack points better than you current gun, but have just spent 20hrs throwing away green engrams/lvl3 armour you got from doing a lvl 32 strike....

I did like Destiny, but MMO's and JRPG's do the grinding/reward system so much better and don't just infuriate and alienate their players in the process. One of the biggest reasons I haven't played Destiny for about 2months now.

[Clown_Syndr0me]

Played for a couple of days and was so bored of doing the same things over and over in the same locations.

[Summons75]

The same reason people keep playing any MMO. People find it fun to replay dungeons and get better armor to make their character the best they can. Destiny is an MMO through and through.

[Oschino1907]

You clearly have never played a proper MMO.

Having MMO elements (and horrid ones at that) in a clearly non MMO game makes Jack a dull boy.

[paul-p1988]

That's the difference, in an actual MMO you grind the same quests to get better armour and almost expect to be able to improve. In my experience I play Destiny for a few weeks and still have the same gear as all I got was common drops.
Seriously?! I'm running lvl 32 or lvl 34 strikes, why do I want a lvl 6 gauntlet as a reward?!?!?!?! lol

[Mr-Dude]

Destiny is not a MMO... Elements Yes, but MMO.. No

(giggles)

[TheFirstClassic]

People keep playing MMOs because they use psychological tactics to keep you playing, regardless of whether you are having fun or not. And destiny does similar things.

[DARK WITNESS]

the loot system is something akin to gambling almost..

you keep playing and playing and playing till you hit the jackpot (in this case it's a exotic weapon)..

then bungie release new exotics, legendaries with just the slightest differences but you just have to have it.. so the cycle continues.

Destiny is a rubbish game, with almost perfect gameplay mechanics and a loot system that's been cooked up by head shrinks to push every button in your subconscious mind that leaves you feeling an uncontrollable urge to collect pointless digital crap!

of course different people get addicted to different degrees, some can see it for what it is not not be hooked at all.

I gave up on destiny after about 3 months of playing it and even then I hated myself for supporting it that long.

[Software_Lover]

N4G COMMUNITY OF DESTINY PLAYERS.................

I need to get a group together to do Vault of Glass, and Prison of elders (Xbox One). I'm pissed that I can't do it through matchmaking. There are only 2 people on my friends list who play Destiny. If you are willing to help or want to play shoot me a PM and we will exchange Gamertag info and schedule something up.

[conjurdevil]

I wish you were on PS4

[Software_Lover]

I have a ps4, just not Destiny.

[chrisx]

I don't blame you bro, I would hate myself too. But your crazy.

[andibandit]

I played it alot too, guess I was hooked on the story.

[Oschino1907]

What story???

[andibandit]

forgot. /s

To be honest though, I played it mostly because I could play it coop with friends, in the end it just became too much of a grind.

[Mr-Dude]

@bandit
+Bubble for being funny

[Stokedup]

Wow! I'd seriously take a look at my life if I'd spent over a mo th and half of it on a single video game.

[cfc83]

Bought it in digi sale, but don't play it much, partly because i suck at multiplayer, and there's a lack of mp content, and there's no way i'm buying passes, or the next destiny. I think titanfall is better, to make a fair comparison.

[Knushwood Butt]

Have spent over 48 hours on it but almost all of that with a buddy on the other side of the globe.

Yeah it is rinse and repeat but it is strangely addictive, at least for now..

[iNFAMOUZ1]

haha you think that's alot, try devoting years to halo 2 since day 1 till xbox disconnect, day in and day out haha noobs

[n4rc]

i played counter-strike for 5 years.. lol.. no other games playing every day..

it had alot less then destiny does..but really.. i got fed up with destiny a month ago.. but after a year of having a blast playing with friends (and about 700h myself), ill never really complain about it..

[Relientk77]

Played Destiny for like the first month after release and then I was done.

[Wh15ky]

Best not to think about it because if we were all to over think this kind of thing, we'd all hate ourselves.

I've never dedicated that amount of time to one game, but I probably spend similar to that amount of time playing games per year.

Apparently it takes, on average, around 900 hours of learning a foreign language to become fluent.

[Yui_Suzumiya]

I'm waiting until next year to get this after I fully explore and complete Fallout 4. Getting the Taken King: Legendary Edition. I'll get the game plus all DLC for like $40. I'd feel like an idiot if I went into the Destiny universe on day 1. This is exactly why I waited so long.

[fOrlOnhOpe57]

Same. About 900 hours and finally gave up a month ago. For about £85 I think I got my money's worth.
Great game, shame about the developers/publishers insistence on playing it their way.

[Shuckylad]

Well that's value for money in my book.

[MilkMan]

You should. I hated myself after I realized I WAS the Taken King.

[Sokol]

The game itself has a lot of potential, unfortunately, the enormous grind, zero relevant story and same repetitive levels of game play was more then enough for me to move away from the game after about 20 hours.

Insane hours however, I had around 190hours into Witcher 3 and that was already a lot.

950 however is not unheard of into MMO type of game. I have a few friends who ranked in thousands of hours with WoW, Swtor and FFXIV.

Just the nature of the game genre.

[SilverClock]

My friends have literally been playing this game 8-12 hours out of the day for over a month on four TV screens that are set up in the living room. I can not even stay in that room any more. I am freaking sick of seeing this game. It's not even that good. FFS. One of them even put off playing Witcher 3 in favor of this game. I cannot even begin to comprehend their unyielding fascination.

[Ark_]

Hmm ... I count 895 hrs of BF4 myself. Those numbers are not untypical, if you play regularly with friends or in a clan online. MMORPGs, online shooters, simulationtype games, and so on ... all consume a lot of time, if you really get into them. I am still learning, finding new ways to play, new modes etc.

It's not even that much. I know ppl with 3000+ hrs in BF2142. They basically had put 400 days of full-time work into that game - just consider what you could have learned/got done in that time.

Gaming is just - that much! - fun, can be social, gives the feeling of accomplishment, reward and skill. Those are good reasons why it's so popular.

Btw since it's gamescom here in germany, the newspapers got some statistics out: If you count casual gamers into the lot, the distribution between men and woman is equal among gamers. Also you will find most gamers to be 50years plus. Sure it's mobile and casual stuff. But still ... it's a pheonomenon in all age and education groups.

[Losso-Oso]

I love Destiny, I love the lore behind it, I love the gunplay, I love the mechanics of it, the PvP I don't hate.

There is a pretty large community of people out there that are constantly playing the game, and Bungie as a developer actually listens to that community.

The game is a completely different experience today than it was at launch, but I guess people are just too busy hating on something, rather than enjoying something that they enjoy.

It has problems, the game is by no means perfect. The story is severely lacking still, it is a grind, but people are exaggerating the amount of grind you have to do.

If you started today, you could have a max level character in about two weeks, and you would have access to all of the end game content at the end of your first week.

The lore of the game is absolutely mind blowing. I will be the first to complain about the grimmoire card system, and how it should be in game, not something separate from it, but if you actually take some time and read half of them, not all of them, but specially the ones regarding Thorn and Last Word, the ones regarding the Reef and the Queen, you would be blown away.

To be honest, I think the major problem with Destiny is Activision, I think that Destiny as Bungie envisioned it, was broken up into a "year one" experience by Activision and divided into an "introductory game", and 3 pieces of DLC that would have formed the original 1st game.

But for me the true joy of the game comes from playing with my friends, knocking out a raid, or doing the Nightfall Strike, or Trials, or Iron Banner, or regular PvP, or whatever we choose to do.

I like the game and I think that the complaints about it have reach the ears of Bungie and Activision because the game is improving with every update they send.

They are obviously doing something right seeing as how there are close or over 10 million players between both platforms playing this game pretty consistently. At least that is what the latest talking heads claim.

So haters gonna hate I guess, but there is no denying that Bungie has a blockbuster hit on their hands with Destiny.

[guyman]

You should, because, forgetting the fact that you spent a ridiculous amount of time on it, Destiny is not even a good game.

[urwifeminder]

Still waiting for a good price.

[Mackonthemoon]

Funny how on almost every Destiny article there's groups of people talking about how bad the game is and how much they don't like it. If you don't like it - don't play it! I don't go on articles for games I hate and constantly talk about how much I hate them. It's not even worth it.
As for people complaining about content I find that completely asinine. People complain about grindfests yet there are multiple ways to try to get exotic gear. From nightfalls to random drops in crucible and strikes to raids and going flawless in Trials of Osiris. You can even get exotics from legendary engrams.
A lot of the people posting their complaints about "lack of content" maybe that applies to the base game but the expansions add a lot. There are people who play battlefield and call of duty who are satisfied playing solely pvp for the entire time and if that's your thing then you can spend your time playing Destiny's various pvp modes which includes rotating playlists, trials of osiris every weekend, and monthly pvp events. In addition to that there are 2 raids, many strikes, and weekly pve challenges.
I honestly can't see how people can say this game lacks content or that it plain sucks when there is a lot to do and a lot of fun to be had. If you have just the base game I would recommend buying an expansion or two and trying it out. It has a lot to offer. If you think it sucks then it's just not for you.

[ginsunuva]

How do you eat or make money?

[asadachi]

I know that feeling, but I thankfully stopped playing ealier on since the daily grind with little reward was becoming increasingly depressing.

[asadachi]

only masochists can really appreciate this game

[jhpadilla]

I'm 850 hours in... Can't get enough. Playing with friends is awesome!! Nothing beats kicking Crota's arse while talking about the latest news, movies, music, girls, etc.
Grinding is harsh sometimes but there are always good (and sometimes awesome) rewards to keep you coming back.

But the really awesome thing is the community. Everyone (save the occasional tools, like every game) helps, gives tips, sheperds you. And then when you achieved a lot, you wanna give back shepherding and helping.

The game keeps getting better and better. There is grind, of course, but helps to keep the really good people in and the haters out.

That's my opinion to be sure. But one that is shared with a huge host of Destiny players.

[Bolts]

To love Destiny is to support a DLC rape business model. I don't care how good this contentless grind fest of a game is. At some point as a gamer, you have to have some self respect.