How playing Destiny has helped me gain social skills

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I'm meant to write a blog about this but I was going to wait until I completed a few raids. It's not easy having social communication problems and having to communicate with 6 other people.

Anyway, I'll start.

I originally purchased Destiny because I thought it was a good way to get me into multiplayer games. I used to avoid playing co-op or against someone online because I thought it didn't interest me. Turns out it's a part of my social anxiety. When I started to play Destiny how anxious I was with other gamers around me became very clear to me. In Destiny especially the story missions or areas you do patrol missions, you are in there with other gamers, either playing the same mission or doing something completely different, but you share the map. You can only talk to people on your Fire Teams but you can communicate with other players using emoticons (waving, pointing, dancing). Lots of players choose to dance with each other. Even when just playing the game around other players I felt really nervous. Eventually, though I got used to it.

The game gets more social during strikes. You're usually match-made with two other players. I'm still rather slower than the other players. I like to hang back and shoot enemies then rush to join my team. I've learned about team work during these strikes. When one player is down you revive them. You can assist your team members instead of just killing whatever enemies you want. Players don't always chat in match-made strikes but sometimes they do. It just helps out a lot more when people warn you of nearby enemies and makes the game so much faster.

I asked for some help from experienced players through the groups and clans I joined. One player took me under his wing. When I first talked to him my voice was shakey and I was never really sure of what I should say, now though I see him as a mate (Aussie slang for buddy) and I'm confident to speak with him over chat and even his friend when we do tough Nightfall strikes together. You really have to communicate clearly to get through some of them. I've done a few of these strikes with other people and no longer am I nervous nor is my voice shakey. Sometimes when a new person comes in I do get a bit nervous but then I calm down as we work together as a team.

Raids are a whole different story. My first organised raid had me quickly rush to get 6 team mates, most of whom were kids. One teen just complained about the guns I used, how I was playing, and every time someone died. Two kids were best friends and were just chatting about stuff. At one point they were singing, which was very distracting as I couldn't follow what every one else was saying. I didn't really feel like a part of the team at all and felt the others got along with each other more.

Since then I've been invited to different parts of the raid but I'm not much help with only Ice Breaker and a handful of Legendaries that need to be upgraded. I still want to stay and level up as best I can. I just sometimes feel insecure about not having enough good guns or the best sense of direction and my mild dyspraxia that makes me feel like I have to break the controller to get the buttons to work.

I want to make a clan for people like me so I might be able to find people who have the same issues and we can finally have a place to vent and just release all our frustrations, and maybe raid with a group that understands my short comings.

The reason Destiny is so important to me is it helped me grow my social skills and develop any team working abilities at a time where I thought it was just impossible for me to do. So, it's not just a special interest but an occupational therapist. Something else about this game is it challenges me and I take on that challenge head-on. Usually when I get stuck in a game or think something is too hard I give up, but I won't allow myself to give up on any part of Destiny. I was once so rotten at the Crucible (PVP) but now I get some kills. I'm still not great by any means but practice makes perfect. It's probably why I hate to hear so many people hating on this game. It made me no longer be anxious to play multiplayer or chat to another player. I'm now used to American accents and I used to feel awkward around different accents. I don't why, it was just different.

So, in summary: little girl likes Destiny. Please join my Neuro-diverse clan called Neuroverse. PM me and I'll make it.

Thank you so much if you got through all of this.