Warning: This is a LONG post: Raid Gear - These wonderful pieces of loot have caused a lot of controversy recently, mostly regarding their relevance in our arsenals as Bungie progresses in their 10-Year-Plan of our beloved universe. Prior to the release of Expansion 1- The Dark Below, Exotic Gear along with gear dropped from the Vault of Glass Raid was regarded as the best of the best; and rightfully so, as braving the Vault is no minor feat. However, as TDB dropped, the mighty gear we had earned from the Vault of Glass became obsolete. Although this was expected, no one expected it to happen how it did. Tower vendors were selling gear that made the armour of hardened VoG veterans like cheap plastic, allowing a newer player with hardly any experience of our world to quickly outrank our veteran Guardians. This was met by dismay from many Guardians, who believed that only Raid Gear from the present raid (Crota's End) should be able to outrank gear from the previous Raid. You should be at an advantage having gathered gear from the Vault, not at a disadvantage. The response was the same regarding weapons; those Mythoclasts, Fatebringers, Vision of Confluences etc, we had grinded for were now replaced with higher attack, more powerful weapons from the Vendors. Surely Raid Weapons should only be outclassed by Exotics and Raid Weapons of the next Raid, no? The Vex Mythoclast is actually a special case; it currently sits at 323 maximum attack, whilst ALL other exotic weapons (including Pre-TDB) now have a maximum attack of 331. Why Bungie have chosen to have one of most difficult to obtain Exotics in the game to be weaker than all other Exotics eludes and confuses me. Moving swiftly to the point, I believe that Raid Gear from all Raids should have relevance in a Guardians armoury; the best gear from only a month ago should not gather so much dust in my tightly packed Vault. [b]To solve this problem, I propose the following idea to Bungie: [u]1[/u]- As I hope you'd agree, Raid Gear is special. It isn't merely 'Legendary', as it is currently portrayed; there is a clear difference between ordinary Legendary Gear and Raid Gear. This leads me to ask, why not give Raid Gear its own rarity? [u]1.1[/u] - Giving Raid Gear its own rarity will allow players to easily distinguish between Raid Gear and ordinary Legendary Gear. [u]2[/u] - As new expansions are released, buff previous Raid Gear to just below new Raid Gear; players will still have to work to get the new best gear in the game but won't be outclassed by players using Vendor gear instead. You want to reward players for their time and commitment to your game, right? [u]2.1[/u] For example: House of Wolves is released, HoW Raid Gear has +42/45 Light (Lv34/35). Buff Crota's End Raid Gear to +39/42 Light (Lv33/34) and have Vendors sell +36/39 Light Gear (Lv32/33) to allow newer players into the Raid (I'm assuming the Normal Raid will be Lv32/33, Hard Mode being Lv35/36). I do not have confirmed information on the House of Wolves, but you can adjust accordingly. [u]2.2[/u] For weapons: House of Wolves is released, HoW Raid Weapons have ~362ATK. Buff Crota's End Raid Weapons to ~351ATK and have Vendors sell ~340ATK Weapons. Again, I do not have confirmed information on the House of Wolves, but you can adjust accordingly.[/b] This is just one of the ways in which we can keep Raid Gear relevant in Destiny. I believe that hours played, worked and grinded through should benefit players; although this game is largely built on randomisation, there are few things we can control. Bungie, I hope that you read this and that you take something away from it. No, I do not expect you to follow this word for word, but I would love a step in the right direction. I love this game and I believe that players and devs can work together to make it a better place for everyone. As for you, Guardian. Please answer the poll attached, and leave me your feedback on this matter. Also, free virtual cookie to those of you which help spread the word of this post, let's get Bungie to see this! [b]Please BUMP this post! [/b] Thank you all for reading, have a great day! Much Love TL;DR: Raid Gear should stay relevant in Destiny. I believe that Raid Gear shouldn't get outclassed by Vendor Gear at the release of an expansion, but only by next Raid Gear and Exotics. We should be at a slight advantage for having spent the effort grinding, gathering and upgrading previous Raid Gear.