You’ll Reach Destiny’s Max Level in “Only a Few Hours”

GoodGameBro writes, "Yesterday, an embargo was lifted for a plethora of media coverage for Destiny. With so much information coming out it’s only right that certain pieces were lost. A Destiny forum has come across some rather interesting information regarding the max level for characters, however."

[Iltapalanyymi]

what why?

[Kevin26385]

It seems like they are really putting the focus of the game on exploration and discovering weapons and gear rather than leveling up and automatically receiving them.

[ZodTheRipper]

It's an interesting design choice but I would still prefer a higher level cap AND the focus on gear ...this basically limits the amount of customization and character development which COULD be a shortcoming in the end. I will not judge it till I play it though.

[alexkoepp]

This game just gets more disappointing every day...

[Gazondaily]

Probably for pvp balance too. [website isnt working for me]

But still...kinda lame imo.

[Webbyy]

well that kinda sucks :-/

[-Foxtrot]

I know but they can still do both

They could easily make the game about exploration and discovering weapons/gear AND focus on levelling up

People always like to aim towards something

[OrangePowerz]

Not sure why people are disappointed. From the description it sounds like gaining better abilities will still take a considerable time and so does getting better equipment, it just doesn't contain all those filler fetch quests every MMO has.

As someone who played a very long time WoW and other MMOs I'm fine with shorter levelling. I find levelling often to be there as a filler to stretch the play time. So by the sounds of what they say on the site, they just don't have that filler and people can get faster into the actual game.

[porkChop]

They don't have to give you weapons or gear for leveling up. Your stats should go up and your skills should get upgraded. Or give other types of rewards for levels.

Why even have levels at all if it's so fast to reach max?

I mean it's not that big of a deal and the game still looks awesome. It's just an odd choice I think. Doesn't make me any less excited for the game though.

[UltraNova]

This might be Activision and their Micro-transaction thirst in action people. Think about it for a minute why allow capping off in such a short time when you try market a huge game like Destiny? Maybe to make you pay for the next 20 levels?

I dont know, what I know is beware of Activision.

[nveenio]

I'd rather be as good as I can be quickly and then find better tools for my skills than constantly be trying to reach a level cap.

[Muzikguy]

@Ultra I was sort of getting that same feeling. Hopefully that's not the case

[showtimefolks]

OrangePowerz

couldn't have said it better myself.

music to my ears:

From the description it sounds like gaining better abilities will still take a considerable time and so does getting better equipment, it just doesn't contain all those filler fetch quests every MMO has.

[MaxKruger]

I don't know how many people will see this but DeeJ, Bungie's own community manager, flat out refuted this on Reddit.

[N4Flamers]

@orangepowerz thank you. Thats exactly what I thought. Faster leveling also eliminates you having a ton of out dated guns and equipment. This game is like borderlands but without you having to go try and find the same gun you like at a higher level.

I agree 100% that leveling is just filler. You can also experience an entire class fully without wasting a week leveling them up.

[ZombieKiller]

You know I kind of like that idea. Lets see how it pans out first but what about experience based on discovery? Kind of like Borderlands with it's gun levels (despite being able to use them at certain levels yourself) the idea that what you find is how powerful you become.

I'm always open to new ideas like that. Willing to take the risk for what I think the reward will be. Bring it on Bungie!

[randomass171]

That's a neat idea! That means players' characters will be on equal footing and you can differentiate based on guns, abilities and gear. A strange concept, but one I'd like to executed well. If anyone can do it, I think it's Bungie.

[spe3dstar]

i don't think leveling should matter on an game like this. for what it's worth it should focus on the types of loot you get. i find it more rewarding than grinding enemies based on you're level just to level up. it would force people to explore and literally use their skills as a gamer.

[DoomeDx]

Read the article. They explain why. Stop reading just the headline

[Shadonic]

I remember a website did an experiment on how many people actually read the articles past the titles. In the experiment they had some semi current day issue" why aren't out kids reading? !!! " or something like that and what was actually written in the article were instructions saying that for anyone whose actually read past the Title to not comment. You should of seen how many people commented young and old.

[Biggest]

NPR did that for April Fools Day.

[Mystogan]

Why put in a level system at all if you can max it in a few hours?

[Kenshin_BATT0USAI]

What? Why would it matter if you could max level a character quick? Take a level 50 item level 60 character in FF14 and compare it to a level 50 item level 90 character, they are worlds apart. If loot is gonna be the focus for stats then I don't see a problem with this.

[DevolkgrathStratos]

Cause it tricks you to feel more powerful? lol But DCUO and GW1 both were easy to cap but they did offer tons of content and finding all Skills, Lore, and anything else on top of the stand alone Xpacks and DLC. Plus weapons have there own level from what the videos were showing.

Anyways what I am trying to say is don't count the game out cause of a low level cap, It may just surprise you

[Volkama]

Probably because it is an intuitive way to gate and pace the the introduction of mechanics and content.

[randomass171]

A lot of the game's mechanics have to do with finding guns and gaining abilities, kind of like Borderlands. That and I think they wanted players to be at an equal footing early in the game. That way the skill will come from the guns you find and how you use them.

[DeadlyFire]

Because its an FPS. No Juggernauts will be allowed. Its all about balance. I am thinking its for the characters you have to be usable across the board for PVP as well as the Co-op and so on.

[Magicite]

so its not that much like borderlands after all, but who knows, theres still time left.

[joab777]

Cuz its an mmorpg. They just wont say it. Its actually modeled after DCUO (and many others) it seems. Takes only 2-3 days to level cap at 30. Then its all about your gear level. Seems similar to Destiny. Now, if theres no sub, the content may model DCUO too, offering it as dlc instead of included patches. I guess we will see. Now, I am curious to see just how much end game there is and whether they will cap it in any way.

Destiny does have one advantage. Their PvP can will keep ppl interested for a long time in itself.

[Ittoryu]

Not if, like me, you could careless for PVP and dont plan on playing it.

[elninels]

@Ittoryu

I believe you are in the minority.

[mcgetbusy]

@Ittoryu

So you do care a bit then. Or do you mean you couldn't care less?

[DevolkgrathStratos]

I actually loved that model for DCUO and GW1 but until we see what endgame holds for PvE it really hard to pass judgement

[Menkyo]

@elninels yeah cause games with PVP are always the most populated area. No there not most people will be busy find gear not fighting each other at least for a good while.

[randomass171]

Wat? It's not an RPG, it's a shooter. And it's not an MMO, but it has MMO elements.

[DLConspiracy]

It's probably because they want it to be enjoyable by all. Just like Halo you have the same guns and it's all balanced. They were probably worried that it would take away from some of the enjoyment of other players. After all, it's still an online game. Just a guess.

[zeuanimals]

Lots of games do this, well you don't normally max out within hours but the real game tends to start at max level. That's how every MMO is.

[Baccra17]

Not everyone loves to grind. Not everyone wants to wait a million years to be a badass, especially casuals. Easier for casuals to jump in and play while buying items from Activision, with no grinding to get in the way of your dude bro moments.

[randomass171]

Instead they'll have to explore and find the guns and tools to make themselves a badass. I like the approach. Now we just have to see if Bungie can really make it work. I think they've got a good shot. :)

[medman]

I really don't understand people's love of grinding away to "level up". I much prefer the dev showing me the way, giving me what I need right up front, and getting out of the way and letting me explore with the proper gear and weapons right from the get go.

[3-4-5]

This lessened my excitement for this game, but I still want to play it.

Sci-fi + Big Budget = yes please

[dumahim]

That's a big deal breaker for me.

New gear is all well and good, but level progression is more interesting to me. I played a LOT of Borderlands 2 and it was mostly in the pursuit of better gear. But when did I have the most fun? When I was leveling up and getting new skills and abilities.

This will probably bring back nightmares from my EverQuest days when I'd play for years at the cap and played the game so much for the chance at getting a drop during a raid. Way too much time invested. And actually, even being at the cap they introduced Advanced Abilities that could further increase your power while remaining at the level cap.

I'd rather just kick back and enjoy the game on my time and if PvP and raids are the driving force for character improvement, count me out.

[Gamer1982]

Guild Wars 1 did the same and nobody complained about that.. In fact its one of the most successful free MMOs of all time.

[Shnooze]

God I loved Guild Wars, never completed that damn Nox quest though because it was ridiculously hard!

[SIX]

Because micro transactions. Instead of becoming more powerful through leveling up. They are going to sell you better armor. This has been happening with a lot of free to play games. It's the new business model.

[Menkyo]

unfortunately I think you right.

[ITPython]

Games like this during their beta stage always decrease the time needed to level up (or get other things) because they want to make sure everything is fully tested.

Plus they updated the article and somebody from Bungie said that it will take longer than 2 hours, but they want to make sure it won't feel like a grind.

[DoomeDx]

Well that sucks...

[ironfist92]

It sounds like Borderlands, except without the fun, personality, colour, and life.

So basically "bored-erlands"

[salmon_slapped]

That kind of sucks. I was hoping it would take a little longer, but not to big of a deal since I was able to play borderlands 1 & 2 for a long time after i reached the level cap. As long as the content is there I don't believe it will be a problem.

[PsylentKiller]

Borderlands is the reason I think they did it this way.

Unfortunately, I didn't get into borderlands until way after the second one released. When I tried to play, the people I paired up with were much higher levels than me. This made it difficult to play with them unless they joined my game. But then it would be really easy for them.

Reaching the level cap sooner and then searching for gear sounds much better but we will see how it works in real life when the game releases. I know this is a bad example but Ghosts is somewhat like this. Each character can only level up once. After that, it's all about getting points to unlock all the equipment.

[amnalehu]

It actually sounds like a good idea to me.

[serratos27]

Yup, something different since it's focusing more on weapon looting. I'm definitely going to purchase this game then I'll just see for myself instead of conjecture.

[IIZANGETSUII]

This game just keeps killing the little "hype" i had

[SuperLupe]

Except for the fact that Activision and the media are telling us to be hyped or else, I simply dont see what I'm supposed to be excited about.

[Transporter47]

I think that's good, I mean what you really want to level from what i seen is the Weapons you acquired and not so much your character, which leaves more room for exploration rather then grinding. I like it.

[Mystogan]

Is it just me or does destiny seem less and less interesting the more I hear about it?

[TheNotoriousNiceGuy]

No your not alone

[BattleTorn]

I just keep repeating my mantra: It's Bungie, it's Bungie

[SuperLupe]

Was never hyped in the first place. The more I see it the more I'm convinced people like it just because they are told to like it.

[bleedsoe9mm]

after E3 last year i was hoping there would be a little more shooter and less MMO , from the language used this week to describe destiny (mounts,end game content,raids ,pvp) i think its more MMO . was hoping more borderlands and less WOW

[JustPlay4]

For me, right now it just meh, it not like look bad or won't be fun. I don't know it just doesn't really seem that interesting. I guess I have to play it to see for sure, but I still have hope

[air1]

As long as it's a great game with a lot of content.. It's ok to try something that many shooter haven't adopted.

Just keep making me feel bad ass as I play, I don't care how you do it.

[trywizardo]

i know that devs should do whatever they think its better for the game and forget about selling rate and stuff like that , but they need to know what players want , not just what the devs want ....

[Z501]

DCUO's level cap is only 30.

*cr is not level

[Lucreto]

I would have guess because it was a beta the experience gain would be higher so the reviewer would not die trying to get past a certain part. They only have like an hour to play it and contantly dying would limit the reviewers experience.

I would like to tell you about "Planet B" but I kept dying at the end of "Planet A" and ran out of time. Please look at a competitors review as they managed to get passed the boss.

[Kenshin_BATT0USAI]

I didn't know so many people here played the game already. Is the level cap really that bad?

Look at ff14, you could max out a character in a single day. Your equipment however determines how powerful you are. As long as that's balanced it works out.

[Gr1mmyshadows]

That's how I'd rather have it to be honest. I want my gear to determine how strong I am not my level

[randomass171]

Kind of like a shooting game. I mean, it's not like this is an RPG. It honestly seems better this way in my opinion.

[MysticStrummer]

I'm less concerned with this than with the new footage. The movement is too smooth. The gun shakes some as you walk but the camera moves very little. Just looked odd to me, donno if I'm alone in that. Also the combat looked about as typical as it gets, except with more colorful than usual explosions. The first gameplay video from last E3 looked better to me, though I can't say what exactly was better about it. Another thing was that Peter Dinklage sounded very bland, though I guess he is a machine/AI so maybe that explains it.

[user9597082]

Awesome news for me. I never could enjoy any mmo because of the outlandish amount of time they expected you to invest in order to reach the really good content of the game.

[Ittoryu]

Crap another level capping POS

[SeraphimBlade]

Because getting completely outclassed by people simply because they've been playing the game longer is so much fun.

[Ittoryu]

Who is going to play against other people ? Oh you probably only play PVP there is a whole world of modes besides PVP dude.

[modesign]

this is better, instead of having a loner that spends months maxing out experience, this will allow everyone to max out within a few hours, it will allow the loner to spend his months finding new weapons and gear.

[Gr1mmyshadows]

Doesn't concern me to much. The game focuses on items and gear which makes me want this game. I'm still extremely excited for this game and can't wait for the beta!!

[LAWSON72]

It seems like no matter how hard I try I can not get hyped for this game. I will get it though at launch to play it with friends, hopefully once I put it in my Xbone I will feel some excitement.

[SITH]

Well there goes my plan to grind.

[iceman06]

Not really. It just changes the focus of your grind from leveling to searching for the best gear. If it's anything like the legendary items in Borderlands, the grind is still alive my friend.

[SITH]

Traditionally your avatar's level was proportional to the items level that you receive. In that way you knew that others did not have or at least could not individually receive certain items, that you yourself had from being a higher level. From what I am understanding, we can all basically go find legendary weapons that are laying around somewhere, and available from enemies. I just hope it is a lot more than that. I guess we will have to wait for the final game. I highly doubt the beta will reveal the full spectrum of special weapons given they are not only rank based but also location.

I hope bungie does timed drops based on the completion of an objective. Example, you have 24 hours to kill X number of a specific enemies to gain X exclusive weapon. They did that for halo which gave xp as the reward.

[SeraphimBlade]

Holy crap, I might actually check this out if I don't need to worry about getting trampled by people who'd been playing for ages. I honestly have not had fun in an online shooter since CoD-style progression became the norm.

[Tru_Blu]

PvP is just one mode. Most people will likely be off doing other things.

[kevinsheeks]

Exactly by eliminating the matter of level those "legends" won't be as important everybody will be given a fair chance

[B1uBurneR]

Kindly shut up and play the game then decide. First you guys whine about which system is or is not lead system. Now that doesn't matter ...with this news at least I'm just glad you guys are not in charge of the game it'll probably a big cluster suck.

[Tales RPG addict]

ok so you can max out player level in a few hours. At least the game will allow you to explore a Massive Universe and I wouldn't doubt it that the max level cap will increase. Thankfully Destiny won't be another MGSV Ground Zeroes $30 demo.

Darn you Kojima.

[PrinceOfAllSaiyans]

All the cod bf4 dude bros are pissed. Lol. This game will be amazing, and it looks extremely fun to play with your friends. Can't wait.

[frankied101]

U can comment w/ insulting a group try it -__-. It'll stop a lot of bickering

[jay2]

Really not sure about Destiny, sounds very easy and will get boring shortly just running round collection X.Y and Z.

[LostFlock]

agreed, still want to play it though, probably wait a little bit till a price drop.

[McScroggz]

Somehow I think saying you can reach max level in a few hours is an exaggeration. Ten-twelve hours, maybe. But 3-4? Seriously doubt it. Could be wrong though.

[Bonkerz]

I havent really been excited for Destiny. I just cant seem to be like "I cant wait!". So this news really doesnt disappoint me since i dont plan to buy the game.

[iceman06]

I don't really see this as a problem, as long as they balance everything out. Many games have this same approach and it actually isn't as bad as it sounds. Raids always prove difficult in these games with high level or maxed characters and bad gear. Besides, with this being a shooter, I am not surprised that gear would be the focus as the abilities seem to simply augment the way that combat can be approached.
Those who like the grinding aspect of games will STILL have to do that simply to get the best gear. From what I understand, gear can be found in treasure chests and it can fall from defeating foes. So, it won't just be a huge treasure hunt.
My only real concern about this game is can they get everything to work seamlessly?

[frankied101]

They have raised my excitement I uderstand it fully. Loot and raids r way more rewarding then a max lvl and shit to show but a #

[urwifeminder]

Hope its not like boringlands spend 45 mins standing there watching friends compare guns they found and all you want to do is play , sold that game real quick.

[lostkey]

While the thought of this turned me off initially, I actually agree with this decision. I can't say I want to or have the time to put in an insane amount hours to level my character up. I realize other people do but not me. Also if I'm not mistaken all the weapons you acquire still have perks and things to unlock so that'll be an area you can constantly be progressing.

[ArbitorChief]

Wow have Bungie fallen... A few hours to reach max rank, are you joking me? I get the feeling Destiny is going to be an incredibly casual shooter/RPG.

[Npugz7]

The more I hear about this game the shitier it sounds!!!

[DJNOSTYLE]

As excited as I am for Destiny, this is rather upsetting news for me.

After following this game for -- What is it? Two years now?-- and hearing all Bungie had to say about how this game is basically another world that you enter and become attached to, I'm somewhat befuddled when they say the level-cap will be easily reached. I was hoping to have to climb my way to the top and endure billions of hardships while gradually expanding my character and his abilities.

Maybe I'll still be able to do that with the way you acquire gear in Destiny, but hearing this makes it seem slightly different from how I've pictured it in the past few years.

Bungie spoke about how this game would be something that you could spend years on and want to go back to, but hearing that the game will be more focused on developing what your character wears...I don't know.

I'm still super-excited for this game, I'm just starting to fanboy too hard and it's getting me all worrisome.

[purp13m0nk3y]

I think Bungie are deliberately trying to distance Destiny from your typical MMO RPG and bring the focus back to a true MMO shooter (of which there are very few).

Fewer RPG elements and more focus on solid shooter mechanics and a killer story can only be a good thing IMO.

I think that an MMO should not necessarily be synonymous with heavy RPG elements and monotonous level grinding.

[90Supra]

So much for grinding....smh

[AceBlazer13]

I understand the choice. Most if not all Mmo really only begin after you reach the max lvl. The fun begins with pvp and raids.

[Platinum_k]

This is good news for noobs who start playing the game late.

Rather than experience points and over-powered suits and weapons, the game will be based on technique and skills!

[spoonard]

If this is true, this just means the focus of the game isn't a level grind. I am MORE than OK with that. I hope they have a new and innovative design rather than the same old MMO "Kill monster, complete quest to get better gear so I can kill bigger and badder monster to get more gear".

[ELpork]

I've got a feeling it'll be that. Granted it's a FPS, so it'll be more interesting then walk over and click on thing's till they die. If I had to bet, this might be what people wanted out of borderlands 2... minus the charm obviously.

[bornsinner]

so far all the news towards this game sound disappointing

[NeoTribe]

Why even bother having levels than? What kind of mmo does this bull? This game doesnt seem all that interesting anymore.

[TitanUp]

these little details coming out on this game is making me think this might not be worth a pre order.

[ELpork]

Difficulty comes from the gear not from the levels... Read the story and not just the sensationalist headline people. The way it's worded makes it sound like you'll be at max level, but will need better gear if you want to compete.

[MasterD919]

This game has a beta...Wait until you actually get your hands on the game before you come to these conclusions.

If they are hyping it up, you are pulling it down just as quickly. Try it (or at least watch some actual gameplay vids when the beta is released) and make up your mind.

[Azzanation]

Damn I like the long road to greatest then the short road. After reading this, I see this game getting boring after afew days.

[indivisibles]

I'm not sure if this gameplay has been seen here yet, so here it is.... ENJOY 7min Destiny
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[Sokol]

Unfortunately I'm almost positive Activision will have their hands full with micro transactions..

Matters not to me personally, plenty of games to choose from and enjoy. The day every game starts pushing micro transactions down my wallet is the day I switch to different hobby.

Smartphones are already becoming notoriously popular with such business model. In the end its up to gamers. If you buy what they sell, expect more to come.

[Kevin26385]

Story has been updated with the following comment from the Bungie Community Manager:

"Hmmmm, what to say about this?

The progression system that has been shared to date is in no way final.

I can assure you that your evolution in Destiny will take more than a few hours.

That said, we’re not creating something that should feel like a grind or a chore.

Resume speculation!"

[MAULxx]

Yeah, I love how the Destiny community manager stepped up and debunked this speculation

[MAULxx]

I'm ready to play the beta!

[metalgod88]

For me, the biggest issue with MMO's is trying to play with friends. It's incredibly hard sometimes to keep up with them or to not get ahead level wise. If it doesn't take long to reach the level cap, then this evens the playing field for everyone, and it allows friends to play together all the time, rather than someone trying to catch up.

Also, this tells me that there's going to be some type of "dungeon" or larger group missions which would be totally awesome.

[Surt]

Sounds like a good thing. Avoid the Bullshit that was Dust514 and defiance. MMO first and fps second? Yeah..no. FPS first and avoid things that make people shake there heads when you let them know that you play (insert any korean grind mmo here or EVE "I like to watch paint dry" online here)

[ArtificiallyYours]

People tend to forget there's a GAME involved when Rank is brought up.

[Smitty2020]

I don't see a problem with this at all, the skill of the player is all that matters

[ismail_ng]

whats going on...

[bigD64]

Funny how people are already passing judgement on the game and its not even out yet. Can't wait to try the game out myself

[Shadonic]

From the article i just read (not this one) seems like its so that people can have decent weapons and characters, before they jump into MP as well.

[xActionBasturdx]

Yup this game is losing steam really fast...for meit al depends on how well the pvp is balanced...if that blows i'll just wait for the division ans pour my life into that instead

[jegheist2014]

they will raise cap but will they charge for it like bl2 is question this not bad idea at first till most community has played game slowly increase gap with patches expansions etc

[iKenny]

Dont care- still looking forward to the game.

[finito82]

not a bad way to do things honestly. i mean in cod prestige means nothing as well becus as long s you have squad points you dont lose anything or start all over, so yea.

[hkgamer]

So... What's the point of having levels at all if you can max level in hours? Seem's weird, maybe the point of leveling is to somehow stop alt accounts? not sure why the real reason is until the game comes out.

Thinking about it most MMORPG's seem pointless to have leveling since most people just race to max level and then enjoy end game content. I mean most games concentrate on end game content and make the journey to max lvl ridiculously boring.

[xzerox]

to tell the truth no one wants to read a paragraph comment but i urge you to read what i have to say because for starters all of you cry baby's and angry little n4g kids and what not need to relax because video games arent about the number that defines how good you are or your better than some one else for having a bigger number or a different name of ranking, or even better skill wise. Bungie obviously knows what they are doing and they care about the game more than any of you do in my opinion because they are focusing on very import factors and also considering how long destiny has been under development and the fact it has been since 2010, you can tell bungie is really working hard for this game and busting their asses for you so i suggest you shut up before you look really stupid for all bungie is doing for its community and fan base they even take the time to listen to their community with a mail sack and read every question.....so to all you big cry babys and angry fans or even angry disappointed people, relax bungie obviously doesnt wanna dumb down their game to basically pull the bullshit titanfall did...