[quote] ### 1. **The Engine Debate is Overblown** The talk around the game engine is a bit much. If Bungie makes a D3, it’s going to run on the same engine — or a modified version of it — because that’s what they know. Building an entirely new engine is *extremely* expensive and time-consuming. People asking for Unreal Engine 5 don’t realize the amount of system engineers Bungie would need to hire just to get up to speed. Think engine issues are bad now? Imagine them with a dev team unfamiliar with a new engine. That transition would be *brutal*. [/quote] So first off, you can modify the engine much faster and more efficient when you arent having a live version of the game going out to the public every few weeks. You can make changes from the ground up when you don't have thousands of weapons and armors, menus, interactions etc that can all go haywire if you try to modify any of the base skeleton. As for unreal, let's get this straight. I -blam!- hate unreal 5. Its -blam!- trash. That said unreal is one of the most taught engines in schools next to unity and one of the most used engines in the market. People are graduating having learned unreal then work at bungie and have to be onboarded for the modified tiger engine that they currently use. So currently the onboarding to use tiger engine is WORSE than if they swapped to unreal. [quote]### 2. **The Reset Illusion** Sure, a full reset will bring that exciting “fresh grind” energy for a bit. But very quickly, players will start noticing what’s *missing*. Subclasses, abilities, weapons — all the things we’ve spent years building up in D2 won’t carry over. Bungie won’t bring everything back right away. They’ll launch D3 with the bare minimum and slowly build up again. And just like that, we’ll be begging for D2 content in D3. [/quote] Yeah we don't carry over thats the reason. A fresh start with new things. I have hundreds of hours in PoE1 and still bought and played poe2. I have thousands in monster hunter world and still bought and played MHwilds. Subclasses need reworks, weapons need reworks, the verbs system needs to be redone, etc. I'm okay with starting over with a new game with less bloat and trash. [quote] ### 3. **Recycled Content & Barebones Launch** Expect recycled areas and a thin story at launch — just like D1 and vanilla D2. I remember starting D2 and thinking, “This feels like a regular DLC, not a new game.” We’ve seen this before. A true "new game" feeling isn’t guaranteed just because of a new number in the title. [/quote] Yeah it's gonna feel bare bones. Its how MMOs start and they build up. That said if they don't do dumb -blam!- like get rid of rng loot drops it can have a stronger start than D2 did [quote] ### 4. **What Players Want But Won’t Get Right Away** Players want D3 because they’re craving systemic change — a fresh grind and major overhauls. But big changes are hard to pull off in a live-service model. Bungie can’t afford to overhaul every system all at once. Most of their dev budget post-launch will go toward keeping the content pipeline going — not reinventing every mechanic. Think about *Forsaken* — it was a banger because it came after Bungie shipped a barebones base game, got ROI, then reinvested. D3 will likely follow the same MVP (Minimum Viable Product) model. Yes, we *want* a launch like *Forsaken*, but that’s just not how live-service funding works. [/quote] They didn't get RoI from D2. D2 was in such a bad spot that if Forsaken failed bungie was going to be dissolved by Activision. That said I agree they will likely drop d3 as a more barebones product and won't be anything like Forsaken. That said if they don't do something stupid like get rid of random loot drops they will be fine. [quote]5. **New Player Experience Still Lacking** This is one area where Bungie *could* improve massively in D3 — and frankly, *should*. D2’s onboarding for new players is a mess. In-game LFG helps a little, but it’s not enough. The game doesn’t explain anything well. No numbers on perks, no guidance on what to do, and a huge disconnect between regular play and the endgame. New players get wrecked in endgame content unless they use meta builds — and they have no clue which builds those even are. [/quote] I agree thoroughly. Getting rid of Red War really gutted onboarding and then like you said they don't explain anything at. I left d2 for like 2 years, came back and I just had -blam!- dumped on me and was like "eh I don't care, I'm just gonna go do dungeons or something". I can only imagine how convoluted and pointless it feels to a new player. [quote] ## 6. **D3 Isn’t Necessary — These Changes Can Happen in D2** Almost everything I mentioned above? It could be done in D2 right now. Bungie has a solid sandbox — they just need to improve the storytelling and new player experience. Even the price point needs to reflect the value better. I think the full game (all content + latest DLC) should always be around $100. And even that’s a big ask. But for returning players and newcomers alike, it would make onboarding way easier and more worth it. [/quote] The changes necessary cannot happen in D2. We already see how bad the game struggles as is. With what's necessary they're better off starting over and building it from the ground up. [quote]TL;DR: A D3 might sound exciting, but unless Bungie radically changes how they build and support the game, we’re looking at the same cycle again — new coat of paint, same underlying issues. Most of what we want from D3 could actually be fixed in D2.[/quote] I agree here. They need to make drastic changes. Things like: Modernize the enemy AI. Create the enemy AI to be faction unique New factions and enemies A new writing team A more modular variant of the engine built from the ground up so changes can be made quicker and more effectively without breaking the game every few weeks. Better onboarding Return mystery to the game. Changes to the weapon archetype system to better allow modifications for unique weapons They can remove powercreep from the game and plan better on long term to prevent it, or atleast reduce its prevalence in the long term A new subclass system entirely I mean the list goes on [quote] So please don’t just dump on Marathon and say, “They should’ve made D3 instead.” That doesn’t move the conversation forward. Instead, let’s talk about this: What would Destiny 3 actually bring to the table that Destiny 2 can’t do right now? And more importantly — could Bungie realistically add those things into D2 without massively disrupting the current game? Let’s keep it focused and constructive.[/quote] I'll dump on Marathon for looking like a lazy, uninspired, cash grab and they should have made D3 instead. The fact i saw the titan unpowered melee copy pasted as the default melee attack in the gameplay trailer and copy pasted reload animations told me everything I needed to know about Marathon.