The "Bonus Focus" rewards system, in its current state, is very grindy and spirits-breaking. In the current system, when a specific loot drop is shown over an activity, players may have "a chance" (unspecific) to earn a specific piece of loot. In quick, bite-sized activities (solo ops in particular), this isn't a major issue, especially since across all PVE activities, players can adjust the challenges they will face in the activity. Even still, in Pinnacle Ops (and sometimes in Fireteam Ops), the activities are long enough that a [i]chance[/i] for one drop of a specific piece of loot is inconsistent with the time and effort that players put into the activity (especially at more challenging difficulties). This also assumes that the player receives the advertised loot at ALL, and when the player doesn't, it feels extremely grating in these longer activities. In Crucible Ops, this problem is greatly exacerbated. The player has no control over the challenge of the activity, has no visual indicator of their score (and if they've reached the threshold for a [i]chance[/i] to receive the advertised loot), and plays in more high-energy, high-stress, and often more frustrating activities. To repeatedly grind an activity in which the difficulty level is inconsistent only to receive minimal drops of the advertised loot is the most obvious and frustrating room for improvement of the new loot system. To be blunt, it makes the player feel as though they're repeatedly slamming their head against a brick wall. In brief, adding more random elements to a game that already has [i]many[/i] random elements to loot drops makes the game feel more grindy, more frustrating, and more inconsistent than it otherwise would. Whereas the fun of looter shooters at their core is in unexpected, surprise drops of powerful gear, this system in contrast feels as though we are promised a specific reward and cheated when the reward fails to appear, sometimes for hours on end. [b]Below are some potential solutions to the problems listed in addition to a couple minor issues:[/b] 1) Visually, the system implies a guaranteed drop of the shown reward: the player sees the icon of the weapon or armor and completes the activity with the expectation of that loot upon completion. If the chances of receiving the promised reward aren't increased, then it should be made more immediately clear that the drop isn't guaranteed. This is especially egregious compared to the "bonus drops," which appear less significant, even if receiving MORE loot would feel more rewarding than a chance to receive SPECIFIC loot. 2) Mechanically, the sporadic randomness of what loot is available on any given day also feels less than engaging. For example, the player probably isn't particularly compelled to run a Solo Ops activity when the "chance" drop is ANOTHER piece of armor with mediocre set bonuses, especially when drops of said armor are so common otherwise. This pattern might continue for days on end before an enticing reward appears. This, I don't particularly have a solution for, except that more specificity in [i]what[/i] is available[i] when[/i] would be welcome. 3) At the very least, the chances to receive the advertised rewards should be GREATLY increased, if not outright guaranteed. Perhaps the elements of randomness could come from the TIERS of the weapon/armor instead, if the weapon/armor itself is guaranteed? In a game where even good weapons can function sub-optimally (due to an added layer of randomness via perk rolls), one would hope to have a higher frequency than is currently available to received advertised weapons or armor, exacerbated by the less than enticing rewards that show up more often. [u]This is the most obvious and most egregious issue of the current system. [/u] - Edit: 3A: Since its first iteration with Into The Light, I've praised weapon attunement as a FANTASTIC system for putting RNG into the player's hands and making the game feel more rewarding and exciting. Something along these lines would be very, very, very welcome. 4) In longer activities like some Fireteam Ops but specifically all Pinnacle Ops, at [i]least [/i] one drop of the advertised loot should be available to the player upon completion, if not more than one given that these activities have multiple reward chests. 5) In Crucible Ops, the scoring system needs more fine-tuning to account for players that vastly outperform the rest of the lobby. This shouldn't come at a DETRIMENT to the outpeforming player (in the conversation of "should we reward lower-performing players more for their participation" or "should we reward very high-performing players for their success," I say "por que no los dos?"), but rather skill disparities should not come at a detriment to player score for those in 2nd-12th place. 6) Also in Crucible Ops, there should be some visualization of player's score as the activity progresses so they know how well they are doing and what rewards they can expect. If this isn't a surprise in all other Ops activities, it shouldn't be a surprise here, either. Again, it currently feels like an additional layer of randomness in a game already built around it. These are glaring issues with the current rewards system that should be identified and fixed. Elements of randomness should be slightly diminished, and players should get to feel more in control of the rewards they receive, in addition to removing negative elements of surprise in what rewards they receive and what volume those rewards will drop at. Thank you!