The First Curse
There’s a brilliance, a wealth of knowledge and insight to uncover within video games and its industry—be it innovative design, creative development, groundbreaking storytelling, new technologies, or the complexity of reward systems and achievements implemented for players—that are entirely overlooked (usually because “gaming” is written off as mere entertainment, or, considered a juvenile distraction). This oversight is unfortunate. Nevertheless, to illustrate such untold wisdom, I want to disclose how a single weapon in a game called, Destiny, revealed a profound secret to living more effectively and successfully in life.
Some time after The Taken King expansion released for Destiny back in 2016, I unlocked an exotic quest called, Imprecation, exclusively granted by Banshee-44 (everyone’s beloved gunsmith at the tower). Little did I know the difficulties that awaited me; Not in completing the quest, but rather, in using the exotic weapon rewarded for doing so.
The First Curse is an exotic hand cannon weapon; A slow, yet powerful double-action revolver. There was even a cool spinning animation (the classic western gunslinger draw) your character performed whenever it was equipped. The gun hit like a tank…if you could nail precision shots. But precision hits required patience, timing, and anticipation skills. The First Curse was a quintessential “high-risk, high-reward” weapon. When first acquiring it, I was stoked to try it out. However, when I did, I was immediately met with complete frustration.
The First Curse didn’t fire fast enough, it took forever to reload, and one of its exotic perks seemed useless: “Instant reload upon first precision kill, which also grants increased range and stability until the next reload.” Unfortunately, my character was dying more than anything else. I simply couldn’t figure out how to wield The First Curse effectively no matter what I tried. It left me utterly disappointed. I wondered if anyone else struggled to use this hard-to-get rare weapon. Quick research revealed I wasn’t alone. Many people echoed similar frustration.
Why would Destiny have such a lengthy difficult quest to then reward me with something that only gets me killed? What was the logic surrounding this gun? Eventually, I found the answer I was looking for. And it radically changed the way I perceived the weapon, the game…and life.
You see, I thought using The First Curse outright was going to simply net me great results. All I had to do was aim and pull the trigger, right? Evidently, it proved to be a grossly flawed approach. Unlike most weapons in the Destiny—where you can mostly just select a weapon and “Run & Gun” with it, The First Curse demanded something entirely different.
Destiny is multilayered game. Aside from being a first-person shooter, there are classes, sub-classes, armor builds, artifacts, weapon builds and mods—all customizable to your liking. “Builds” have become a vital component for players whenever considering which game mode and/or objectives to engage in (such as Gambit, Strikes, Raids, PVP, etc.) And it was this realization that The First Curse needed to be approached as.
Sometimes in order to evolve, you have to conform yourself around something instead of forcing that something to conform to you.
The First Curse didn’t fit any of my preexisting preferred builds; I had to create an entirely new one around the weapon. It couldn’t be what I was comfortable using or advantageous with. Consequently, the new changes felt like I had to “relearn” the game. I needed to adapt an entirely new playing style. One that required me to perform how The First Curse wanted. Up until that point, no other gun in the game demanded this of me. However, the results were unbelievable. My efficiency and K/D ratio surged. I became strangely dominant…by playing less aggressive and more timely. Destiny’s fun-factor skyrocketed. I couldn’t help but fall in love with the nuances of this new gameplay style. And a deep appreciation for both The First Curse and Destiny boomed.
How many times do we frustrate ourselves because something we have or engage with doesn’t fit our expectation of performance?
What if we’re executing key decisions in life inaccurately or inadequately? We recognize there isn’t a “one size fits all” build for everyone and everything everywhere, yet we often fall prey to oversimplifications when it comes to building success. And it’s because we innately desire familiarity, comfort. We stick to what we know, or, has granted previous success. However, stratagem is rarely elementary nor ever uncomplicated (Subsequently, particular results can never be replicated by another). Every contributing element retains their own uniqueness and approach; These ought to be respected and recognized respectfully. Think of a toddler attempting to fit the square block into the round hole. No matter how hard they try, it never goes through. Why would we attempt the same as adults?
Effective progress requires an audit of every influencing factor on a granular level. Study the microcosm, its divergence. If you expect one application to work all the same for everything across the board, you’ll only be met with ongoing frustration and ultimately failure. Effectiveness and efficiency demands a variety of different “builds.” Adapting new and diverse pathways only improves your success rate in life.
I encourage you to re-examine your performance under a magnifying lens. Evaluate the details. You’ll inevitably uncover ways to optimize yourself though adaptation. Don’t be afraid to explore unlikely options either. It may very well be catalyst for next level productivity.
We all desire to be the best version of ourselves, and actively improve. But there are subtractions by additions. You can’t expect results if you’re trying to solve your problems with what created them to begin with.