But people played back then. I built my friends list from playing Y1 destiny. Everyone was on daily. Very rarely do any of them play destiny now. Y1 had problems but the grind was worth it back then.

Yeah the player base was bigger but I think that had more to do with it being new than the game itself being better.

Or people, like myself, and most people I played with, liked Y1 better. Yes, the game needed improvement like vault space, etc, but people were willing to grind back then. It's not worth it now. What is amazing about the game now? What is the weapon or armor that you just "gotta have" now? Nothing, nothing is worth grinding for anymore. The game is watered down, bland, lacking the flavor it had in Y1.

Or just maybe it's that you have everything now and there is nothing left to grind for. A new player coming in now has way more to strive for than we had in Year one. Year two brought infusion which is way better than how leveling worked in year one, they fixed many of the cheeses and encouraged people to engage with the game instead of camping in a corner or a room etc and they brought variety to the meta in terms of weapons, both in PvE and PvP. And swords.. swords was a great addition.

I'm lacking lots of gear, each year I lost more interest. I don't see anybody with anything I "gotta have" anymore. Y1 you would get your head busted by a gun that made you say "wow, I gotta get that". Then you find out where they got it and the grind began. When you finally get it, after many hours or days of grinding, you got to enjoy "the payoff". Now, everything feels the same. Nothing is special. Nothing is worth grinding for. No reason to play. Y1 held more people's interest because everyone had things they "had to have". They added a lot, and fixed many issues, but they lost what held much of their player base. Theirs a reason not as many people play anymore.

All games lose player base over the lifecycle of a game. Destiny still has one of the largest player bases of any console game and it's 2 and a half years old. No game, no matter how good, will continue to hold the interest of the entire player base indefinitely. As for stuff to grind for what about Void Drinker? Many consider it a must have weapon, especially for the raid. People grind strikes endlessly for a God roll Imago Loop or crucible for that perfect Eyasluna. Then there's the new raid exotic pulse rifle which is not only a decent weapon but has the most interesting process to date to earn it, the heavy fusion rifle from year 2, the Touch of Malice which became a requirement for fighting Oryx in many raid groups. Add to that the year 3 Iron Banner weapons, which include the best pulse rifle in the game. The armour has got better, the iron lords artifacts have added a new paradigm to your build and something else that people can grind for. These are all things added after year one that players have sought after as must haves.

I understand what you're saying. None of that is the same as Y1. None of it is special or worth "grinding" for. Everything I've played for since Y2, I've been disappointed with. TOM is cool, for one very specific task, but nothing else. OP has a cool process to get but, what for? What good is it? We can go back and forth forever.. I want to like destiny again, that's why I get on here. I'm hoping to see a post where the people that favor Y1 have something to be excited about again. But, nope, not yet. I see they keep watering it down. Y1 favorers seem to prefer hard work for great rewards, not simple ways that everybody can get everything. We enjoy pushing through being sent to orbit numerous times to get "that gun" that most people don't have the perseverance to get.

We just have different definitions of special then. Year one was pure RNG, I wouldn't call that hard work, it was just luck. Getting good with Last word to finish the Chaperone quest was hard work, and it was totally worth it, because it's one of the best pvp weapons in the game that rewards a skilled hand. Of course the RNG grind still exists alongside the quests, I'm still hunting for that God roll Imago Loop and Eyasluna. There was a lot of good things about year one, 2 raids in one year plus the introduction of PoE. Lots of new stuff to do. In that respect it was better, but I think moving to more direct paths to more of the weapons was a good move, and they added a bunch of new weapons that are better and unique from what we saw in year one. Anyways, I don't expect this to change your mind or anything but that's how I see it. Have a great night.