With E3 2017 still pressing on, more details about fans' most anticipated games continue to trickle out from developers and creators, with Bungie having recently revealed that Destiny 2's Guided Games feature will not allow Guardians to access Heroic-level activities. For those unaware, Guided Games serves as a matchmaking substitute of sorts for high-end group activities like raids and Nightfall Strikes, but Bungie has now stated that fans using Guided Games will be restricted to activities on Normal difficulty.
The news regarding the limitations being put in place for Destiny 2's Guided Games feature came during a conversation on Kotaku's E3 2017 podcast, with game director Luke Smith confirming that Heroic-level raids and Nightfall Strikes will still require Guardians to have their own groups to play with. Smith said, "I don't know exactly how the Challenge Mode layers are going to work [with Guided Games], but the normal-tier activities will be Guided Games, and the Heroics will be find-your-own."
For those unaware, raids and Nightfall Strikes are the two highest-level activities in the game, and the original Destiny didn't have any sort of matchmaking system in place with a feature like Guided Games. So, while Guided Games will provide the positive aspect of being a way for typically solo Guardians to find others and form a group, some may find it disappointing that players still won't be able to take on the most valuable activities without having a large group of friends to start.
Of course, one could argue that Destiny 2's Guided Games feature will be a great way for Guardians to form bonds with other players that they didn't know before, and a solid group could be assembled from there. Eventually, if these gamers take the time to willingly get used to one another without being teamed up by the matchmaking algorithm again and take on all that the sequel will have to offer on the Normal level, then they can move on to greater feats of glory like the Fireteam who beat every raid boss without dying or using guns in the original title.
Without a doubt, PC players who buy Destiny 2 will likely go through the most arduous process of finding a solid group of companions outside of Guided Games, as many will likely be coming into the franchise cold since the first game was only available on consoles. However, there may be plenty of fans who make the leap from console to PC just to enjoy the game with 4K graphics running at 60 FPS, and they could even convince their friends on the platform to do so too, making it much easier for them to have a team in place to access the Heroic-level activities.
Destiny 2 is set to release on September 6, 2017 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, while its PC version launches on October 24, 2017.
Source: Kotaku