First off, yes, I know that everybody has an opinion and if opinions were water then we'd all be drowning. Secondly, yes, I know that hindsight is 20/20 but I didn't know what Bungie was doing with this game and it's story until all of you were made aware of it. Lastly... I dunno, I don't think I have a third point about what I'm about to type out. So hold your nose 'cause here it goes! Hello! Hi there. My name is Blitz Wolf. You might remember me from such posts as the fun parody song I did quite some time ago called "Bungie's Mess" and other posts that you have, almost assuredly, down-voted or even reported if not wholly ignored. Yes, that's me. And I'm here to share another thing that will likely fade into the background but I'm doing it anyway. And, yes, it is kind of a long read but I hope you like the ideas. ------------------------ [b]SPOILERS AHEAD![/b] ------------------------ As far as stories go, the one of Eramis and the betrayal of the Traveler and how she sought to do anything to have vengeance upon the Light was... Actually pretty good. I understood her motivation and how she gained loyal followers. What happened to the Eliksni that earned them the title of "Fallen." I did like how it ended, too, with Eramis essentially repeating the betrayal of another "great machine." Problem is, while we got a nice story that had a direct lead-in for the upcoming raid, we didn't expand upon House Darkness or the havoc they caused because... Well... They didn't do anything. What I would have done is created one main story around Eramis and her influence over Eliksni to build an unstoppable House Darkness to spread, well, the Darkness across the system. This would have included use of Europa, Nessus, the EDZ and the Cosmodrome with each location having its own story around one of the four Barons. You could go after them in any order you chose as each one is trying to recruit more Elksni to wield Darkness as well as developing new weapons to use in the fight against the Light. While I don't have the full-blown details of every-single-thing I would have done written down somewhere, here are the basic ideas to have worked with and then expanded upon... [b]~Europa: Praksis, the Technocrat.[/b] Instead of just going to a location on Europa, kill some Fallen, and go to a place to fight him, I would have built a side-story around what Praksis was actually trying to develop for Eramis and House Darkness. This would be a direct lead into the Stasis Grenade launcher as a reward at the end. This would also introduce a new Stasis Walker and Eliksni using Stasis powered armor and weapons for new abilities. These things we would see spread across the remaining system. Imagine being on Nessus and having a Glimmer Extraction or Ether Resupply and it's House Darkness using the new Walkers and/or armors and weapons? The idea behind this story would be shutting down the operations one step at a time. Destroying certain facilities and disrupting the supply chains established to transfer Stasis to these places. Planting bombs and hacking their systems until you finally discover the main lab. Big showdown with Praksis which would basically be the fight you had with him as I thought it was fine with the extra mechanic of taking down his shield generators. But you find his latest weapon, Salvation's Grip, still in its prototype state. Against the wishes of the Vanguard and even your own Ghost, you take it and bring it to the Drifter so he can help you upgrade it to its full potential. --Salvation's Grip change: In its prototype state, it does what it does currently. Firing Stasis to freeze enemies. But, beyond that, it's kinda pointless, isn't it? Working with the Drifter, you upgrade and modify it so that it always fires two shots. The first shot does the freezing Stasis, as normal, but the second, slightly delayed, shot will fire a powerful concussive grenade to shatter the crystals and send the shards flying both into whatever was frozen and beyond. The catalyst would then make the initial freezing zone larger and the secondary explosion have a larger radius. [b]~The Cosmodrome: Phylaks, the Warrior[/b] For this side-story, Phylaks is sent to the Cosmodrome to bring what remains of House Devils into the fold. Displaying the strength and power of Stasis. Perhaps we even witness him/her (honestly, I've never been clear with any of them of any species) killing their current Kell without hesitation using the Darkness to show how strong he's become. Working with Shaw (haha, yes, I know), we disrupt communications between Phylaks and Eramis to slow the progress of bringing more Eliksni into House Darkness; thus, isolating Phylaks as we take out his troops and Captains. This would have lead into a brand new Strike where we fight through House Devils to get to Phylaks for the showdown and end him and the efforts to bring the Devils to Europa and empower them with Stasis. Even still, we see the effects of the Darkness and the weapons/armors developed being used in the Cosmodrome but it's not as wide-spread as it is on Europa. [b]~EDZ: Kridis, Dark Priestess[/b] This would have a swerve to it. It would look like Kridis is in the EDZ to recruit more Fallen, much the same as Phylaks, but it's all a ruse. False promises to what they consider to be such a weak group of Fallen and they're not much more useful beyond cannon fodder. Each time we cut through the Eliksni she throws in our path, we get one step closer to discovering what she's really after. Trying to cover her tracks but leaving just enough behind for us to figure out... Kridis... Is going to the Shard of the Traveler. She's there to steal part of that shard still infused with the Light and bring it to Eramis where she can use Darkness and Stasis to manipulate and control Light to, ultimately, destroy it. It's an integral part of her plan and Eramis must know how to do this before she can attack the Traveler and the Tower. In our confrontation, we manage to destroy the shard Kridis was trying to take but, when she flees, she manages to grab a single piece of it still infused with Light. Feeling she failed her Kell, she runs. This would lead into the story of Kridis trying to resurrect Eramis after the main campaign. Trying to find a way to manipulate the Light, herself, with her own powers of Darkness and bring back her Kell. We don't know if they would have ever been successful in their efforts, either Eramis or Kridis, but we certainly cannot afford them the opportunity. [b]~Nessus: Atraks, the Wildcard (is this real?)[/b] Atraks is on the single-most Vex corrupted destination remaining. He would be there to steal the Vex tech and use it to gather as much Radiolarian Fluid as possible to send back to Europa. Once more, we're there to figure out what he's doing and put an end to it. Unfortunately, we really don't. Atraks and any Fallen on Nessus he's brought into the fold manage to transmit a lot of the Radiolaria through Vex portals and to the awaiting ones on Europa. This is how we find out about Clovis building the huge Vex portal there. After completing all side-stories of the Barons, we work with the Stranger to infiltrate the Glassway which simply means we unlock the Strike for Europa which would go just as it already does. We think Eramis and Atraks are trying to bring more Vex to Europa but learn that it was just the Radiolaria they were after and the channel down into the Crypt was beneath the Vex portal on Europa. Leaving Atraks to guard Eramis' ultimate plan down in the Crypt where we would eventually go in the raid. [b]~Big Change: Getting Stasis[/b] I would have made it so you unlock the basic Stasis powers early and use them throughout the campaign. With each Baron's side-story finished, the idea would be that time has passed and the Stranger, Drifter and Eris have learned something to show you to harness your powers and make them stronger. Unlocking new grenades and melees to mix around as you please. With Aspects and Fragments coming after the story. [b]~General Changes:[/b] On Europa, we would see powerful Captains wielding Stasis as well as almost all Fallen there using the weapons and armors developed with Stasis. Weapons that slow us down. Armors that give them overshields or flight. Stasis Walkers and the Brigs in the public events. Just litter it with these new Fallen. On other destinations, we would only see splinters of Fallen given the Stasis weapons and armors while any public events involving Fallen would be the primary source of them. But none of the Fallen on other destinations actually wield Darkness/Stasis powers. Just the tech. This would make old destinations feel updated and fresh while keeping Europa ultimately unique with encounters. In addition, after completing the main campaign, getting the prototype for Salvation's Grip, we don't destroy the lab but, instead, it would be the new location for the Stranger. Eris would remain down in the Beyond and Variks would stay in his place; unlocking a third fast-travel point at the top of the map, making it easier to get to and explore that location. It's in the lab that we introduce new weapons to forge built from the research of Clovis Bray. Just new legendaries to add to the loot pool that we can go back to and forge repeatedly to try and get that "god roll" once a week per blueprint discovered. Perhaps capping at a total of three weapons to forge per week. This could also be used for new exotics using Stasis as they're added over the course of the year. Tangled Shore and Dreaming City would remain untouched aside from the Hive corruption that would introduce Wrathborn. But I would actually have Wrathborn roaming these places and being involved in both "high value target" random spawns and public events, where possible. Just enough to feel like they've also updated to be more fresh like the "ever-evolving world."