Between the release of Rise of Iron this month and the recent rumors from Kotaku about Destiny 2, I’ve been thinking a lot about the next installment in Bungie’s sci-fi fantasy hybrid shooter. While we are guaranteed to get more aliens to shoot, more awesome weapons to shoot them with, and more locations to shoot them in, I’ve got a few other items on my wish list for Destiny 2.

The Ship

Destiny Ships

Your ship in Destiny is little more than an avatar during matchmaking and loading screens that looks cool in front of beautiful orbital views of planets. And while a space ship shouldn’t have much influence on a game that emphasizes shooting things, adding more utility and customization to Destiny’s ships would certainly be welcome.

Shaders and decals are obvious cosmetic items to change the look of a ship, but what about class-specific designs? Legendary ships should have slightly different appearances depending on the class you are playing. Hunters should have more sensors and weapons on their rigs. Titans should pilot bulkier and more armored spacecraft. Warlock vessels should have unique particle effects and strange artifacts that radiate with mysterious energy.

We should be able to customize our ship's faster than light tunnel.

We should be able to customize our ship’s faster than light tunnel.

And since a lot of your ship time is spent in faster-than-light loading screens (which you should be able to move around in, of course) why not let us customize the style of the FTL tunnel that our ship travels through? Let me equip my ship with an Imperial drive, turning the loading screen into the hyperspace tunnel from Star Wars. Give us Warp drive technology straight from Star Trek. Or perhaps I’m feeling nostalgic and want to use slipstream technology from Bungie’s former series Halo.

The outside of the ships have potential for a ton of customization. The inside has even more potential. Our space vessels should be social spaces of their own. Whether it is grimoire libraries to read up on the lore you’ve unlocked, trophy rooms to put all that obsolete raid gear in, or classy ballrooms to throw a sweet dance party, our ship interiors should offer fun mini spaces for us to call our own in the massive solar system.

The World(s)

Destiny Worlds

Speaking of solar system, Destiny 2’s worlds should be much bigger and more detailed than the first game. In fact, they should be very different. By the time Destiny 2 has rolled around we’ve seen the Traveler begin to heal from the corruption of the Black Garden, the Vault of Glass has been cleansed of Atheon’s shadow, a Hive god and his son have been slain, the most dangerous Fallen house of all time was squelched, and an ancient nano machine plague was destroyed.

New power struggles should introduce new threats.

The current state of Destiny’s universe is much different from when it was when our Ghosts first brought us back from death to wield the Traveler’s light. Destiny 2 should reflect that. Colonies should be returning across Earth and beyond. Merchants and trade centers should be peppered across the once uninhabitable solar system. Fleets should be patrolling the borders of the new frontier.

In this new age of expansion and optimism should come a new threat, as the Darkness is sure to put us back in our place. The Cabal Empire is no doubt turning its attention to us now. Oryx’s sisters will seek revenge and also seek the vacuum of power we created when he slayed him. The Fallen must be tempted to invade the Reef since the Queen of the Awoken and her fleet were wiped out. And with the destruction of the Heart of the Black Garden and Atheon, there is no telling what dark secrets the Vex will find next.

No doubt Destiny 2 will have new locations to explore, but the universe should reflect the massive events our Guardians were apart of in the first years of our journey to become legend.

Our Guardians

Guardians

I don’t think our Guardians need much more in terms of their cosmetics. Between emblems, armor shaders, chroma, exotic weapon skins, and emotes, there isn’t a whole lot to be desired in the sequel.

Instead, the additions to Guardian customization should really focus on gameplay and interaction. To be frank, the tabletop RPG gamer in me wants to see racial perks in Destiny 2. Humans, Awoken, Exo, and any other playable race they might add should have subtle lore-appropriate racial perks.

Faction Leaders

Factions should treat Guardians differently depending on attributes in and out of a player’s control.

Race could also have static bonuses to your character’s stats. The metal-clad Exo should could have bonuses to strength. The mysterious Awoken could have a bonus to intelligence or discipline. Humans might have a smaller bonus, but can be changed at any point in the game to reflect their versatility and adaptability.

Race should affect how other characters and factions treat you. While the factions don’t have any official bias towards or against certain races, each faction rep in the Tower is of a different race and it isn’t out of the realm of possibility that they would favor certain races or classes over others.

If the Destiny expansions are any indication, Destiny 2 will have some pretty major changes. What would you like to see in the next Destiny game? Let us know in the comments.