I got Destiny on the Xbox One when it came out, and only finished the story missions and some of the side stuff, so, I'm nowhere near a high level compared to most players I'd say. To me, Destiny was pretty disappointing as it lacked what I wanted from the game. I felt it had solid gameplay; great music and visuals, but the story was super lacking, and I didn't get as much out of the exploring as I'd have liked. I wanted it to be a game where I can explore the solar systems planets and moons first and foremost, and backed with a decent story to go with it, but that's not close to what it was, as it was pretty limited. That said, the strengths it had, and the things I hear about The Taken King has me wavering. My question is, can I play this game as solo as I possibly can (as in, not having friends join me), and will my level matter that much, or will I have to spend hours to get to where I'd want to get, like The Taken King? I don't want to spend money on the levels, which I read you can now buy. Also, since its release, how many new environments are there, and... Perhaps this is too huge a question, but what exactly is new and exciting that any player would like to experience, rather than just the hardcore Destiny player?

you could always solo(just can't solo raid content or do trials of osiris), light level is still a thing so you'll always be aiming for higher light gear when you hit max level, dreadnaught is about the only new area in TTK

I'm a huge fan of Destiny and enjoy playing it solo, but it doesn't sound like the game for you. I didn't play the original and people say the story stuff is much better with all the DLC and Taken King stuff, but it's still not memorable at all and not a reason to play the game. There's also not really much exploring to do.

@marz: That's true, but I am referring more to how well I can go about it without friends in terms of my level, and if things will be easy enough without them; I don't really want to grind in places I've already played to get to somewhere interesting. That said, that question was answered too. Thanks.

@ntm: There's really no grinding at all to progress the story. It's not until you're done that you start do daily strikes and missions to gear up.

@hunkulese: Aw, okay. Thanks. Not sure if it's my kind of thing, at least not right now.

@ntm: You can finish The Taken King main story campgin on your own, but some of the post-campaign missions pretty much require other players, even though they're not related to the raid or strikes. Personally, if you're a solo player, I'd pass on Destiny.

@ntm: To agree with pretty much everyone here, and as someone with over 2,000 hours in Destiny, it really doesn't sound like, as much improved as it is, The Taken King will live up to your expectations of Destiny. It's just not that type of game and never will be. Honestly I'm not sure there is a game that fits that description, maybe No Man's Sky will come as close as any outside of great story content. The Mass Effect series meets everything but your exploration goals, so I think that's a swing and a miss too. The Dreadnaught is a pretty cool new environment, but like everything else, the best parts of it are most easily tackled in a fireteam. If you plan to play Destiny solo, the story in The Taken King is decent (for an FPS, obviously it isn't The Last of Us or Uncharted), you could probably get your money's worth out of it time wise, at least if you consider 10-20 hours worth the expense, but Destiny will always be a game better enjoyed with other players, that won't change and I honestly hope it doesn't, it's the games #1 strength.

Legend has it that Destiny does not bend to your whims, but you change to accommodate Destiny.

@ntm: I played Destiny pretty much solo for most of it and I still love it, just realize upfront that you're not going to be able to do everything. (Certain strikes for exotic weapons, the raids, etc)

If you've only played the launch game stuff you can probably have a good time with it. I think personally the House of Wolves storyline from that second expansion is better than the Taken King's for example.

I think I was similar to you. I play solo, love the gunplay, sound, and visuals but was ultimately disappointed with the original game. I got the Taken King for 30 bucks (which includes the first 2 expansions now). I'm enjoying it quite a bit.

What's new (from all three expansions)

2 new raids, which we won't play.

New story missions and strikes which altogether approach the content of the original game.

A new patrol area, the Dreadnaught. It has some different types of secrets involved, it's pretty neat. Relatively small though.

A hoard type mode called the prison of elders. I liked it ok but only the lowest level has matchmaking. So you can think of it as another kind of strike. I liked the announcer.

Lots of new "todo's" like a quest system and new bounties.

New subclass.

New loot, multiplayer maps, etc. You will experience a precipitous rise in level/light when you get the taken king, but since the new content is harder it ultimately doesn't matter. There is sort of a rush at the beginning and then it goes back to a steady progression (i.e. grind).

So I think it's worth it if you can get it cheap. It's nice to have on your hard drive to jump into now and then.

@jaycrockett: That's cool. Thanks. Right now, I'm not really thinking about it anymore. Maybe in the future though.

I love Mass Effect (just replayed them all very recently too), and I should be interested in No Man's Sky, but I'm not really. It was what I wanted out of Destiny, which is why I was disappointed; other games not having it doesn't mean I dislike them. Also, perhaps I didn't, but it almost sounds like I offended you by saying what I thought... Sorry. I don't mind that Destiny is so focused on squad/online gameplay, it's the lack of other aspects that I don't like. Nor would I, or can I necessarily disagree that playing with others on it is the best part; it's just not something that intrigues me personally. I'd rather spend time playing something else.

@ntm: No offense was taken, I was just trying to give some honest advice. While it did sound like your hopes for Destiny were a bit unpractical, it was not my intention to be harping about that. I apologize if that is how it came off. I was more inclined to mention Destiny as a solo venture, so hopefully I can clarify that here. Recently I got a cousin into Destiny, but unlike me, he had nobody to play with when I wasn't on. After almost 18 months of Destiny, I have well over 100 Destiny friends that play, so when I was on there were plenty of people to find to help him Raid, do Strikes, etc. But when I was offline and after his first 20-30 hours or so going through the stories, he just didn't have much to do. Having someone I know give up on Destiny because of this has changed my outlook as far as how worth it Destiny would be for a solo player, which is to say not as much so. It's a feeling I've always held, but not quite as strongly as I do now. To answer your other question, if you don't plan on Raiding or playing coop, your light rating and even hitting level 40 is meaningless, it just means you will be locked out of replayable content higher than your level/light that allows you to grind your light level up or a few select unique content missions, that generally also requires a fireteam for most to complete. All of the Taken King content starts at Level 25 and you will start with whatever light rating you got up to before you quit, say 21 or 30. Every purchase of The Taken King comes with a Spark of Light that instantly boosts you to 25, so if you were below that, you can use that to jump to 25 instantly. No need to purchase that booster waste of money garbage. It sounds like your interest has waned in The Taken King so I'll just leave you with this, the value of Destiny as a solo experience is very questionable, but played cooperatively there literally isn't a better bang for your buck game on the market today.

- Destiny Lore and Story is there, you just wont find it in the game....which is the sad part.

- Taken King focuses more on story and a cohesive plot to everything, that said, once you go through the missions....it goes back to being the same as Vanilla Destiny.

- You can do most things solo, except for Raids and Trials.

Basically, you need to like game such as Diablo to get anything out of Destiny. It is all about the loot and shooting things in the face to get loot. So if you can stomach doing the same things over and over again, day in day out, to get a piece of loot that might bump you half a light level....then come back to it.

But otherwise, wait to see if anything changes with Destiny 2 next year.