Think about it; what logical game company would take an entire year's worth of content (from a game that seems to pride itself on it's breadth of content, mind you), and invalidate it in one fell swoop? [b]On the PvE side-[/b] [i]If[/i] Year 1 gear was left behind, what reasons would new players have to play Crota's End? What about VoG? Let's be honest, as fun as the Raids can be, the vast majority of players wouldn't touch them if the rewards weren't viable. Even if you ignore the significance of generic Vanguard/Crucible gear, you [i]CANNOT[/i] deny the importance of Raids to the longevity of Destiny, and you can bet your butt Bungie won't, either. [b]On the PvP side-[/b] The only events where level matters are [i]also[/i] the only events that give out Endgame-equivalent gear. These events are obviously going to continue to exist in Destiny's future, and the rewards therein would also logically scale to future level caps. As such, It would be strange if Bungie didn't have upgrade paths for gear earned through those avenues, as that would only serve to invalidate all the effort players put in to earn them, which would kinda ruin their status as "Trophy" weapons/armor. Imagine if your beloved 'Adept' weapons from Trials had to be re-earned? [i]NO THANKS.[/i] And I think it would piss off, or at least alienate a large portion of the playerbase if only [i]specific[/i] gear from each DLC era was upgradable, for obvious reasons, so it seems safe to assume that, if "Endgame" gear from both PvE and PvP will be upgradable (and I think it will, as I've attempted to show above), then ALL gear would, as well. Just my Two Cents. :P It'd be nice if Bungie would just let us know what's going on, though. I get that TTK is still heavily in development, but even just a small comment on their intentions would be nice. :S [b]EDIT-[/b] People keep making WoW comparisons, but I don't think the two games are even comparable- [quote]In WOW, old gear might become outdated for [i]max-level[/i] players, but [i]very much unlike Destiny[/i], new players still have to level up through every previous level-cap, so older gear doesn't become [i]obsolete[/i], it simply retains it natural placement in the progression of the game, for ALL players. In Destiny, however, players can reach close to max-level without EVER touching any of the older content, given the way Vendor/Crucible gear is designed. Therefore, if old content gets left behind, it becomes [i]completely obsolete[/i] for the entire player base, ESPECIALLY new players. That sounds like the worst marketing plan EVER, as far as advertising to new players goes.[/quote] [b]EDIT 2-[/b] People are also bringing up the issue of getting people to chase new gear in future DLC (which Bungie is obviously concerned with). Well, I obviously can't speak for everyone, but I ascended all of my favorite Vanilla/TDB gear within the first week of HoW. And you know what? [i]I still wanted the new gear![/i] Bungie did a great job of making the new HoW gear desirable, both cosmetically and functionally (DAT OSIRIS GEAR, THO), and that alone made me want them. It had NOTHING to do with them making my old gear outdated, and I think that's exactly how they should continue to design this game. As long as new gear is [i]different[/i], I think people will want it, regardless of whether or not it's "better." :) [b]EDIT 3-[/b] After reading the newest Weekly Update, I'm even more convinced that Bungie should- and [i]will[/i]- continue to let older gear be upgraded. The new direction that weapons are going in is incredibly refreshing and new, very much distinct from the current gear set. Regardless of whether or not these new weapons have any damage increase over current gear, the new foundry archetypes are going to create a massive draw for serious and casual players, alike.