Destiny 2 is one of the most complex games on the market in terms of gameplay elements and lore, with some of its concepts ever-changing or coming from a long time ago - possibly even from the first installment of the series. The lore has had seven years of entries to grow and change, and the stories told by Bungie did the same. Some characters have been increasingly pivotal to the series, while others died or stepped back from the main plot. This specific aspect does not pair well with the way Destiny 2's playlist activities work because of the fragmented storyline coming with Strikes, which happens to be told in a non-linear way due to how the playlist randomizes its content.
The remaining two playlist activities also pose a few issues for similar reasons, but they have intrinsic problems of their own that prevent both Crucible and Gambit from shining. The Crucible has been left untouched for a long time, except for the rework of the Trials of Osiris and the last new maps being added all the way back in 2019 alongside Shadowkeep. Gambit has been in a bad state for a long time, so much so that the community has been vocal about fixing it. As a whole, all these different playlist activities combined make up a bad experience for veteran Destiny 2 players and newcomers alike.
Why Destiny 2's Strike Playlist Ruins the Experience for New Players
Destiny 2's Strikes are often considered to be the least problematic of the playlist activities, simply because most players run them only for the weekly Pinnacle drops and some events or challenges. More often than not, Strikes are completed as fast as possible because they generally provide little-to-no loot, nor bring much else to the table. However, Strikes are one of the first activities that Destiny 2 encourages newcomers to delve into, and there is even one specific Strike that has to be completed in order to progress the questline in the Cosmodrome.
Strikes would be a good way to introduce new players to the game's mechanics, such as enemies having shields and which weapons to use in order to break them, or how to handle different enemy types. This is not the case, and new Destiny 2 players running Strikes may be completely in the dark about all of it, meaning they will be forced to learn by trial and error.
Another issue with Strikes is that each features a few characters talking to the Guardian or interacting with one another, because these activities are often used in story missions and campaigns. As such, Strikes are both used as a means to engage players in a group activity, and also to progress the story of that specific area or campaign. The dialogue never changes, and this can lead to some strikes featuring Cayde-6 being still alive, or others where Uldren Sov has not become Crow yet, leaving players confused about Destiny 2's timeline and main events. Conversely, the same can happen if players run into a Strike that takes place after certain events they haven't seen.
Catching up with the story in Destiny 2 is no easy feat, and Strikes essentially being windows to the past doesn't help those players who have yet to figure out who is who and what happened before they joined. Yet, this is what Strikes always have been, and there is likely no easy way to tackle the problem now that so many are in the game.
The Problems With Gambit and the Crucible in Destiny 2
Gambit never was the best activity of the bunch, and nowadays it mostly feels like an outdated mode that has little content to offer. Due to Bungie vaulting content to make room for new campaigns and locations, Gambit currently has a selection of four maps total, and two of them are on Mars and Titan - planets that have been removed and are no longer accessible. Veteran Destiny 2 players will know that those two Gambit maps are simulated areas from a lore standpoint, but newer players will wonder why they can go hunting for Motes on those planets but not visit them.
Then, Gambit is also very difficult to get into because its gameplay is a hybrid between PvE and PvP, which is hard to balance for newcomers. The activity is also filled with bugs and mechanics that are never fully explained to the players, who are left to their own devices to try and understand how Motes work, what to do with them, and how to deal with invasions from both sides.
Something similar happens with the Crucible, which lost eleven maps when Beyond Light launched and still features some areas from vaulted planets, such as Mercury and Io. This leaves Destiny 2's storyline in shambles, and it's hard to pinpoint what is going on without delving deep into the lore. On top of that, the Crucible playlist offers little variation despite there being several Crucible modes to access outside of the playlist, and everything boils down to Control matches across the same set of maps over and over again.
All of this is bad comes from the three core playlist activities in Destiny 2 not doing what they should; offering core content that's healthy and doesn't mess things up for the narrative. That's still not the case, as many players tend to point out on Reddit and other platforms, but Bungie could still have an ace up its sleeve when The Witch Queen releases.
Destiny 2 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.