Bring a tiered shard system. For example you get the raid gear you want, you use it and evenually get the shards that you needed from the raids, like it used to be. (Yes more grindy but we'll have a reason to keep playing) Then bring back etheric light but have stages of it. Such as Etheric light(Uncommon) Then(Rare) then (Legendary) Slowly getting rarer to drop. Once you max out a piece of gear through shards and enrgy you use the corresponding level of etheric light and increase it to tier 2 and eventually 3. But in order to keep increasing it you have to keep maxing out the shards of the gear. Every time you use your etheric light you have to re max it out. But it will be more powerful. And slowly changing the armor appearance.