I have thought about this for awhile now and although i initially hated the idea and the thought of it, i have realized its not the system. Its the implementation. First off, on monday when exotic shards were released everyone and their brother started breaking down exotics they had to finish leveling guns. This is fine except that the information we got 2 days later let us all know this was pointless. We could have waited til this coming week and not have to buy another 2 shards. Poor performance on Bungies part. When a change this big is going into place release all the info at once in the future. Pretty much anyone who did this wasted mats and it easily could have been avoided… Whateve,r i can live with this though. Second, the reason everyone including myself is pissed is because we have been here from the beginning leveling these guns and armor with our time, materials, and glimmer. In the end the last 3 months have been spent getting gear and leveling it to be where it is. Thats the reason we play,plain and simple. Maybe every now and then you go into the tower and kick the ball around and chicken dance in a big group but in the end everything we do in the game is for this purpose. Now as it stands you are telling all these people who were here from day one, or close to it, that have leveled multiple exotics that some new guy can technically be in the same league just because they found an exotic after the update and went to xur.THIS is what bothers people. Now as i see it i can live with the new system but at the very least you have to make the people who have put the time and effort into your game not feel like it was for nothing. EDIT: Below question answered. so as it stands starting dec 9. People who find any pre dlc exotic will receive a version that is already at base damage 302. In order to upgrade this it will cost them the xp for each bubble,glimmer for each bubble, and ONE exotic shard….. People who have these same exotics maxed now.. It will have costed them 1) xp,per bubble,glimmer per bubble, and either ascendent shards/or exotic shard(depending when it was maxed) THEN 2)an exotic shard and 7k glimmer JUST TO MAKE IT UPGRADEABLE..THEN!! haha 3)xp per bubble,glimmer per bubble, and another exotic shard.. post dlc cost =1 exotic shard, glimmer and xp per bubble pre dlc MAXED=well say 3 exotic shards to make it easy,7k glimmer, and 2xglimmer and xp per bubble *Slow Clap for the collective hive mind at bungie we call our development team* EDIT- Oh yes i totally forgot that up until about a week ago we also had to hand pick all the raw materials on each planet as well!!! ANSWERED(Before i list the ways i think this could be fixed i need to know an answer to this question first.. Will existing exotics that have been in the game since day one, now drop at the upgraded levels? Or will they still drop with the same stats as before and need to be upgraded by xur?) This is an important question for multiple reasons and i hope you get a chance to answer it. One way to fix the exotic situation which in my opinion is the least favorable, and also it would be dependent on the question above. This option would be that in order to upgrade existing exotics they would need to be fully leveled in the first place. Even though this sucks it would not make the people who spent their time leveling all their exotic guns and armor feel it was for nothing. Everyone would still be on an even playing field, just the people who have been here and put forth the effort would be ahead of the game.Rightfully so. The second option would be that if you have a fully leveled exotic and you go to upgrade it, simply give back the frigin materials! Thats why everyone is pissed. Why can someone give a brand new unupgraded exotic and for the same price be where someone who spent hours and mats? It doesn't make sense and I'm sure if you sit there deej, and think about it you can see why. it'd be nice to get everything back but at the sake of being reasonable and because the system has changed, give back the glimmer spent and an exotic shard. Simple ,and i bet if people who are complaining saw this they would be fine with the new system.Again its not the system its how you guys implemented it. Third and probably my choice would be. If someone has a fully upgraded exotic to upgrade the initial fee of an exotic shard and 7k glimmer (a little high anyway with the given cap) is waived. This would be bungie recognizing the effort and time and rewarding its player base for the effort. You would still have to level the gun after and spend the last shard but the work all these people have put into the game for the last 3 months would not be such a slap in the face. It gives players a small edge who have put in the hours but it doesn't handicap any new players from reaching the same goal. I really hope you can post some feedback deej. none of these change the way the game is played or give anyone an unfair advantage. Honestly with a development team i can't believe it wasn't implemented in one of these ways from the beginning. If it was i think this entire outcry from the community would have been minimal at best. In the future think this stuff through, no ones asking for an unfair advantage, they just don't want their efforts to be for nothing. Any opinions are welcome