Bungie has spent a lot of time promising players its listening and implementing changes to Destiny since its somewhat troubled release. While Destiny sold well at launch it was poorly received and didn’t live up to the hype. “House of Wolves” is a fantastic example of Bungie living up to its promises of constantly updating and improving Destiny. In “House of Wolves” Bungie has taken the criticism on board and made fixes for each problem over time.
To explain what “House of Wolves” gets right we unfortunately have to look at what the game pre expansion got very wrong. Destiny still doesn’t have a story, but the narrative in “House of Wolves” is far more interesting than anything in either Destiny or “The Dark Below”. The lack of story until this point can only be due to Bungie focusing on other areas of the game to get it out the door for launch as the lore in Destiny is surprisingly deep, yet still entirely vague.
The biggest problem with the lore is not enough of it is explained in-game or in pre-mission briefings. It’s all there if you have the patience to look it up, but ask anyone who’s played Destiny and they’ll tell you that just doesn’t cut it; they couldn’t be more right. House of Wolves doesn’t have any cut scenes and only a short opening cinematic, showing a map, but it still manages to jam about the same amount of dialogue into the ten or so new missions as the original game did with at least three times the content. This is the first and possibly most asked for change to the game that shows Bungie is listening.
Destiny is a grind. There’s no getting around that, but by eliminating most of the convoluted currencies required to improve weapons and armor the grind is a little easier. There are also a lot more ways for players to get the all important legendary and exotic items they crave. As the content for Destiny grows, the amount of desirable gear increases. Now, if only we could get another bump to the vault space so we could keep more gear.
As a replacement for a Raid; the Prison of Elders works. It’s easier to get three people together than six, but the activity itself can still be quite challenging. It relies a lot on constant waves of enemies rather than the creative progression we have become accustomed to in Raids though it’s not just a simple Horde mode. Critical objectives will pop up during the chaos of clearing a room of enemies. These must be cleared within a certain time or all Guardians will fail and be returned to the air lock to start from the beginning of the round. Add to this a new modifier each round similar to the weekly Nightfall and Heroic Strikes and it’s starts to get a little tricky.
I love the Prison of Elders. I love that it’s different to a Raid and that it’s soooo much easier to get a few friends together. I love that I can take two people who have never played any form of end game activity through a round and succeed. Taking people through their first Raid is such a good way to tap back into the excitement , but its near impossible to get people to agree to Sherpa new players through. After doing a few Raids people tend become jaded as it’s just something we grind out each week. Am I glad we’ve got this new 3 player endgame activity rather than a Raid? No way. Call me a small Spanish girl peddling tacos ranging from soft to outright crispy but I say “why not both?” Before you crucify me for being selfish here’s why.
Less than 20% of people who play Destiny have actually finished a Raid. That number is way too low and Bungie must clearly agree. Just look at the strategy it’s employed to try and get more players into Raids. Allowing match making for the low level Prison of Elders shows people what they are in for in the tougher difficulties even if they don’t have people to play with. It also introduces them to other players. They can just jump into the fire team chat and ask if the people they’re playing with want to keep playing in the higher rounds. With only three people needed its even easier than putting together a Raid team. One of the new story missions actualyl has the Guardians enter the Vault of Glass — the setting for the original Raid — and teaches them how to handle some of the Raid mechanics. This points to Bungie pushing player to play Raids and once again that it’s listening. After all, Raids are the best part of the game and while I love the Prison of Elders and how end game activities work, I still wanted another Raid.
Something new on offer for the PVP inclined is the Trials of Osiris (ToO). It’s a 3v3 death match but it’s anything but basic. The first to five wins while you get a scorecard allowing three losses before you have to get a new card. The goal is to get as many wins as possible (nine max) without losing three times. If only it was that simple. I’ve never been much of a PVP player, but since latching on to Destiny I’ve improved to the point where I can hold my own in most matches. The Trials of Osiris are full to the brim with people who know what they’re doing and make people like me — who dabble here and there — easy targets. It’s certainly worth a look even if you’re not confident as it’s unbelievably intense and unlike anything else in Destiny. The gear on offer for decent players is fantastic and if you manage to go nine rounds without a loss you’ll be treated to access to an exclusive social area.
Overall, “House of Wolves” is a better DLC than “The Dark Below”, even without a Raid. While I’m looking forward to the next big expansion for Destiny to see if Bungie can once again improve I feel like the Destiny community is just waiting on what Bungie do with Destiny 2. So many of the gripes that players have can’t be fixed without completely overhauling the game. Improvements to convoluted currency systems are welcome, but more needs to be done. Making patrols more interesting is essential for extended play. Adding new gun models rather than just reskinning old stock will help keep people playing just that little bit longer. All these things the “House of Wolves” does right, but it feels like a test run for the next big thing. At least we know they’re listening.
“House of Wolves” was reviewed using a retail code on PS4, purchased by the reviewer.
Review: Destiny ‘House of Wolves’ DLC
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