What DLC To Get?

[Sai]

Exactly what should I be buying to get the FULL experience of the game? Also, is it even worth it to get into the game at this point? It seems like a huge paywall to get access to the "full" content of the game.

A lot of the information I found has simply confused me;

Some content is gone?
Some content is bought separately from its DLC? (Witch Queen "dungeon key"? Idk what this is)
What exactly is available in each expansion? The price tags are intimidating for what isn't very clear, especially with this "dungeon key" thing in question

[N33MA]

Removed:
Vanilla (Red War) Campaign (along with Titan and Io locations)
Curse of Osiris Campaign (w/ mercury location)
Warmind campaign (w/ Mars location)
The raid and raid lairs from those expansion were also removed
Forsaken Campaign (w/ Tangled Shore location)

Forsaken Pack:
Includes the remains of the forsaken content including the access to the gear, its dungeon (Shattered Throne), its raid (Last Wish), and access to the post campaign story content in the Dreaming City location.

Forsaken was a great expansion and the best parts are still in there. The gear is still relevant (particularly the exotic gear) and is pretty good value if you are willing to do dungeons and raids. Regardless it goes on sale a lot so you should wait for it to do so again.

Shadowkeep:
Includes Shadowkeep campaign on the moon, access to its raid (Garden of Salvation) and dungeon (Pit of Heresy), as well as all of its gear.

Shadowkeep's campaign kinda sucks and there aren't many reason to run Garden of Salvation at the moment. Pit of Heresy is pretty good though and is probably the best high stat armor farm in the game. Should still wait for a sale.

Beyond Light:
Includes access to the Beyond Light campaign on Europa. You also get access to its raid (Deep Stone Crypt), and all of its gear. Most importantly you also get access to the Stasis Subclass for completing the campaign.

Beyond light was alright. Deep Stone Crypt is pretty good and has good gear. Stasis is also a really cool addition to your kit but I wouldn't say that you really NEED considering that the base 3 subclasses are probably stronger. I wouldn't say that you need to wait for a sale to get value as this is much better than the previous offerings, but it wouldn't hurt.

30th Anniversary:
Only gives you access to the Grasp of Avarice Dungeon as well as all the exclusive gear inside it.

Don't get this unless you are seriously hungry for more dungeons. While the dungeon is really good, and the gear is alright, it's way more money than it's actually worth. Also ghalli is only really useful by one person in a team so you don't really need to get it.

Witch Queen:
Gives access to the excellent Witch Queen Campaign and its legendary difficulty version. Also gives access to all its gear and its raid (Vow of the Disciple).

This is probably the best game play experience in a campaign with a good story to boot. Though there it's not super necessary to progress your character.

Witch Dungeon Key:
Gives access to the Duality and Spire of the Watcher Dungeons.

These are pretty good gear wise and fun wise, but if you're not doing dungeons then don't bother.

Lightfall:
Gives access to the Lightfall campaign and its legendary version. Also gives access to all its gear and the Root of Nightmares Raid.

This is the most relevant expansion to purchase at current. It will allow you to progress your character the fastest and probably has the most beginner friendly raid in Root of Nightmare. The campaign is pretty good gameplay wise, but not so good story wise. This expansion also gives you access to the Strand Subclass.

[N33MA]

If you want my recommendation. Try to experience all the f2p content first. There's no campaign but outside of that there's a least some representation of all aspects of the game in the f2p offering. Try raiding in Vault of Glass or Kings Fall, or dungeons in Prophecy, and then just buy what you think looks interesting if you want more.

I think you can get a pretty good idea of roughly how the game is played with the f2p offering, though there will be some inconvenience in not having access to other extra activities.

Personally I do think that getting everything in the game is worth it, but you should definitely wait to get it on sale. Thankfully the expansions go on sale very frequently especially on steam.

[Sai]

I played D2 on Console day one release, for about 2 weeks lol. I was very disappointed at first, and I wanted to finally get back into it. I really don't like the idea of a "free to play" game having such a steep paywall for the full experience, and the reason i thought about getting the DLC is, I really do not like being locked out of content.

The monetization just seems very predatory to me, and extremely difficult to get behind.
I assume ignoring the DLC for the time being would be the smartest choice, but I also assume I'd be missing out on A LOT of content?

[N33MA]

Originally posted by Sai:

I played D2 on Console day one release, for about 2 weeks lol. I was very disappointed at first, and I wanted to finally get back into it. I really don't like the idea of a "free to play" game having such a steep paywall for the full experience, and the reason i thought about getting the DLC is, I really do not like being locked out of content.

The monetization just seems very predatory to me, and extremely difficult to get behind.
I assume ignoring the DLC for the time being would be the smartest choice, but I also assume I'd be missing out on A LOT of content?

I mean it's not really a free to play game. It's more like a buy to play game with a free to play entry point. It's like a big demo where you can try out most aspects of the game to see if you like it more than anything else. This isn't like other free to play games, you aren't meant to stay to free to play indefinitely like in fortnight or genshin or something like that.

[Sai]

That's rough.

[N33MA]

Originally posted by Sai:

That's rough.

Kinda. The experience is more like an MMO more than anything. With there basically being a cheap subscription except instead of locking you out of the game when you stop paying, you just don't get the new stuff.

[Sai]

Originally posted by N33MA:

Originally posted by Sai:

That's rough.

Kinda. The experience is more like an MMO more than anything. With there basically being a cheap subscription except instead of locking you out of the game when you stop paying, you just don't get the new stuff.

That's a pretty steep subscription lol. Jokes aside, I do understand it I guess - just the price tag is pretty intimidating to me, especially knowing there will be more in the future.

[N33MA]

Originally posted by Sai:

Originally posted by N33MA:

Kinda. The experience is more like an MMO more than anything. With there basically being a cheap subscription except instead of locking you out of the game when you stop paying, you just don't get the new stuff.

That's a pretty steep subscription lol. Jokes aside, I do understand it I guess - just the price tag is pretty intimidating to me, especially knowing there will be more in the future.

I mean it's more of the buildup over the years. It's not like for active players. Though I do agree it's a lot all at once, which is why I'd recommend trying to get it piece by piece.

[DakotaThrice]

Assuming you have nothing and want everything you'll need the Legacy Pack, the Armory Pack and Lightfall Annual Pass Edition. Whilst if may seem like a huge paywall you also need to consider that covers six years worth of content you're trying to catch up on.

[Hazard]

Get legacy pack. run thru the content and see if you wanna keep playing to get more .

[DJ | idk_what_iam_doing]

Try Legacy Pack, i start with that, after i buy the others DLC. (The only thing im not paying for are the dungeons)

[Winterhaven]

I'm going to hard disagree with people here and say that Lightfall is the best way to spend your money. Having the current expansion / season is more important then having all the old stuff. Since this is a live service game, old stuff will be power crept steadily. Even if it's not power crept, you can usually get something just as good.
Don't get the annual pass, you can't be sure that you will still be playing in a few months so don't overspend, but having access to the currently active season will always be the best way to enjoy the game.

[DakotaThrice]

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2594944499

Just been through and updated my Content and Purchase guide which should answer what you get with each expansion/pack.

[Sai]

I watched a video about how close Bungie is getting to "pay to win", and as much as I want to scratch the itch of playing an FPS game, I don't see myself trying to play anymore not only with the huge paywall to actually get a full experience, but also my morals look at their practices pretty negatively lol. I do appreciate all of the answers from everyone, was very informative. I might look back in the future to try the game, but seeing how little I actually get FTP has demotivated me lol.

[DakotaThrice]

Originally posted by Sai:

I watched a video about how close Bungie is getting to "pay to win"

Whilst there may well be aspects of the monetisation you find you don't agree with there's nothing pay to win about Destiny.

Originally posted by Sai:

with the huge paywall to actually get a full experience,

Sure it's expensive to go all-in but you have to consider the fact that's five years worth of paid content you're looking at. You're looking at £171.77 for all available content based on the non-discounted Steam prices, if you wait for sales and/or shop around you can get it all for less than half of that. Even if you do pay full price you're looking at a split of around £34 a year which is cheaper than the £40 a year the expansions originally shipped at even before you factor in the additional content beyond those expansions that are included. It's also not like you need to purchase all of that at once before you can get started with the game.

Originally posted by Sai:

but seeing how little I actually get FTP has demotivated me lol.

The F2P portion of the game covers every aspect of the game:

• You get access to every strike in the game (even those associated with DLC) through the Vanguard Ops playlist.
  
• You get access to all Crucible (PVP) maps and gamemodes except for the endgame Trials of Osiris.
  
• You get full access to the Gambit gamemode.
  
• You get access to all destinations and their patrol activities (patrols, public events and lost sectors).
  
• You get full access to the Dares of Eternity gamemode.
  
• You get full access to all Annual events (Guardian Games, Solstice, Festival of the Lost and Dawning).
  
• You get limited access to a variety of game features such as crafting and seasonal challenges.
  
• You get access to two raids (with a third coming next season) and a dungeon.
  
  
  I'd say just give the game a try and make your own decision rather than depending on some clickbait youtuber whose job is literally to get people riled up and engaging with their content.