Destiny 2 Players Should do Themselves a Favor and Run Deep Stone Crypt Blind First
With Deep Stone Crypt finally live, many players will be spending the next week diving into Destiny 2: Beyond Light with the intention of plundering the crypt. Some players, however, will be documenting their journey into the new activity and making raid guides for Destiny 2, but players may want to ease in on checking out these instructions and figure out the new puzzles and gimmicks on their own.
Checking out the guides for Destiny 2's newest raid could be a good choice for players looking for new strategies that can get their clan through each level of Deep Stone Crypt. However, players really owe it to themselves to dive into the activity blind for their initial run and working out their team's synergy and learning the mechanics the way that Bungie had originally intended.
Considering how many players picked up Destiny 2: Beyond Light when the new expansion launched, it's more than likely that a large number of players looking to jump into the new raid are either new to the game or returning after a long break. So, there might be a lot of players that are coming into the newest raid, either without having completed a raid before or with their last completion being months or years ago. This makes for the best opportunity for players to experience what is Bungie's best type of activity in one of the most rewarding ways they can, before it becomes another grind.
While the "it's just a game" mindset has become much more controversial over the last few years, as playing games professionally becomes a more achievable career path, it can make a raid experience more enjoyable than stressful. Since the stakes of losing a raid activity in Destiny 2 is really just losing time, and checkpoints last even when a player leaves, there really isn't much punishment for wiping. In fact, clans are almost expected to wipe repeatedly, with perfect run becoming a triumph in Destiny 2 for players and teams that have practiced these activities over and over.
This means that the fast-paced gunplay and complex puzzles in the raid are really all reward with very little risk, only costing players time and raid banners if they choose to use them. That's not to say it isn't still aggravating to get wiped on a Destiny raid boss' final damage phase, but this means that restarting an activity doesn't mean having to grind or wait for everyone to prep and can instead be jumped into right after respawn. The stakes and the rewards means that a clan or team of friends can still play a pro-level activity while still having fun together, which may be especially enjoyable as all social activities move online in 2020.
Aside from the "having fun with friends" concept that pretty much every multiplayer game sells itself on, a blind raid run can also help to stave off one of the heaviest critiques Bungie has worked years to balance. The grinds in Destiny 2 range everywhere from hunting down loot, to building up light levels, and raiding clans know all to well that the game's highest activity is in no way exempt from this mechanic. It's the core of Destiny's gameplay loop to keep players hunting for gear, but this does raise the issue of forcing players to dive into the raid sometimes dozens of times in order to reach max light level and find all available loot.
This is one thing that makes an initial blind run through a raid so much more rewarding than any other activity in the series. Getting through an activity like Deep Stone Crypt for the first time is less about farming for Destiny 2 raid loot and is more about just getting through the activity and beating the final boss. Every reward or drop picked up on the way is just icing on the cake for the final goal of winning, a mindset that instantly flips around after the first completion and even the top activity becomes more grinding.
When most people think about spoilers, things like the next Avengers movie or the major story beats of The Last of Us 2 come to mind, not the events that happen during a raid that have almost no accompanying dialogue or story descriptions. However, that isn't to say that Bungie doesn't absolutely knock the level design and grand moments out of the park when it comes to raids, especially in the case of the bosses and their surprising final forms. The final boss of Destiny 2's Last Wish raid for one was a huge surprise for a number of players, even with the hints leading up to the nature of Riven being an Ahamkara being littered around for attentive players.
Beyond lore reveals like Riven's boss fight, even boss introductions like Oryx in the original Destiny's King's Fall raid as his giant form rises from the edge of the Dreadnaught are incredible moments, best experienced for the first time while playing. The raids in general are all filled with these kind of experiences that really should be seen first hand in order for the intended weight of the moment to take proper effect. Of course, this doesn't mean that guides won't be a useful tool for players jumping in on their first attempt, but they really should be how players first learn their strategies for any raid activity.
There are plenty of ways for players to get tips and tricks on any activity in Destiny 2, and as a new raid launches every YouTuber, streamer, and guide site will be dropping new strategies as they become more and more fleshed out. Players can check reddit, watch Luminous' World First run of Deep Stone Crypt, or check some of their other favorites like our guides here at Game Rant, and there's really nothing wrong with that when clans need help. The difference though, is that even for clans of players who don't see themselves as pro-raiders or competitors for World First, shouldn't start looking at these guides right away.
Some big creators, like Datto or Kackis, will certainly have very in-depth guides that can be a huge help to struggling clans, and if a team is stuck on any one activity, then they should absolutely look for this kind of help. Using these guides to hone a strategy, or look at the raid from a new angle might be exactly what a clan needs to stop beating their heads against a wall. However, everyone looking to beat Deep Stone Crypt for the first time should do themselves a favor and start blind, only turning to guides on follow-up runs or when they hit a real wall.
Destiny 2: Beyond Light is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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