Okay, here is my suggestion for the struggle that it seems like we all go/went through. I would suggest saving your ascendant materials until you obtain raid gear. That being said, I would upgrade the first ascendant material upgrade for all your gear if you haven't done so already. Remember that when you break down your legendary gear, aside for the Queen's gear, you gain 2-3 ascendant shards. Therefore, you are not losing any shards and get a little higher level than you were in light then previously. Secondly, if you do the raid on hard and are a level 28, you better be with all 29's and 30's. Otherwise, you will struggle because the damage you take and damage you deal is much lower than a 29 and 30. Also, going through the raid on hard will inhibit you from gaining materials from the chests unless you haven't beaten the raid on Normal. So if you are not able to beat the bosses on hard, there is no point in attempting the raid on that difficulty. To answer your quest about having better chances of getting gear... The faster you pass through the raid on either difficulty and less wipes will give you the chance for the best gear. So find your team with the most experienced players who all don't rage when it's gets difficult and run through the raid on normal as fast as you can. If you have questions, just reply to this post and I will be my best to assist. GT Manwhichmuncher