Destiny and Division were naturally going to be compared. Despite their obvious differences, at their core, they both inhabit the same emerging genre - the RPGMMO style shooter. Loot based shooting games with experience based progression and open world exploration (pioneered by Borderlands). However, just as two players in the same position my have vastly different playing styles (Emmit Smith v Berry Sanders), these two games that are moving into the same genre have to very different ways of going about it. And will the Division affect Destiny? Let's see. I'm going to point out 3 distinct advantages of both games. Destiny Advantages: 1. Sci-fi/Fantasy - This gives Destiny almost limitless creative liberty in level design, enemy design, plot design, gear, characters. Name it. Weapon and enemy balancing is completely arbitrary. The only rule they have to follow is the rules they set for themselves in their own game. Still have to be followed, but still gives them a huge creative advantage over the Division which will struggle to keep things interesting as reality has very certain and very familiar boundaries that they will have to break very cautiously, or else risk making their game seem awkward. 2. Weapon and aesthetic design and retainability. Destiny's armor and weaponry is carefully crafted like masterwork. That give (or used to give) the game a reward system that is unlike Division or even Borderlands , where you'll get a legendary and it'll be obsolete in in the next 5 lvls. In Destiny, however, you've got it and you get to use it from that point on (till they nerf it or leave it behind the next year). I won't grind for loot in a game where I'll have to give up a legendary for a more powerful common, but that is a pit fall that Destiny most certainly avoided. 3. Fast paced action. This is only an advantage to some. This is a stylistic preference where Destiny and Division are most divergent. Destiny, for better or worse, encourages constant action and discourages (sometimes even punishes) tactical based combat. This is achieved with a high time to kill when playing at level and weapons that sound powerful. Supers that can deal huge amounts of damage, and a very finely integrated aim assist AND quick movement while aiming down sights (different from CoD, Borderlands and more along the veins of Halo). Combine all that with vast amounts of enemies and the game is designed to keep you moving, jumping, shooting and blowing things up. The level of excitement doesn't die in Destiny.....unless you've blown the same thing up a thousands times. Now lets look at the Divisions 1. Truly Open World - while the setting is realistic, it's a near 1:1 scale of New York. Dystopian and eerily empty except for the folk who couldn't make it out. The realism has the potential to make it very immersive, but the amount of exploration will be tremendous. The thrill of finding that back alley or that train car tucked away deep in the city where you might find good loot is always present. The game will reward players that explore vice Destiny's tendency to punish people for it, or at least leave them feeling empty for it. 2. True Progression/Customization - Opposite Destiny's finely tuned weapons, the Division will have the players constantly working to fine tune their load out with the next best thing. It will have to player constantly wanting to kill enemies to get their character to the next level to open that next perk. The progression system does not have to rely on time gates or cheap uses of RNG because you're constantly moving up and tweaking your character. This system is even better than Borderlands because you don't just get a gun to leave it, you get a gun to customize it. Eventually you'll have to leave it behind, but until then, you'll love it and mold it. You'll still have your attachments for the next awesome weapon. The Division also separates Armor and Clothing so that you don't have to sacrifice one or the other to get your look, AND it's third person so you always see what you've done to your character. The big disadvantage here is that it doesn't look like there will be huge variety and your backpack actually hinders seeing what difference there are. 3. True tactical combat - Much slower than Destiny, this is a preference thing. I like both styles, but The Division wants you to think tactically. You need to use cover. You need to know when to press your advantage and, unlike Destiny which punishes you for performing basic tactical maneuvers, this game rewards players who are smart enough to get the high ground, who are smarter than to let themselves get surrounded and who move to flank their enemies. The player movement slows down when aiming the weapon, so you can't just run and gun, you need to take cover and consider your movement. This does slow the combat down, and can LOOSELY be compared to difference between an action based RPG and a turn based RPG. It's a preference thing. I enjoy both. In the end, my prediction is that they coexist just fine. People that hated Destinyverse's confining repetitive structure that forces you to play their way may like the rules of the Divisionverse and want to play their way. People that love Destiny may not enjoy the Division right away or ever, especially if Destiny is their first love. But those of us with more experiences and maturity will be able to find enjoyment in both. The Division will be an excellent PvE game, but it definitely won't encroach on Destiny's PvP. Division's PvP still encourages PvE style play, just with the added tension that other human players may turn on you. They both have distinct advantages in the same genre and will likely come to a healthy dual king Sparta style existence. I look forward to what both have in the future and think that this could get very interesting.