IMO they wasted an opportunity to bundle their confusing mess of DLCs together in one package (which could’ve brought in new players), and instead opted for an extremely short-sighted cash grab.

It’s the wasted opportunity that pisses me off the most.

One of its problems is it is still pay to win, I don’t care if it literally takes 30 minutes of play time when you start selling weapons straight up and not “excusing” it with like a dlc expansion, that’s pay to win.

Being someone who plays Destiny 2 here’s my issue with it.

For one? The guns themselves are not really useless but they are not like some sorta pay to win thing. That said however? Bungie has been buffing/nerfing things so really all it takes is them to make a change to one of them and out of nowhere it’s part of the meta. On a side note it’s not like Bungie hasn’t done something like this before as well, they did give exotic guns away via Twitch/Prime Gaming. And one of the expansions you can buy gives you three or so exotics you can ‘pick’ from I believe Forsaken. But still $15 dollars for three exotics that really are not really all that hard to get in game is kind of stupid.

Now my big over all problem with it? The fact that it’s called a New Player Starter Pack when it’s really not the sorta starter pack they should be getting out there for a new player. And let me tell you right now being a new player in Destiny 2 sucks the big one. Normally when MMO’s offer a new player pack like that? It’s something along the lines of a few extra inventory/bank slots, maybe some kind of helpful buff to XP or something. Granted it’s Destiny 2 not ESO, FFXIV or WoW. But still that tends to be the norm.

This leads me to the whole being a new player in Destiny 2 sucks, as it’s not just the game it’s self. Lets go over how much money it costs just to start playing the damn thing.

First off? Where games like ESO, FFXIV, WoW have it where you get all of the older expansions when you buy the new one, or in FFXIV’s case you get Heavensward and Stormblood. Destiny 2 you still need to buy all of the older expanions. Thus you have… And note they are on sale right now on Steam but I’m going to list them for the normal price.

Shadowkeep - $24.95

Forsaken (and yeah you get 3 exotic guns that are not from Dungeons or raids) - $24.95

Beyond Light (has the Stasis subclass) - $24.95

Bungie 30th Anniversary Pack (A dungeon) - $24.95

Witch Queen - $29.95

Lightfall - $49.95 not unless you want to drop $100 for the season pass and a exotic Auto Rifle. And while Lightfall’s story sucks it has another subclass and at the moment it’s one of the better ones.

The Final Shape - Same as Lightfall

Now they do offer two packages for $60 bucks and $30 bucks that for the most part come with just about everything minus Witch Queen. And note they don’t list them as a new player pack or anything like that. It’s the Legacy Collection and Armory Pack. Still for a new player if you know to grab those? That’s still $90 dollars on top of having to drop $30 for Witch Queen and at least $50 for Lightfall. So we’re talking $170 dollars just to get yourself up to date with Destiny 2 as a new player. I’m not even going to get into how most new folks I’ve known who will start out in it will drop $15 to $20 bucks for an cosmetic armor set so they don’t look awful. But still, here’s what other MMO’s and I’ll even throw in a looter shooter or two as well.

FFXIV - Everything up to Stormblood is free, Endwalker is $40 bucks and I believe gives you Shadowbringers as well. Bit more if you want bonus stuff.

Elder Scrolls Online - Necrom is $40 there’s a deluxe collection for $80 that gives you everything along with all of the bonus stuff as well.

WoW - $50 for the base edition of the next expansion and you get everything along with Dragonflight. More if you want the bonus stuff.

Borderlands - The Borderlands Collection: Pandora’s Box that comes with everything and I do mean everything is $80 bucks.

Tom Clancy’s The Division - $30 for the first game $50 if you want the DLC packages with it. Division 2 is $30 if you want the basic game, $60 if you want the expansion, $80 if you want the base game and expansion with the extra’s I believe one extra is a character boost as well.

Now while that was a little long and I’m sorry about that? If someone is really wanting a MMO or looter shooter style game? And before someone gives me the line about Warframe, I never played it so I don’t know the full costs for the game. There are vastly cheaper games that give you a lot more bang for your buck and are also fairly new player friendly.

Really Destiny 2 even with that new player pack? It’s already costing an arm and a leg for someone new to get into it. I’ll add in that it’s not really all that new player friendly. Hell right now if you are a new player? You are going to make a new character and if at anytime you log out while doing the new player stuff on Earth? The minute you log back in it’s going to throw you into the new season.

Thus long story short? You are paying a crap ton just to get up to date with the game, and god knows if you are new they pretty much throw you to the sharks the minute you pop on the second time.