Destiny 2: What We Want At E3 2017

What We Know So Far

We've already gotten a solid overview of what to expect from Destiny 2, thanks in large part to a big reveal event held in May. If you're someone who hated Destiny and hoped for a dramatically different game, you were likely disappointed. For everyone else, Destiny 2 looks to be a welcome refinement on the formula established in the first game.

Crucible, Destiny's competitive multiplayer component, shifts its focus to 4v4 gameplay, which makes for smaller matches than most modes in the first game. On the campaign side, Bungie has introduced a variety of new open-world activities, added new subclasses, and made a move to address criticism over a lack of Raid matchmaking in the first game (without actually adding matchmaking).

Here is some of the other key information we have so far:

• Your Destiny Character's Levels And Items Won't Transfer To Destiny 2
• Destiny 2 Drops Grimoire Cards To Showcase The Story In-Game
• Destiny 2 Dev Explains Guided Games And New Weapon System
• Destiny 2 PC Uses Blizzard's Battle.net, Supports 4K And Uncapped Framerates
• Destiny 2 PC Release Date Isn't Set

What's Confirmed For E3

Bungie and Activision have shared precious little about what they plan to show at E3 for Destiny 2. We do know the game will be there, possibly with at least some of the same content we saw at the May reveal event--the new Countdown mode in Crucible and the Inverted Spire Strike (below).

What We Hope to See at E3

As noted above, Bungie has suggested that storytelling will have a renewed focus in Destiny 2--no more heading to a website to read details from Grimoire cards. The fact that the game is being led by Luke Smith, who also headed up Destiny's The Taken King expansion--easily that game's best and most coherent story--is also encouraging. But we'd like to see some real evidence of the improved narrative at E3.

That may not be an easy task at a show like E3, but one thing Bungie could show is how Destiny 2's story missions have a more diverse array of objectives and gameplay. Destiny's missions often felt indistinguishable from each other, save for what type of enemies you were facing. Given the studio's roots in the Halo series, we'd love to see some real variety in Destiny 2. The same goes for its open-world activities, which have been briefly detailed already. Great as they may sound on paper, Bungie could stand to show off why they won't feel stale after completing a few.

Similarly, we'd like to get some sense of the customization options available for weapons and gear. It wasn't uncommon to see numerous people sporting similar looks in Destiny, and offering more ways to distinguish yourself--preferably without resorting to microtransactions--would be welcome.

Gallery

If that does indeed happen, it might provide players with some additional incentive to visit the social spaces, which are another element that would be good to see at E3. Heading to the Tower often felt like a chore in Destiny; why not make players want to head to these non-combat areas of their own volition, rather than out of obligation?

Raids were the best part of the original Destiny, but we've yet to see what Destiny 2's new Raid consists of. Outside of additional Strikes--which we'd like to see incorporate more Raid-like elements and complexity--a glimpse of the new Raid might be the most exciting thing that Bungie could show off at E3.