As far as armor builds go, it seems they want you to develope multiple sets of armor to swap back and forth during game play. I find the thought of building multiple sets of specialized armor for each character and subclass unappealing to sy the least.

This is all caused by Bungie trying to be clever, by attempting to introduce a "new style" game into an existing one, and by spending as little amount of money as possible, and we're suffering for it. No subtle changes here, overhaul loot stats and play style, so the grind will be longer and put on cruise control, oh and, we'll fiddle the numbers so players think they're getting better stuff by adding tiers, and to make sure, we'll put all the best stuff on Kepler so only paying players will get the exotic stuff. And to make [i][b]absolutely [/b][/i]sure, we'll reset it just when players just about reach the level to get the high tier stuff. Meanwhile, back at HQ, some poor staff member has to sort through a record number of bugs and technical issues and prioritise the ones that give players a bit of an advantage so they can be fixed first. After all the work that Bungie have put in to make sure the grind is as slow as possible, the last thing they want is for players to get a leg up and power up too quickly. Everything is broken. Armour stats are wrong. Weapon damage is wrong.(Even the damage stats on the firing range don't add up) A spinning ball that does nothing apart from make people feel sick. Players on consoles having their games crash. A raid that was so tough, 70% of the clears had to revert to cheating. So it's not clever to [b]TRY [/b]to be clever. They've had a firm foundation for a great game for 10 years. All it needed was an annual make over with a couple of new strikes, new crucible maps, a dungeon, a raid, and a new set of loot to chase. Many players have been asking for a Destiny 3, and instead, they've tried to squeeze a budget version into D2 and it just hasn't worked.

Good read. I was personally fed up with the seasonal system for years now but i could atleast still get some enjoyment out of it. It still felt like Destiny to me. The Edge of Fate on the other hand felt like i paid 100 bucks for 6 hours of "new" content (which also was 90 % reused assets of cut content). I NEVER before in the history of this franchise put down the game the day after the launch of an expansion. There is literally zero things to do and by zero, i mean it. Everything post campaign is "grind old activities for number go higher". Thats it. And the destiny community is not that type of audience. So yea if this expansion isnt the famous final nail in the coffin, i dont know anymore. This makes curse of osiris seem like a masterpiece to me if i'm being honest. Atleast that DLC was fun to play while it had no content. This one on the other hand made it so everything got worse, more tedious, more "Difficult", less time respecting and more boring. A downgrade in all departments. The entire game got downgraded. Maybe to push sales for marathon? I dont know.

Thank you for the post. I am a long time player and I completely agree with you. Edge of Fate was a horrible product. Bungie should be ashamed. They pushed away the core players and the game has unfortunately lost its fun.

This was a cash grab, plain and simple. They cooked up a scheme to use parts of other planets/planetoids, destination materials, etc ..and came up with "Kepler". It's disgraceful to think they could get away with this again. The power reset, new exotics being locked behind 14 step "Legendary campaign" (again)...all to slow down gameplay and keep you logged in. And grinding the SAME OLD DESTINATIONS was the last straw.

This is the worst state this game has ever been in. These recent decisions caused bungie to start digging their own grave.

Yep, no personal agency. The worst part, they claim that they've been working toward the complete opposite.

I bought, then asked for a refund. This entire expansion seems aimed at one thing, player engagement hours key permance indicator (KPI). Why do I think this? I've played for years and this expansion is a step too far in engagement hours KPI. It requires you to grind for 100s hours to be able to access tier 5 gear, then they reset you back down every 6 months, so you have to grind again to gain access? You have to use latest gear every season for extra damage and resistance? I have a family, I have a life outside D2. Don't farm me for time every 6 months for me to be able to START the gear grind I want with the tier 5s... then not let me use them next season... it's a joke. Greed gone too far. The same behaviour is present in exotic catalysts, that was too much for me already last season, light grind is an insane choice from every angle... except... if your main aim is to farm players for their time. So if the problem is the game exploits players, why is it like this? If I asked 5 whys to get to root cause I'd need to ask Bungie, but hypothetically it could be the below... Players exploited purely for their time at expense of enjoyment... why.?.. bad game design forces players to spend 100s of hours with no reward... why?.... engagement metric / key performance indicator (KPI) needs to be green? (players are the livestock/resource)... why.?... Bungie pay incentives are based on this KPI/? why?... that's what shareholders care about and no customer/player focused KPIs? Root cause = missing customer focussed metrics / KPIs. e.g. feedback ratings, enjoyment feedback, surveys... KPI priority order should change to CUSTOMERS (PLAYERS) --> EMPLOYEES --> SHAREHOLDERS in terms of KPIs. Don't start and stop with shareholders. Root cause = wrong KPIs Action to fix = Add customer KPI as top priority and link to Bungie employee incentives? Just ideas and theory. Hopefully our time is more respected in the future as players. I want to grind for gear, I don't want to grind 100s hours to be ALLOWED to grind the gear I want (tier 5), with my progress reset every 6 months and forced to use loadouts I don't want to use.

Have you actually played much this expansion? [quote]Forced Specialization & The Death of Balanced Builds: The Issue: My previous build allowed for a nuanced, balanced stat spread[/quote] You can still use all your old armor..in everything but avant guard and the pvp event - If you don't want to specalize a build, then don't... [quote]No Over-leveling & Perpetual "Annoying Difficulty":[/quote] You can over level now though, which you couldn't in TFS. My kids hated TFS and lightfall b/c they added a -5 modifier and they could no longer over level. If you're choosing that be prepetually under level and at a negative delta..that's on you. Sure,there are some activities that lock you under still such as legend campaign-fabled missions etc but thats a choice you make... [quote] Any progress made in the new, unrewarding grind is explicitly temporary, with a power reset (down to level 200) planned every 6 months.[/quote] Agreed, they should reset the power with an expansion, not mid DLC.

[quote]Like many long-term Guardians, I'm incredibly frustrated and demoralized by the fundamental changes introduced with Edge of Fate. What was once a deeply engaging hobby built on player agency and rewarding progression has been replaced by systems that feel actively detrimental to core gameplay loops. This isn't just a "nerf" to our characters; it's a nerf to fun and the very reasons many of us have invested thousands of hours and dollars into Destiny 2. Here are my primary concerns, and why I believe these changes are overwhelmingly detrimental: Forced Specialization & The Death of Balanced Builds: The Issue: My previous build allowed for a nuanced, balanced stat spread (e.g., 107 Health, 105 Grenade, 103 Super, with solid Melee, Weapons, and Class stats). The new Armor 3.0 archetype system forces hyper-specialization, making it virtually impossible to achieve anything close to a balanced stat distribution. Every armor piece now spikes two stats, leaving others cripplingly low. My preference for versatility is completely undermined. Impact on Gameplay: This is detrimental. It eliminates a core aspect of buildcrafting for many, reducing creative character customization to a rigid "archetype-matching" exercise. It forces players into less adaptable playstyles and makes Guardians feel objectively weaker and less effective overall, losing the satisfying sense of control and adaptability that prior builds offered. Matchmaking Removal & The End of Casual Social Play: The Issue: The near-complete removal of matchmaking from most activities, leaving only one or two options, effectively isolates players. While Fireteam Finder exists, it's not a replacement for the casual, low-friction social interaction of immediate matchmaking. Impact on Gameplay: This is detrimental. Destiny 2 has always thrived as a shared-world experience. Stripping matchmaking breaks down casual social engagement, introduces significant friction for playing with others (time commitment, social anxiety, LFG requirements), and forces many players to play alone, diminishing the game's community aspect and sense of belonging. It makes the game feel far less accessible for quick, drop-in social sessions. Unrewarding Grind & Lack of Meaningful Progression: The Issue: I'm effectively forced to abandon my meticulously crafted old gear because new content demands the new, often lower-specced equipment. The path to obtaining "Tier 5" buildcrafting-worthy gear is a projected 90+ hour grind that yields functionally inferior items for a significant portion of that time. Even then, the gear will follow the restrictive archetype system. Impact on Gameplay: This is detrimental. It invalidates past effort, creates a "hamster wheel" where initial effort feels unrewarded, and removes any immediate satisfaction from playing. If the process of acquiring gear is a soul-crushing chore, players lose their motivation to engage with the game at all. No Over-leveling & Perpetual "Annoying Difficulty": The Issue: The design choice to keep enemies always 20 or 50 levels above players (or simply make content immune to over-leveling) means the traditional RPG power fantasy of working hard to eventually "smash" content is gone. End-game activities will always feel "annoyingly difficult." Impact on Gameplay: This is detrimental. It removes the critical aspirational goal and sense of progression that fuels the grind in many games. If effort doesn't translate into a tangible feeling of increased power and mastery over content, the entire gameplay loop loses its purpose. It robs players of the satisfaction that comes from overcoming challenges through earned strength. Seasonal Resets & Zero Long-Term Investment: The Issue: Any progress made in the new, unrewarding grind is explicitly temporary, with a power reset (down to level 200) planned every 6 months. Impact on Gameplay: This is detrimental. It signals that player investment has a built-in expiry date, undermining any motivation for long-term engagement or character building. Why commit hundreds of hours to a build that will be effectively reset? It fosters a sense of apathy and disrespect for player time. Conclusion: Taken individually, some of these changes might be debatable, but collectively, they paint a picture of a game that has fundamentally shifted away from what made it a compelling hobby for many of us. When past investment is invalidated, buildcrafting freedom is curtailed, social play is restricted, the grind is unrewarding, and the ultimate power fantasy is removed, there's little left to play for. My hobby, as I knew and loved it, feels effectively gone, replaced by systems that prioritize artificial engagement over genuine player satisfaction and fun.[/quote] I earned 150 exotic armors( not including class items) and my artiface masterworked and +3 them and that's gone ripped away to useless in the new health and what even is weapon one for anyway? I couldn't even keep playing for any time after seeing my hard earned gear made obsolete. I saw accounts like mine selling for big bucks 6 months ago,wonder what it's worth now? They can have it for nothing.

Tbh. I agree, I feel like im getting no where in leveling and in nearly 1.5 weeks of farming...ive only hit 60 power from 200. They need to either increase the step we get from focusing power OR they need to make the power worth the investment aside from tier 5. I think its stupid that we have to get 450 power to even have the possibility of tier 5.

Well said.

I dunno, fun enough for this old boy to build craft and maybe get together with some folks on a dungeon. BUT there is no way I’m going to attempt the raid - just does not look fun at all no matter what the Tubers and Streamers say.