So I have to ask. As a guy who bought the game day one and the 2 expansion pack but never played the second one and who was severely disappointed with the original game and expansion's lack of storyline and meaningless grindathon going through the same exact very few maps. Would you consider This new expansion to be worth $40? and would you recommend it to me? or should I wait for more expansions to come out/never bother getting them?
Disclaimer: I bought the Legendary Edition which is $60. The disc has The Taken King, the original Destiny and both expansions. To me, it was worth the extra $20 to have all the content on-disc. Secondly, because I am insane, I also purchased the limited edition PS4 system which has a hard copy in the box as well (I'm leaving it sealed). I don't know if it was because I bought the Legendary edition, but I received a one-time use item in the game that boosted my level 1 Titan instantly to level 30 (I believe it was 30, it may have been 25 but my brain is fried from lack of sleep right now).
With that out of the way, I have to say that this is what I hoped Destiny would have been from day one. You will revisit areas. You will still have your weekly raids, etc. But whereas I never reached level 30 in the original (and two expansions) because I refused to grind through raids in the vain hope of getting a piece of gear to raise my light level, I'm level 39 right now with about maybe 30 more minutes of playing before I hit the level cap of 40. You can level up and weapons and gear from common to exotic and raise your light level each time. I've gone from (example) level 30 to 31 just by leveling up my gauntlets after completing matches in the crucible. Crucible matches also frequently drop strange coins now. I've gathered up about a dozen in less than five hours of playing PVP. So with reaching level 40 an attainable goal without the endless grindathon that you and I both hate and easily acquiring strange coins, weekend visits to Xur Agent of Nine will probably be pretty cool now.
There is a lot more story this time around. Starting with a new Titan, I've been experiencing the story from the beginning. I've been sent on a secret mission by Cayde-6 (the Warlock council member), watched a spectacular cutscene of a battle in the rings of Saturn and been given more story in a few hours than I ever got out of playing the original release and it's two expansions for eight months. The Taken-while variations of enemies you already have faced-each have new attacks and abilities and are visually quite interesting IMO. Each class has a new story mission where you obtain a third ability branch. With the Titan, I now wield this flaming hammer that you can hurl at your enemies as your special. Think Thor. It's cool and adds something new to the game. I've watched (and been on the receiving end) of Hunters with a giant scimitar-like sword and Warlocks that glide across the ground with lightning attacks like the Emperor in Return of the Jedi.
You no longer need to return to the tower or Reef to turn in bounties and you can carry a buttload of them at once. Your main menu allows you to easily see what missions you are working on and turn in bounties. There are a ton of new options for your Ghost's appearance and each one has different light levels that help contribute to your overall light level.
I've really been enjoying the new Crucible maps. There is a lot of variety to them including one where you have huge areas that you have to double jump across, leaving you vulnerable to enemies on the ground. Whereas I didn't care for the new maps added with the House of Wolves and Dark Below, these are a lot of fun. One map is an abandoned version of the tower which is pretty cool. I'm quite pleased with what Bungie has been doing.
The Taken King is to me, more like the classic PC expansion packs like Brood War for StarCraft. It's not as big as the standalone original, but it's got a lot of content in it's own right. Would it be worth buying? I would recommend you look at online reviews from other gamers first because I would hate to say "YES! BUT IT!" and then you dislike it or feel indifferent and that you wasted your money. For me? I have been more than happy with what they have done and feel it is worth $40. And again, I opted to buy the Legendary Edition with all the content on-disc for an extra $20.
