Allow Players to filter their Vault
TLDR: Giving Destiny 2 players (especially new players) the ability to easily sort through the hundreds of weapons in their Vault (without needing third-party tools) will provide for a more successful and enjoyable play experience. Here is what that might look like.
Player collected weapons — and how well a player utilizes them across a wide variety of game situations and play scenarios — is one critical to player success (and enjoyment) in Destiny 2.
A good example of players needing to select weapons wisely are related to activity modifiers. Activity modifiers provide players with important information that should inform weapon selection. These modifiers include things like surges, overcharge weapon bonuses and champion types they will be facing.
Selecting weapons that align to these modifiers can be the difference between a an activity that is a fun, engaging success — or one that spirals into a desperate, frustrating disappointment for the a player (and, potentially, the rest of their fireteam).
Unfortunately the in-game Vault screen does not provide players with the ability to filter their weapons so they can easily find weapons that match the modifiers for any given activity.
A simple filtering capability for the in-game Vault would allow players to more easily select weapons better suited for a specific activity. Making better weapon choices and having more success would lead to more enjoyment playing the game. More enjoyment playing the game leads to longer playtime and, potentially, higher LTV (‘lifetime value’) of that player for Bungie.
The current vault system provides a simple sort functionality but no filtering. A player can sort their inventory using four options - Default, Newest, Quantity and Rarity.
Current Vault screen with Sort Toggle being selected.
While these are not unhelpful, simple filters in-game would help all players jumping into the vault. New players would benefit most from this update as they are the least familiar with the weapons they might have in the vault.
While I believe there is a place for third-party apps that assist with complicated things — I believe the game itself should provides basic filtering controls that allow as many people to stay engaged in the game and avoid the distraction of additional, separate screens and third-party apps.
I would recommend Bungie consider adding simple sorting available to the existing Vault page.
To limit resources required for this addition, I Bungie could leverage the existing UX interface already being used in the Fireteam Finder screens.
As applied to the Vault, this filtering functionality might look something like this for Weapons and Armor:
Proposed Vault filtering for Weapons.
Proposed Vault filtering for Armor.
I believe these filter options provide a good balance between simplicity and helpful functionality — covering 90% of scenarios for 90% of players 90% of the time.
Additionally, an option would be added to the Vault screen allowing players to access these new filtering options.
Again, to leverage existing design patterns across game screens and limit resources required for these additions, the Bungie team could leverage the existing UX interaction design elements already being used across various game screens.
One screen with existing filter access controls is the Fireteam Finder:
Current Fireteam Finder screen with filter control at top
Detail of filter control on Fireteam Finder
To increase further increase visibility and make filter access easier, I would recommend Bungie add a redundant, additional option at the bottom of the Vault screen.
For this additional way to access filters, Bungie could replicate the filter button option already used in the Eververse Store.
Current Store screen with Filter Archive option at bottom
Detail of Filter Archive option at bottom of Store screen
There will, of course, be some situations where players prefer (or need) to use a more sophisticated third-party tool, but the key point is that for most players — most of the time — the game itself should provide the tools for players to be successful, have the most fun, and stay engaged.
Proposed, update Vault screen with two ways to access filters (new side icon and bottom button prompt). I would also recommend deprioritizing the Companion Apps roll-over information and moving it to the bottom of the interface screen as the need of third-party tools for newer players will be reduced with when filtering functionality is added to the in-game Vault.
“It is absolutely crucial to identify what core activities you want to support so that you have a clear picture of what lies outside of that core.”