With the launch of the Outbreak Perfected Zero Hour quest this week, the majority of the Destiny 2 community was extremely excited about the prospect and the fact that Bungie had come up with something as cool as the Whisper quest at long last once more. But there was also a familiar refrain. That once again, Bungie was leaving behind solo players, given that the final mission of the quest absolutely requires a team unless you’re one of the most talented Destiny players in the game.
If you’ve been following my Destiny work for the past several years, you’ll know that this used to be me. I have long been a champion of the solo player and a proponent of all activities getting matchmaking. I still do believe that Bungie should build solo activities and introduce matchmaking into more stuff, and yet I have evolved my thinking. Just because something in the game now requires a group that’s not automatically given to me, that shouldn’t make it impossible to complete. And one app changed my entire perspective on this issue, and I think it can help you as well, if you’re in that boat now.
It was the Whisper quest, actually, that pushed me over the edge. At that point I too was someone who rejected almost everything that required me to find a group out-of-game, outside of running new raids once or twice. I didn’t want to LFG, I didn’t want to use a mic, so I just didn’t do it.
But the Whisper quest…it was such a cool moment for the game, such a great mission, such a fantastic and powerful reward at the end. So I did what everyone had been telling me to do, I used the Bungie app.It may seem silly that my grand solution to what ails solo players is the official app for the game, but Bungie, at long last, has built in some rather excellent group finding tools that let you assemble fireteams, and you can do so, the vast majority of the time, without needing a mic, depending on the activitiy. In that sense, it works just like…normal matchmaking, and practically is just as fast sometimes.
The Bungie app lets you create a fireteam of any size, list it for any activity and post a title for any requirements. For new players, I recommend just making your own group and putting whatever you want as the title, rather than trying to fulfil someone else’s often hyper specific requirements. “No mic” is incidentally one of the most common qualifiers in postings. You sign in through your platform of choice and when people show up, you can either kick them, if they’re super below the recommended power for an activity, or invite them in-game with the press of a button. They’ll join your fireteam in orbit, and then you’re off to whatever activity you want to do.
While I still play Destiny solo 95% of the time, that other 5% has been some of my most important and memorable Destiny experiences that I would not have been able to have if I stayed fully in my solo shell. With the Bungie app, I have:
- Completed the Whisper and its catalyst runs
- Completed every Nightfall there is
- Completed the crazy Thorn strike for that quest
- Completed Escalation Protocol for the first time
- Completed the Shattered Throne dungeon
- Completed the Outbreak Prime quest and its first heroic catalyst run
And I did all of those without a mic.
Raids are a different story. Raids are still best done with an active clan, and while sure you can find groups on Bungie, that is one case where you’re going to need a mic and to work closely with your team. Not saying you shouldn’t also try to do this, but it may be something you need to ease into if you’ve been fully a solo player this entire time.
Bungie designs its best content for groups, that’s just how it is, and clearly they are not going to stop any time soon. While most of these activities could have matchmaking and get away with it, since they don’t, you should try the Bungie app and making your own group which is far easier and far less intimidating than you think it is, and in the end it works…pretty much just like matchmaking would.
Since the Whisper, I’ve done this regularly, and experienced some truly unforgettable content as a result. Don’t let all this pass you by.
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