D.U.C.T.: More Applied Schema Theory in ‘Destiny 2’

A while back, I wrote about how Destiny 2’s Duality dungeon utilized schema theory to help guide guardians through the activity’s mechanics. Schema Theory, in essence, is the idea that our brain organizes information in a series of relational models, and we use the schema to try to interpret information. When you’re driving a rental car, using a public library’s computer, solving a math equation you’ve never seen before, you access your brain’s schema to help navigate the new, but still familiar, experience. Schema lets us relate things to other things, and on occasion sometimes we try to force a schema where one doesn’t really exist. For example, throughout the duration of the Destiny franchise, there’s been a call for more defined roles akin to the Holy Trinity of MMORPG of DPS/Tank/Support. 

However, the nature of Destiny from its gameplay and encounter design do not lend themselves to these hard and steady roles like a traditional MMORPG or even hero shooters since the shared world shooter is ostensibly designed to be able to be completed with any combination of class/subclass composition. That said, one of the notable features of schema is that it can be modified to meet the actualities of the circumstances, and after several years and a lot of Grandmaster Nightfall content, I have cultivated what I have come to refer to as the D.U.C.T. schema, or Damage/Utility/Control Trinity. Whether intentionally or inadvertently, Destiny 2 has incentivized team building…