Destiny 2 Raid Ideation - Part 1

Of course at the worst possible time I have an interesting idea I feel compelled to write down. So here I am at 2am, posting about a concept that could probably use a few more hours, days, or weeks in the oven. But who cares, right? It's just a rough first draft.

Preface:

In my experience as a Destiny raider, there are three groups in which a raid can be put:

1. Uninvolved and fun

2. Involved and fun

3. Involved and less fun

My goal in designing this encounter and the mechanics therein is to make an encounter that can be placed into the second group: involved and fun.

* Edit: I realize now that this grouping system isn't too helpful on its own, so I'll include three examples, one for each category. Keep in mind these are my opinions and my design seeks to satisfy the general criteria above within the context of my opinion.

1. Deep Stone Crypt — most encounters can have a few members of the fireteam that sit back and handle adds. The final encounter is exempt from this as a 4-ball strategy is most common, but even then the level of involved-ness that most players have can be boiled down to carrying a nuke to one of four terminals, which is relatively easy.

2. Last Wish — each encounter, excluding vault, requires active participation and an understanding of the core raid mechanics. The legitimate Riven fight remains one of the most involved and difficult raid encounters in Destiny raid history, while still managing to avoid feeling tedious despite the long encounter runtime.

3. Crown of Sorrow — all encounters require players to engage with the core raid mechanics and split the party into small units of 2, which is common in other raids (e.g. Last Wish's Riven encounter, where players are split into groups of 3), but here proves to be a detriment as all players have to be conscious of all mechanics and their timings. This often leads to frustration at specific players in the fireteam, which is something that should be avoided above all else in my opinion.

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Labyrinth of Empires

Destiny 2 Raid

Setting, and Expectations:

• Cabal Raid

• Guardians on outside of a circular labyrinth that ends at its center, which is a descent (crypt/mausoleum)

  • Descent gives a sense of mystery and discovery, delving into something unknown ala Vault of Glass, Crota’s End, and Eater of Worlds (my personal preference)

  • Ascent would be the other option, where players can see a tower rising from the labyrinth's center. Reminiscent of Spire of Stars

Navigate the Labyrinth - Entry Encounter

Encounter Design:

• To enter the labyrinth, players must stand on six plates simultaneously. This opens a giant stone double-door

• Each plate is at the foot of a cabal statue representing one of three roles, 2 statues each

A cabal wielding a shield and axe, representing the Tank archetype

A cabal wielding a great bow, representing the DPS archetype

A cabal wielding a Rod of Asclepius, representing the Healer archetype

• When the plates finish lowering, players receive a buff corresponding to the statue near their plate. These buffs are, respectively:

Endurance, Agility, and Wisdom

• Each buff puts its holder into a loose role, and provides the following passive benefits

Endurance:

Very slow health regeneration

Large overshield

Combatants are more aggressive towards this player

Agility:

Very slow health regeneration

+30% more damage to Majors, stacks with other buffs

Damage bonus lost if enemies are close (10-15m)

Wisdom:

Very slow health regeneration

Killing minors and using abilities restores health to all fireteam members

+30% more damage to Minors, stacks with other buffs

Healing provided can restore Endurance overshields

• To avoid players relying heavily on tools like Well of Radiance, Bubble, Healing Rift, or other stationary methods of regeneration, the encounter runs on a timer

• Similar to Shuro Chi, players can extend this timer by killing ultras named “Labyrinth Warden” found at key points in the labyrinth

• A general outline of what this progression looks like is detailed below:

• Labyrinth Wardens are encountered at nodes 1-4, in larger arenas of varying composition. Wardens can be a single enemy type, or unique to each room

• The transition between 3 → 4 is platforming. All other transitions are ground traversal, similar in design to the encounter space of the Sanctified Mind boss encounter in Garden of Salvation

• Enough time would be given, should players stick to the solution route and not wander down too many dead-ends, such that players can pull and deal with packs of combatants in a traditional MMORPG dungeon/raid style, OR rush through and risk death in favor of a faster clear time

• Enemies in this encounter would also be scaled so that Minors remain relatively easy for all players to defeat and Majors become difficult to defeat without the concerted efforts of those under the Agility buff (+dmg% to Majors)

Miscellany:

• Raid mods could function similar to those in Deep Stone crypt

One generic mod enhancing raid performance against combatants

One void mod enhancing Endurance performance (small % maxHP health on kill)

One arc mod enhancing Agility performance (finishing Majors generates special)

One solar mod enhancing Wisdom performance (increased ability regen on kill)

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To close this out, I had a lot of fun coming up with this encounter. I'm a big fan of platforming, gauntlet-y type encounters in Destiny raids and I wish we had more sections that focused primarily on movement through a grand space. My most memorable raid experience to this day is the first time I ran through Vault of Glass, experiencing it in all of its vastness and cavernous mystery. The goal of this encounter and the mechanics are not to create a complex raid experience, but one with room for growth and room for players to explore what they feel comfortable doing in a role-mandatory situation. Some players would probably love to feel like a proper Tank, while others would prefer actively worrying about supporting their teammates as a Healer. Even the players who prefer to be a bit passive in raids could take initiative as DPS, bursting down beefy Majors and letting their team safely push forward.

Truth be told I think the Healer role could have a little more spice, maybe an interactable only they can shoot that heals all allies nearby (think Crown of Sorrow buff-swapping mixed with Pleasure Garden spores or Presage egregores).

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this post. If someone at Bungie is reading this, your game continues to be awesome and I can't wait to see what you all do in Witch Queen and beyond.