10 Reasons Why Destiny 2 Is Addictive

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Updated:

23 Dec 2022

You may like Destiny, you might not. You might just hate video games in general (like my mom, who sought ardently to destroy all vestiges of video games that yet lingered in her house). In any case, you might have wondered as you farmed Oryx for the 749th time why you’re doing what you’re doing. The answer? Destiny 2 is, at its core, addictive. So are many other video games. Here are the top 10 reasons why you should watch yourself while playing.

10. Completionism

I put this lower on the list because it’s not that alluring to many players. Studies have shown that the drive to complete all challenges/achievements (I’m looking at you, Triumphs) can be a catalyst in video game addiction. Because of the many triumphs hidden throughout the game combined with things like titles, it’s not hard to see why it could become addicting.

9. Competitive PvP

This one would be higher on the list if it was less repetitive and more fun. The reason for this one is simple: gamers enjoy the thrill of competition. Regardless, for every player that bellyaches about PvP there are two more that really enjoy it. With these upcoming changes to the new competitive playlist, however, this could get more addicting than it already is.

8. E-V-E-R-V-E-R-S-E

The loot box controversy has existed since before time had a name, and it’s long since been disposed of. However, Eververse lives on, and so does its oppressive monetization system. It has been proven that the more money gamers spend on a game, the more likely and more often they are to play it. Eververse is constantly trying to get players to spend more money, and in so doing spend more time, and thus is addicting.

7. The Inflated Grind

Grinding for a god roll was hard enough, but Crafting has exacerbated the problem even more. The grind in Destiny has been artificially lengthened by crafting and leveling up crafted weapons, but I’m surprised people still fall for it. I have a bunch of level 1 weapons sitting in my vault that I haven’t bothered to do anything with, but many more people will spend hundreds of hours to achieve the perfect weapon. Sound addicting yet?

6. Power Fantasy

Sometimes, it comes down to the old-fashioned “I-love-blowing-stuff-up” factor in making games. Destiny 2 has a variety of ways you can destroy your enemies: You like throwing knives? Throwing Shields? Swords that slam the ground? Swords that let you do melee combos? Destiny 2’s got it. Part of Destiny 2’s addictiveness comes from buildcrafting and the dopamine hit you get from blowing stuff up.

5. Online-Only

Two words: peer pressure. Online-only means people, and Destiny has a pretty vibrant (if slightly grouchy and gatekeep-y) community. Doing stuff with friends or being pressured into something by friends is a sure way to get addicted to anything if you enjoy it enough. Some people crave conversation with people; online video games become addicting for them. Destiny has nailed this from the start.

4. The Chase For Loot

If you boil down Destiny 2’s inflated grind, you’ll come to the crux of the problem: the loot chase that is so crucial to all MMOs. When you get that virtual gun or piece of armor, your brain reacts to it as if you had received a piece of candy or got a raise. You feel accomplishment, and even more when you actually wield the weapon or wear the armor. And since the chase for loot is so arduous, the loot will be better appreciated, therefore hooking the player further.

3. The Live-Service Model

The live-service model is used to artificially lengthen playtime by dragging out content releases as slowly as possible. In other words, the live service is supposed to keep someone endlessly entertained for the foreseeable future with an array of new loot to be put into the game periodically. As opposed to games that are one-and-done affairs like Super Mario, Live-Service models are supposed to go on forever, and keep the player locked inside the entire time. You can see how Destiny 2 utilizes this in the form of seasons.

2. Destiny 2’s Nature

But underneath all of these issues, there is one core facet of Destiny 2’s personality that makes it addictive. I won’t call it a problem per se, because it’s what makes Destiny 2 a fun game in the first place. But at its core, Destiny 2’s nature (hunt for loot, use loot, discard loot, repeat) and that philosophy of always chasing the greater loot is really fun. Destiny 2’s core base is to be fun, and fun is addictive. Even after all of the psychology Bungie heaps on their game to make it artificially addictive, at its core, Destiny 2’s addiction comes from plain, old-fashioned fun.

1. That Fortnite Money…

And now, we come to the most sinister (but possibly the most obvious) motivation for why Destiny 2 is addictive: money. Bungie is a company, and they’ve come far from the casual group of nerds that developed Halo: Combat Evolved. Their first and most pressing priority is to make money and please investors, but where does all that money come from?

Well, all live-service models are supposed to mimic Fortnite, perhaps the most successful live-service game of our age. Everyone’s looking for a piece of that market, and that’s why Bungie tries to make Destiny 2 addictive. It may be scummy, but hey…it’s just good business.

If you enjoyed this article, do me a favor by dropping a comment below. Be sure to check out my other articles for more Destiny 2 content. And if you’ve ever wanted to get into writing, I can give you some friendly advice at thewritersrack.com, where I blog daily Monday-Friday. Looking for your next fantasy fiction read? You might want to check out Praetors of Lost Magic, Book 1: The Mage’s Gambit on Amazon, soon to be a finished trilogy!