I have a Patron of Lost Causes.
It has:
Vorpal/Opening Shot
Rapid Hit
Flared Magwell
Polygonal Rifling
Reload Masterwork
This scout works great in PvP, and in some PvE activities. I thoroughly enjoy using it. At the moment, on my main character, it is the only scout that I carry.
It's not perfect, it's not OP. It's just an item that I acquired, that I like to use.
If there was a new seasonal scout that had similar perk options. I would not keep any roll that was close to this particular one. But just because I like THIS one. That does not mean that I wouldn't farm for a DIFFERENT roll on the "new" scout.
Now what if there was a Seraph scout? IDENTICAL to the Patron that I like, except for the ability to generate Warmind Cells. You are damn right I am farming for that one. And I might even farm for the EXACT same roll. Why?
Because it is "better"? "More powerful"? No.
I would farm for it because I KNOW what I like. And the "new" scout not only ticks that box, but it also ADDS something that my old one doesn't have.
Do I feel cheated because they are essentially the same? No. I don't have to farm the new scout. I don't HAVE to get the exact same roll(I already have my scout that I like).
But I can CHOOSE to do so if I want.
Now skip to this time next year. Same scenario. Except my Patron is now below the level cap. So using it in any activity that is light dependent, puts me at a disadvantage. New seasonal activity 20 levels above it's cap, if I CHOOSE to use it, I am hurting my bottom line when it comes to power.
But, here we are, with a "new" scout. It too does something akin to the Seraph weapons. Something cool, that I think will be useful. So I am going to farm it regardless. And I get one.
Identical to my Patron, and it's imaginary Seraph counterpart. What did I gain? How is this a benefit to me as the player? Should I be happy that RNG allows me to use more or less the same weapon I loved in the first place?
And let's say, there is no equivalent. The new scout can't get the same perks. So now I am just supposed to be happy that something I enjoyed using no longer exists for all intents and purposes?
Again, how does that benefit me, the player. Random rolled guns, generally do not upset game balance to such an extent as to need adjustment. This is one of the criticisms of the current system. If you have one Outlaw/Kill Clip 450 AR, you pretty much have them all.
So then, what is the point in sun-setting? To make space for something "new"? How "new"? How different? What if I built my loadout around a perk combination, over time, tweaked everything just the way I like it. Am I just SOL? Start over?
Why?
So that the game doesn't get stale? Who decided when it is stale? Bungie? The community? What if I am perfectly content to use my good ole Patron with Vorpal and Rapid Hit. Feels just as good in a year as it does today.
What is my incentive to chase "new" loot? Knowing that it could be a while before I find what I want. Knowing that every month that goes by, brings it closer to being put out to pasture.
What if I am running Sundial a month before the Dawn Sunset time limit expires(remember seasonal activities are going to perpetuate), and I get the PERFECT Breachlight. How good does that feel?
Knowing I have less than a month at maximum utility? How happy am I for getting that perfect roll?
The bottom line here is that Destiny 2 already made me care a lot less about gear and farming than I did in D1. The idea of putting a time limit on my day to day gear, only makes me care less.
**Edit**
Explain to me how sun-setting our RANDOM rolled gear solves the mythical "power creep". Explain how that inspires "better" loot.
Do that and I'll gladly ride the retirement train into the sunset.
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[quote] So then, what is the point in sun-setting? To make space for something "new"? How "new"? How different? What if I built my loadout around a perk combination, over time, tweaked everything just the way I like it. Am I just SOL? Start over? Why? What is my incentive to chase "new" loot? Knowing that it could be a while before I find what I want. Knowing that every month that goes by, brings it closer to being put out to pasture. [/quote] Armor 1.0: I had multiple specific builds for my Hunter, Titan, and Warlock designed around abilities, exotics, and weapon load outs. Had whole sets with different shaders based on void, solar, and arc. Auto rifle builds, hand cannon builds, scout rifle builds, all with corresponding armor mods. I could easily build armor geared for specific load outs and supers based on each subclass. Armor 2.0: I could no longer play, maintain, and upgrade all three classes due to insane RNG on armor. I basically quit playing Hunter and Warlock and only focused on my Titan. Prior to that, I always kept all three classes within a few levels of each other. Some weapons are farmable but armor not so much. Finally brought up all three classes to a point but now I do not have multiple builds for each subclass...I have ONE build per whole class built not around weapons or abilities but mostly around Recovery or Resilience because my armor rolls are so terrible. Gone are the elemental shader themes as I now choose one shader color for each class as the only thing that changes on my armor is what exotic piece I select per subclass. I have somewhat recently switched to just playing my void Warlock and finally have an “okay” build based on my Astrocyte Verse helmet. Sunsetting my weapons is hard because it is difficult to get good rolls for a lot of weapons. Sunsetting my armor is just wrong because what little progress I have made to get to this level will be scraped because Bungie cannot make content for both in-game loot (cosmetics) AND Eververse. I know people are exited about transmog but that just means Bungie has even less incentive to create new stuff because they know some players will be “satisfied” with just having the ability to use old gear as ornaments. And with the statement about earning or BUYING transmog, I do not feel too confident that the odds will be tipped in the player’s favor. Nobody set this schedule or content delivery method for Bungie. They chose it themselves. They chose to deliver only endgame content going forward and perpetually raising the light level. They design the seasons around very specific builds and weapon load outs and restrict choice through lack of seasonal mods on exotics and rigid weapon choices. All this to control when and how players can successfully engage the newest content. I use to love playing different content in Destiny because good gear was readily available in most of it. Now I play Gambit and PVP and don’t care about the seasonal stuff. Bungie has turned Destiny into a “Flavor of the Month” game this year and now are about to change into a “Forget It and Quit It” content delivery system.