A player's incentive. Why I, as a player, spent the time that I did into Destiny.
Not gonna lie, I picked up Destiny a bit late. I started playing the game within Dark Below due to the marketing that Bungie has very little control of; The fact that I had friends that were tied to the game. So, I started playing the base game, and within three days I completed the base story and was well on my way to buy the Season Pass for the DLC due to how good it felt to progress. I completed almost everything the game had to offer - including DLC, but excluding raids - in the first two weeks and had reached level 27, and yet I still ended up putting 3 hours a day on average for the year to come, and here's why:
The story, as far as I saw it, was just the introduction to what the game focused on, the end-game. It gradually put forth how it was layered as it seeped into more depth. For example, the subclasses were something you started working towards from the start of the game. It started simple as it moved to more complexity over time whilst immediately giving you an incentive to continue the story and introducing you to the commitment you'd soon have to have towards weapons and armor in the end-game.
The end-game seemed built to sustain and make long-lasting friendships and relationships. It put forth a reason for people to spend time together whilst working toward common goals. And since story could not apply that alone (cause there'd be no goals after completion), nor could end-game introduce the player-base alone (cause then we'd feel overwhelmed by decisions we know nothing of); this 'divide' resulted in what many called a lack of content, Bungie had to make the most of what they had, make it replayable whilst also giving a reason to play.
Now, I'm going to talk about progression. The story was just the tip of the iceberg so that even when you completed it, you knew you didn't see all of it. You still had a subclass that you didn't see the end of as well as having a whole other subclass. This alone was compelling enough to play further, given that you enjoyed what you had in the subclasses thus far. This kept me busy and gave the feeling that my time was valued. Every bounty I did, every daily/weekly I did, amounted to something that, in the end, would show my commitment to the items I had in the game. And this time spent didn't come unrewarding. It gave me an opportunity to find gear and weapons I was comfortable with and allowed me to define myself. The decisions I made were critical in the sense that I couldn't recover what I had used in the process at a drop of a hat. The game was completely straightforward from the start, the point that I had to make a decision and commit to it. Be it class, subclass, weapons, or gear, it was the stages leading up to the max light level that made you feel different from the rest, then, once you reached that point it felt as if you truly belonged, both in the game and within the community.
So, by now you might ask, what does this have to do with Destiny 2. The point being, Destiny 2 doesn't have this. By the time you complete the story, your subclass is probably maxed out and within a week you can have all your subclasses maxed out. And after that, leveling and progression just don't seem fun anymore. You'll be forced out of the loadout you might have set up for yourself when you get a higher light level item of a different type. Meaning that you're pretty much just thrown a bunch of items to experiment with until you reach the power (light) cap. Thus, I only start working towards defining my loadout once I reach that cap. But still, anything you get you can just swap to, and instantly experience all it has to offer. Thus, it seems like there's nothing to dedicate your time to aside from weekly milestones, weapon quests, and Lost Prophecies - and note that none of these things include the items you have. Anything that one would have to work toward before is done by the time you get it. The only form of progression in the game is through masterwork cores, and just maaybe mods. It's just that I don't feel like I'm involved with anything in the end-game. That the weapons, armor, exotics, and subclass I use is only that: I use it. It's no longer an extension of myself, my person. It feels as if I'm not playing a part in my own progression, up to the point where I'm only doing it, I'm not living it anymore...
Now, I know I'm probably gonna get downvoted, and some might say I'm hypercritical because I'm playing Destiny 2 at the moment. But back in December, 2014, this game gave me purpose and I've considered it home since. Now I play, with my only incentive being in preparation for this game to be like that from which it started, or maybe even better. And as much as this post will carry little to no influence, I still want to play a role, and have a purpose, whether it is in the game, or making an attempt to be heard...