The point of this post is that the token system should be removed from Base raids. Master raids can be fine with the token system and is actual endgame. Base raids should be basically entry level for the raid. While Master is for anyone that wants that harder version. Unfortunately, so many tryhards out there complained that base raids were too easy while ignoring Master and as such base raids got hit with an additional -5 power to make the experience that worse, especially for newer players trying to get into raiding.

The problem I have with this is that raids are intended to be challenging content from the start. If we lower the difficulty of the base game mode, then a core component of raids is taken away. The real problem here is that people are not willing to adapt and overcome obstacles. It’s easier to request something be made easier than to analyze the situation and improve. However, people will be happier if they actually overcome an obstacle. There are two types of enjoyment (that I can see) in video games: being proficient and mastering an aspect of a game (slaying out, doing something fast, etc) and overcoming challenges. This probably isn’t the best comparison, but why do you think Souls-likes are really popular? It’s because overcoming obstacles on your own merit actually feels good. If Souls-games were made easier for the sake of completion, they wouldn’t be as popular. And that is what makes raids great. Getting a group together to overcome harder obstacles is a moment where six people can feel accomplished. Removing difficulty would take away from that.

To go with your Souls-like comparison, I play Remnant 2 quite a bit. Before, doing a raid was basically doing a Veteran difficulty run back when we had raids like Leviathan or back in D1 for the base raid. Yes it was challenging, but there were harder difficulty tiers above that if people wanted. Hell, D1's hard mode was literally hardcore mode in Remnant where if you died, you are dead unless your team reaches a checkpoint. Unfortunately, Bungie listened to tryhards who said the base difficulty was too easy while blatantly ignoring the Master difficulty. As a result, Bungie not only goes through with nerfs that have been unreasonable alongside the idiotic decision to add -5 power to all base difficulty raids. Once Final Shape came out and added minus power to base raids, it basically became Apocalypse difficulty as the default and Master Raids is a tier above that. I can understand wanting to overcome a difficult challenge with friends and such, but the BASE difficulty should not have had the skill floor be raised because some tryhards were ignoring the actual skill ceiling that was already there. And yes, Remnant 2 has also had nerfs thrown in like the damage nerf to Enigma, but that was justified unlike the nerf to Well in D2 as even though Well was overused and frankly still is, enemies were not adjusted so Well feels like the only option forced upon at least 1 Warlock in the group. Too bad even then I have seen players with max resilience one-shot by things even back when it granted 40% DR and 100 health a second. As well, Bungie is honestly not the most rewarding company anymore as Master difficulty's only reward is a new coat of paint on the exact same gun. At that point it was literally just for the sake of a harder challenge, and yet tryhards still wanted the base difficulty to be the more difficult option for some stupid reason.

I forgot that they changed the power cap for raids. I honestly didn’t feel that much of difference after besides the surges issue they brought in. I think the problem is that power creep had made raids easier than ever leading into The Final Shape. Raids grew easier over time as we gained new weapons and abilities that made the game easier. Also, Root of Nightmares was by far the easiest raid ever put out in D2 (disregarding raid lairs), so they probably wanted to bring back the challenging feel to raids. I do agree that abilities like Well are made mandatory in such activities, but that won’t change unless there is some other way to easily gain passive healing and damage that Well so easily provides on demand. Raids were always meant to be challenging, and when that level of challenge is diminished by an evolving meta, they have to respond to keep that challenge. I don’t think they made raids harder. I think they brought them back in line with what they are supposed to be.

First on your point of the power cap thing, a lot of people have noticed the difference between before and after the -5 power system was introduced and there is a video on youtube (I forgot the channel name. I think it was shield something but I can't remember) that explains why it was a terrible addition to the game. For your point with Well, this kind of goes into your third point in that I've always felt metas are basically the problem. If you look at a game like Warframe, Hades/Hades 2, or Remnant, every weapon in those games is viable. Yes some may be better in certain situations, but that doesn't mean you are basically restricted to that setup. One example for me was the Root Doctor setup in Remnant 2. That build carried me through all of the game on Apocalypse difficulty as all I did was heal myself and my summons using Medic/Summoner, but then I reached a boss called Venom. He had 2 traits on him called Vicious (15% more damage) and Spiteful (up to 25% more damage based on how low his health is). I had the tankiest armor in the game and was able to tank hits like a black hole dropped right on top of me, but this floating glaive wielding plant thing was able to one-shot me. As such, I swapped to a skill setup with the Archon class and a second that I can't remember, so I could basically cosplay as a Stormcaller. Due to that ability's version of Ionic Blink, I was able to dodge around him and then electricute him with ease. The best part, Gunfire still gave buffs to architypes in the game and even added up to 3 new classes long after I beat that run on the hardest diffiuclty. All because they want players to have fun. Meanwhile Bungie just seems to want to make players take longer in activities to make their play time charts look good, so they nerf our damage, our healing, our DR, and even giving bosses like Riven a health increase on top of the -5 power crap. I get that raids are suppose to be challenging, but the base raid should not feel like you are playing on hard mode when that is the lowest difficulty. That is where Master raids come in. They put players at -20 power before Bungie added the -5 power to players and you were required to beat the challenge of each encounter in order to progress (I think. I'm not sure if that is just for getting the second chest from that encounter or not, but still). Unfortunately because Bungie only put Master in a rotation instead of allowing you to access it all the time and get bonus loot when it was the featured raid, you know like they did in D1 with the 390 raids back in Rise of Iron, people only played the base version, then complained it was too easy for basically no good reason. Hell, throw in this comparsion as well. Whisper and Zero Hour. Normal difficulty (which of course has you put at -10 like the expert version without telling you that because of course they wouldn't) has a 40 minute timer which is a decent amount of time, but thanks to the change at the end (mainly for Zero Hour. Seriously, screw that Brig), it takes longer while also having been made harder than it was before. Then you look at Expert and you get a 20 minute timer which a lot of people can't get through that quick compared to the small few that have. That is how the change of -5 power to base raids and dungeons feels as it just made those activities, that were already a slog to get through and most people not having that much time in their day to do, worse to play through and thus less and less people play them. Something like Leviathan was far more balanced with the rez token system in base as that was the first raid to have the new system and it was fine enough that you have 40% DR from Resilience back then and healing rifts and such actually had good healing. When it comes to the raids from D1 or even newer raids, the rez token system can feel like a detriment to something that could be more enjoyable, especially due to that timer that forces a wipe if you don't revive someone in time. Throw in the glitches as well within D2 and it takes away the point of the game. Yes there needs to be challenge, but the primary point of the game is the fun. Take away the fun, and less people will want to play, as evident by the massive loss in player count even before Salvation's Edge came out and the still dropping player base to this day.

You make good points, but I still want to ask the question: What would the solution to tokens be? There has always been some punishment for dying. Would you bring back the 30 second timer from D1 or some other solution? (Note that I don’t think there is a correct answer to this)