Permanence was a big part of what kept me around in d2 during it's early stages. Until beyond light dropped, I STILL used things like scathelocke or on a joking basis single clap just because they were available and because I genuinely enjoyed those weapons. It didn't take away my desire to farm new gear, but rather brought to light just how insignificantly the game actually changed over the course of YEARS. So as time went on, I found that piece of shit arc logic (as an example), compared to the god gnawing hunger, was not going to be enough to tempt me into actually grinding the reward out. On it's own, it truthfully had no value because their shitty weapon design and infusion allowed me to use whatever I wanted to whenever I wanted to and I could pick and choose what I wanted to or didn't want to grind and wouldn't feel affected at all. I DID, however, grind out an arc logic to play around with because I was curious more than tempted, "it can't be THAT bad", I said to myself. I used it in crucible, sucked. I used it in pve, it sucked. It stat wise was inferior to most year 1 auto rifles and they had to REDUCE an obnoxious, purposely implemented visual effect just so people would stop feeling sick using it. Was this truly infusions fault that nobody cared to use other weapons, when the only data they had at the time was for weapons they made so mid that nobody wanted them? When seasons before they made super powerhouse godlike weapons? When they created guns...they decided to go forward and then way far back, leaving us with weapons that looked great but were overall lackluster so nobody but collectors (I'm one of them) even cared to give them the light of day. I wasn't JUST using older guns because they were stronger, they were also just better weapons in general. More useful element, better recoil, sexier design... What infusion did, was it created an expectation for players that the new set of guns would be better or at least different from what they already have. Some weapons are just so good no matter WHAT they made, it would have likely never been replaced because it was just too far ahead. But bungie's stubbornness to NOT TRY to replace other weapons lead to even greater player disinterest because they DIDN'T try until the final season where it was the last season of infusion. But we are into beyond light and...what has changed? I still use gnawing hunger, I still use dire promise, I still use outrageous fortune (or at least I did), and I still use almost exactly the same exotic weapons. Next season I'll be using [b]shadowprice[/b] (I think that's it's name) or PALINDROME. Shit from almost literally 6 years ago. And they are going to have the same average weapon stats...but with some of the new (meh) perks. So we don't get good new guns, but rather the same weapons we've got from years ago...and they wonder why people don't like sunsetting because NOW there is no excuse to continue pushing out average weapons. This season...had EASILY some of the most average weapons they've ever made. The raid weapons are visually awesome and they feel good...but they are pretty much carried by their raid perks and besides look...aren't anything too special either. BUT, if you want a kinetic slug shotgun or an energy rapid fire scout...guess what...because of sunsetting, those are truly your only options, when before you could be rolling around with a veist scout or a suros slug. We went from having TOO MANY options to TOO LITTLE. What was it...19 weapons in their 40$ expansion that were added...with some of those 19 being the season you have to also buy. With the season that literally took away HUNDREDS of options, while still using the same old guns, from early d2 that STILL to this day shit on the some of the new options? For all this talk of powercreep...it sure never really went anywhere. It took blatant misbalancing for some weapons to stand out and honestly that's just ridiculous. Them getting rid of infusion...so far, has not shown me any indication that they wish to crank up the power scale now that it retires over time. "Oh the raid weapons...," you mean the weapons that if they were d1 raid weapons...that their raid exclusive perk would have been BUILT INTO THEM? The raid weapons aren't ANYTHING special without their raid perk,(mechanically, not visually) and any one of us could easily do without them. And this raid...with some of the coolest weapon designs they've ever made...barely got 5 weapons, one of which is just a skin for swords that couldn't even get a raid perk of it's own. No auto, no side arm, no fusion rifle, no pulse rifle, no grenade launcher, no linear fusion, no bow and no smg. That was quite disappointing. "It's the first season of sunsetting, give them time," the season PRIOR to this one had better weapons...AND IT DIDN'T EVEN HAVE A DAMN RAID. Most of those fantastic rewards...were engram drops from stuff you could completely manipulate...or I guess mostly. "Oh they said they were gonna hire more people to create weapons," it only took them huge backlash from the lack of weapons to decide in a season of sunsetting to hire new people? Hm, don't know about you...but I'm pretty sure that's something you figure out AHEAD OF TIME. "But the virus," the virus doesn't stop them from considering the right choice of action before something is poorly implemented. Could it have hindered the ability to produce said content or weapons? Yeah of course it COULD have, but I do not think it was the viruses fault. It was them continuing their track record of "miscalculating" what the players want or need. I'm not saying they've gotta give us the good pinnacle weapons level of power for every weapon...but having non gives me no incentive to care. It just makes me compare them like I used to and and sit there uninterested. BUT, if I want to use a 720 rpm auto rifle...I've gotta wait from them to either give me a new one, or use that piece of crap they gave to us on europa...which has some of the most TEDIOUS and boring types of bounties to acquire. "Go do some patrols or kill some enemies, then go do the story missions OVER AND OVER." Ugh...I'm so disappointed. I like stasis as a new subclass and I think the story was quite interesting...but this game needs guns because it's about loot. The game went from FLOODING us with weapons and armor...to trickling them to us. I know Activision money and resources are gone...but nothing should be stopping them from hiring more people to make EVERYONE happy. The games potential is once again being squandered by stinginess.