[quote]Part of the reason I’m interested in getting it is being worried about being “blocked” from activities and or gear by not having it (I imagine I cannot play gambit or get Forsaken exotics / legendaries without the DLC?) and it’s likely that some of those weapons stay in the meta.[/quote] Missing forsaken legendaries and exotics but gambit is free now.

One of the Devs put in Twitter (Griffin Bennet) that annual pass content is free even without forsaken. All you're missing out on really is a lot of grind, a few guns like jotunn which you might not even get if you buy, id honestly wait till SK, play that and see how you feel then. Forsaken is a huge timesink, for little actual reward. Unlocking forges is really tedious and they're all being unlocked on Oct 1st, reckoning is horrible, gambit prime is meh, you're too low to raid, menagerie is ok, but not something you really need right now. If you have spare money, intend on playing all week etc then go for it, but honestly I'd wait until you've tried SK. Despite all the hype, not much is really changing the gameplay experience and you quit a year ago for a reason