I've spent hundreds and hundreds of hours on this game; but like you, I got it for free.

A year ago, when Forsaken was released, they gave out the base game of Destiny 2 for free. I picked it up, thinking, "a free game shouldn't hurt." I'd heard of its failures so long ago, and now I was wondering how the sequel had done. I came in, half-expecting a bloody mess of microtransactions and good core gameplay plagued by crap writing and an overall failure of direction.

Oh, boy, was I wrong.

I only had access to the base game experience - the experience that many people loathed, that they said was empty. But even then I found hundreds of hours of enjoyment out of the miserable base game experience. I finished the first raid - the only raid I had access to - with a good bunch of DLC players who were willing to lead this new player on what probably was the greatest co-operative experience in any video game to date. It was crazy! This wasn't what I expected; this was so much better.

Then, they gave out the Curse of Osiris and Warmind DLCs for free when the Season of Opulence came out, and suddenly I spent myself sinking a bit too many hours into the game.

Kinderguardians, you are lucky beyond your knowledge. Appreciate it. You enter an incredibly well-made game approaching the peak of its life cycle; matured, well-defined, and now finally having a creative direction, thanks to the incredible people at Bungie. Us Guardians never had that in the past, and we never had a guarantee that the game would get better. But we stuck by it, and it stuck by us. Now, you have the Black Armory Forges for free, the Menagerie and Reckoning for free, all the Patrol Locations for free, the Gambit gamemode for free, Annual Pass drops for free - so many things. You have no more barriers now. You're free to experience the entirety of Year 1, and sample the incredible experiences that is Year 2 - and, henceforth, Year 3.

I still dearly remember my first two clanmates; TofuBoy and Mirage. I hope they come back soon, even though I've found a new home in a new clan. It's this sense of community that keeps the game going strong, and it's what drives Bungie to make the game better, too. Enjoy yourselves; in the chaotic mess of the Crucible, in the hard challenges of the Raids, in the heartwrenching competition that is Gambit, the Vanguard Strikes (which, I admit, needs fixing ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥), and in all the other activities that each bring their own to the game. In days of peace or in days of ♥♥♥♥♥♥ patches and new OP exotics, enjoy yourself.

We are Guardians. We make our own Destiny.

Eyes up.

I've spent hundreds and hundreds of hours on this game; but like you, I got it for free. A year ago, when Forsaken was released, they gave out the base game of Destiny 2 for free. I picked it up, thinking, "a free game shouldn't hurt." I'd heard of its failures so long ago, and now I was wondering how the sequel had done. I came in, half-expecting a bloody mess of microtransactions and good core gameplay plagued by crap writing and an overall failure of direction. Oh, boy, was I wrong. I only had access to the base game experience - the experience that many people loathed, that they said was empty. But even then I found hundreds of hours of enjoyment out of the miserable base game experience. I finished the first raid - the only raid I had access to - with a good bunch of DLC players who were willing to lead this new player on what probably was the greatest co-operative experience in any video game to date. It was crazy! This wasn't what I expected; this was so much better. Then, they gave out the Curse of Osiris and Warmind DLCs for free when the Season of Opulence came out, and suddenly I spent myself sinking a bit too many hours into the game. Kinderguardians, you are lucky beyond your knowledge. Appreciate it. You enter an incredibly well-made game approaching the peak of its life cycle; matured, well-defined, and now finally having a creative direction, thanks to the incredible people at Bungie. Us Guardians never had that in the past, and we never had a guarantee that the game would get better. But we stuck by it, and it stuck by us. Now, you have the Black Armory Forges for free, the Menagerie and Reckoning for free, all the Patrol Locations for free, the Gambit gamemode for free, Annual Pass drops for free - so many things. You have no more barriers now. You're free to experience the entirety of Year 1, and sample the incredible experiences that is Year 2 - and, henceforth, Year 3. I still dearly remember my first two clanmates; TofuBoy and Mirage. I hope they come back soon, even though I've found a new home in a new clan. It's this sense of community that keeps the game going strong, and it's what drives Bungie to make the game better, too. Enjoy yourselves; in the chaotic mess of the Crucible, in the hard challenges of the Raids, in the heartwrenching competition that is Gambit, the Vanguard Strikes (which, I admit, needs fixing goddamnit), and in all the other activities that each bring their own to the game. In days of peace or in days of shitty patches and new OP exotics, enjoy yourself. We are Guardians. We make our own Destiny. Eyes up.