If one day we have a hall of fame for shooters, there is no doubt that Destiny 2 will own a place there. This game too good to find a new replacement for that brings the exact same experience.
That being said, an MMO shooter with a grindy gameplay is not that rare. Of course, none of them are as popular and well-known as Destiny 2, but they still share some important gameplay elements with Bungie’s hit shooter, and it’s not bragging if we say that do better than Destiny 2 in certain parts.
Witchfire
Joyful Gunplay And Creative Weapon Design
- Game State: Playable in Early Access
- Platforms: PC
- Price: $40
- Singleplayer-only
If gunplay is what you like the most about Destiny 2, then rest assured that you will get the same joy from Witchfire’s satisfying combat, thanks to its magnificent weapon design.
Unlike Destiny 2, Witchfire is a single-player experience, but it shares a similar gameplay loop with Destiny 2 as players will have to fight with different enemies and bosses in different regions to make progress, submit better records, and unlock new items.
Character build is pretty important in Witchfire, and similar to Destiny 2, you can equip some special abilities, which are spells in this case. This combination makes the gunplay in Witchfire feel very close to that of Destiny 2 with a quite similar flow.
Remember that Witchfire is still in development and will definitely not be as content-rich as Destiny 2. Also, the game is currently only available via Epic Games Launcher.
Helldivers 2
Slay Alien Races And Take Back Planets
- Game State: Final version available
- Platforms: PS5 and PC
- Price: $40
- Content updates are free
Helldivers 2 is not a first-person shooter, that’s for sure, but we still can’t deny some of the important gameplay similarities it has with Destiny 2.
The gameplay loop in Helldivers 2 is about completing a variety of missions solely or with friends as you fight against alien races. There are different objectives, there are bosses, and there is chaos in each mission.
The overall progression is quite fun as every squad’s contribution counts in the final fate of the battle. If you win, you have helped humans to put one step forward; if you lose, aliens may end up conquering humans’ home planet and winning the war.
Making progress in your loadout and grinding for better gears or upgrading the existing ones is another big similarity between Destiny 2 and Helldivers 2.
Fallout 76
Excellent RPG Elements With Massive World
- Game State: Final version available
- Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC
- Price: $40
- Content updates are free
Fallout 76 is an open-world MMORPG at its core with a switchable camera perspective, but at the end of the day, you will find the first-person view more suitable in combat, and you will shoot with a variety of different guns. So, it indeed has a lot of similarities with Destiny 2.
If you enjoy all the trial-and-error with character builds in Destiny 2, then prepare yourself for something even deeper, as Fallout 76 excels at being an RPG. There are so many skills and modifiers to try out, and you will have a pretty long road to grind for all the good items, weapons, and upgrades.
Unlike Destiny 2, Fallout 76 is placed in a single open-world universe, and it offers base-building too. You may not find that joyful gunplay of Destiny 2 here, but if you are looking to get lost in a massive world, then Fallout 76 can keep you entertained for a few months, at least.
Deep Rock Galactic
Explore Dungeons, Gather Resources, And Extract
- Game State: Final version available
- Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC
- Price: $30
- Content updates are free
Deep Rock Galactic offers a combination of dungeon crawling and extraction missions. Your main job is to head down inside a cave with the squad, explore the area for valuable minerals, and then return to the pod to extract. But it’s easier said than done, as all those stages are filled with action-packed moments where you need to kill swarms of mutated creatures.
Similar to Destiny 2, Deep Rock Galactic has a class system, as each class comes with some special abilities and a customizable loadout, which is pretty important to upgrade over time.
It is a game about grinding, and you will find it fun if you enjoy repeating dungeons and raids in Destiny 2, though don’t expect puzzle-based or platformer objectives here.
Borderlands 3
Grind For The Biggest Loot Pool Ever Seen
- Game State: Final version available
- Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC
- Price: $60
- Features 2 paid season passes with extra content
Destiny 2 players are known for having a thick skin against tiny drop rates and repeating a mission multiple times to get a certain weapon with a certain roll. If that’s why you keep playing Destiny 2, then don’t sleep on Borderlands 3.
All iterations of the Borderlands series are known for their massive loot pool, but Borderlands 3 takes it to the next level with the gigantic amount of weapons and items that are available to loot.
Instead of rolls, Borderlands 3 offers rarities, and higher rarities bring better stats. So, you will always have something to grind for in this game unless you have played it for months day and night.
While the visuals in Borderlands 3 might be a little bit unique, the gunplay is pretty fun, though it might not be similar to Destiny 2. The build system is also deep and huge, with a lot of factors to consider to create a meta build for your character.
Once Human
Survival-Based MMO With PvE And PvP
- Game State: Playable in Early Access
- Platforms: PC
- Price: Free
- Content updates are free
Once Human is also an MMO, where players get to explore a single massive world. The gameplay loop has players complete mission objectives, defeat bosses, and then unlock new regions.
In between, grinding resources and crafting new weapons and armor is important to keep yourself high-level enough to challenge AI-controlled enemies.
Base building is also a thing in Once Human, as you can build your home the way you want. Also, players will need to keep an eye on some survival factors like hunger and hydration.
The Division 2
Rewarding Missions With Addictive Gameplay Loop
- Game State: Final version available
- Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC
- Price: $40
- Features 1 paid expansion but seasonal updates are free
Despite being a third-person shooter, The Division 2 has a gameplay flow that is quite similar to that of Destiny 2. As players make progress in the game, they gain access to higher-level weapons and gear.
The character builds might not be as deep as that of Destiny 2, but The Division 2 still delivers rewarding missions and challenging bosses, that make players feel that sense of progression.
While The Division 2 has only received one expansion since its launch, the seasonal updates that bring new challenges or reactive some older events and missions are free.
The First Descendant
Destiny-Inspired World With Heroes Instead Of Classes
- Game State: Final version available
- Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC
- Price: Free
- Content updates are free
The First Descendant is a true Destiny-inspired shooter experience that replaces character classes with heroes. Except for the camera perspective, there are so many similarities between Destiny 2 and The First Descendant in other gameplay aspects.
The First Descendant features different regions, which come with multiple sections, and they are pretty identical to the planets in Destiny 2. Each section in The First Descendant features some mission objectives that will remind you of Destiny 2’s Patrols and Public Events.
Once you complete the campaign objectives for each region, you will also get to explore a dungeon with multiple mini-bosses and one major boss in the end. Once players tackle that too, they can unlock the fight against a new major boss, which will drop the most valuable loot.
Similar to Destiny 2, there are multiple difficulty levels to fight major bosses, and it doesn’t require you to grind for better mods and weapons to increase your level and become strong enough to play major boss missions at higher difficulties.
The character build system is also quite similar to Destiny 2, as players get to add different mods to each weapon, while also applying enhancement mods to the character as a whole. Also, each hero comes with four special abilities that make it feel a bit like League of Legends.
Warframe
Completely Free And Content-Rich Shooter MMO
- Game State: Final version available
- Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC
- Price: Free
- Content updates are free
Warframe is probably the ultimate replacement for Destiny 2 which comes with a far less greedy monetization method and offers a pretty content-rich experience with a lot to grind for.
The world-building of Warframe is quite similar to Destiny 2. You have multiple regions to explore similar to Destiny 2, but the maps are bigger in Warframe. Also, it features traversal vehicles similar to Sparrows that make exploration faster.
Content updates in Warframe are free, and you don’t have to pay for expansions to gain access to new regions, missions, or campaign quests.
Warframe also features a deep character build system that is tied to Frames, which is a hero-based approach more like that of The First Descendant, as each Frame comes with a set of unique weapons and abilities.
So, if you want to spend less – almost nothing – and still have fun in a game like Destiny 2, there is nothing to stop you from playing Warframe unless you are too obsessed with the first-person perspective of Destiny 2.
