Let me first start off with a bit of personal history. I am a long time gamer grew up with it more than most as I have played every type of game. Puzzles riddles, mazes, video games of all types from early arcades and the earliest consoles with a paddle or simple stick. Pong, intellivision, Atari, early computers and the entire evolution of video gaming. From the text adventures to the current modern styles. I have played major MMO's, private RPG's and simple little diversions and I honestly had higher hopes for this game. I bought the full deal, all the bells and whisles. The full game, extra content, and future DLC. But what was promised is far from what I got so far. Not that I don't like it a whole bunch. But I wanted to love it. I wanted it to be the FPS meets RPG I thought Bungie was crafting. The one that would finally fulfill the genre jumping gap started by Borderlands. When I heard Bungie was going to do this I thought man someone with true storytelling skill is going to do the right thing. As a older gamer story is extremely important to me and my enjoyment of the game. Many of my friends are the same way, story and co-operative play is what brings us together. Makes us buy games and consoles. I love to identify with the protagonist to actively worry about their welfare While there are major hints to deeper philosophies and ideologies each hint falls flat. Left with hints and sound bites, brief little blurbs during missions or out on patrol but nothing even in the grimoire that goes too much deeper. As if, and I know there are theories to content secreted away, locked out, denied us by the corporate less is more thing. But I also know Bungie as I have seen their evolution as well. They like to give hints and teasers to things coming down the line. So if they have an idea it's there to be revealed sooner or later. But they could have made it bigger now. Should have made it bigger now. There are many things they could have given us to tease us to future things to do while still saving so much for later. But he we sit wondering as to what will happen in areas that we can get to but no story leads us. The back of the Forgotten Shore... Under the Cosmodrome, On Venus behind force shields the elevator to the Citadel..in the area behind the Black Garden... and other areas. But lets not worry about that. Where are the silly obligatory side missions you find in the countless RPG's and MMO's out there. The help me find this, go fetch this, help defend that, take revenge for this or that. Go find my lost child. that lost guardian? The little things that don't really build into the story but make the world alive and maybe just maybe a little bit less repetitive. Bounties while good don't quite live up to what they could. And most of the play seems to be about just a slightly different challenge by doing a story mission with a heroic modifier. Where are those missions that are separate? Those little fillers that really give life to a world? Gearing so much of their focus on Player versus player Bungie has told us basically they don't care to expand the story past the basics, stay vague and you can imagine your own story. Well that may work if story doesn't matter to you, but PvP is not story, it is outside of it. It also is not something that lasts unless it is unique or has a large group of people who have no other way of experiencing their favorite game world. But when you compare this to Halo this does not have that. It is new and therefore doesn't garner the same respect as something we grew with. Something that at it's time was revolutionary, groundbreaking. Back then it was epic because it was so unlike everything else available, Utilizing new tech, advanced graphics, being able to battle random people from around the world was new and exciting. Now every FPS game has multi-player versus. So how do you get the same level of commitment out of this? You can't unless you make this as epic as it was supposed to be. It has to have the world, and story to get the following. They are so in love with the idea of PvP that they design everything around it. Bounties, Iron Banner, Queens Wrath, the Crucible Factions of The Future War Cult, Dead Orbit, and New Monarchy. But these same things could be, and I thought were supposed to further the story not distract from its lack of being there. I am not a PvP player and I resent being told that I must play PvP to get the exotics that are not for sale. Or that if I want to be included in their idea of new content I have to be in PvP. I am a combat veteran. I have killed real people for my country. I have been changed by it and find PvP distasteful. Forcing players that also dislike PvP to play in there is wrong. There should be alternative paths to unlocking exotics. To unlocking the various unique items. I know that Bungie also grew-up with competitive multi-player. And that they want players to experience every game mode so that they feel there is more game out there for them. But forcing every player to do it? That is not right. Their PvP history is there from the LAN parties on Halo and the even running around splitscreen on Marathon. But I also am old enough and wise enough to know that if that was where they are going with their current multi-player, to appeal to competitive players, then why are there no leaderboards? Tournaments? Plus there is by comparison to other PvP heavy games a woeful lack of maps, and play styles. I understand you are trying to distance yourselves from Halo but the one thing great about the PvP there was literally every one was equal. It took skill to win not gear. Why are they even trying to balance PvE weapons and skills with PvP, those should be separate. How they act is that they don't seem to care about the PvE effect at all. Nerfing weapons because of an outcry by what appear to be self entitled, self important children, who just so happen to be the loudest voice on the forums. For example the Vex Mythocast, At the time they decided to nerf it and all Auto rifles the Vex Mythocast couldn't be in the hands of more than 15,000 players out of the 4.5 million who purchased and play the game. So how could a significant amount of people be effected by it? Now it and all Auto rifles are so weak as to be worthless in the field against any foe. Even dregs and thralls laugh it off taking a whole clip and still coming. The only way to fix a PvP balance problem is by fixing it in PvP only. Otherwise the beauty of building a hard to find hard to acquire exotic losses all value. Which then brings me to Xur... Oh I hear your wheels spinning.... Xur breaks the game and I admit I buy from him just like the next guy. But I would feel better about my exotics if they only came from epic moments in the game. Hard won and earned. But we have a generation that feels so entitled to instant and absolute gratification that if it is too hard to acquire the gear they need to max out their character they will move on. I say giving in doesn't do anything for you either. In an MMO or long term RPG you are supposed to grind and if you don't have time to grind you just have to wait til you finally acquire what you need. You make what should be a sense of accomplishment in finally getting to that elusive 30 mark and say oh well here you go son you can buy your way there with a few simple bought items that cheapen what was earned by those that came before. Also cheapening the epicness of a drop or the acquiring of it in a spin at the end of a match. Exotic should mean EXOTIC not just "Well heck look you got one too? well whatever..." cheapened, washed out value. And for what to satisfy the noisy few with acquiesce? Bungie you know if you had stuck to your values and just said that everyone had to truly earn their stuff everyone would have respected you for it. Instead you caved and now everyone expect you to continue. But you can still make a stand and make it better. Stand up to the doubters and entitled. And make the epic masterpiece you promised us. But here is how I would fix some of these issues, First I would add those little side missions that really bring a MMO/RPG to life. With the added bounty space you could add a few random and rare bounties that only drop like the Exotic bounties every so often, say after 10 to 15 of bounty turn ins. A new feature for the PvE which has a lot of promise and a rather large following already a horde, firefight mode Set it as a defense of the Last City on Earth mission. Where wave after wave of the various forces of the dark come to tear down and invade the last city. Do this with rewards at the 25 50 75 and 100 wave marks with options to drop out every 5 waves with group matchmaking and defense teams of a large size say 16 so that it is epic and feels like a fail will do real damage to the world. or this guys well reasoned idea on the subject: http://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/75277764/0/0 When it comes to Xur have him stop selling Exotics or change how often he shows up. it is too often and too much. That or change how often and how many Strange coins are acquired. Exotics need to be rarer or harder to acquire to maintain value to those who get them and those who want them. When it comes to weapon and gear balancing for PvP, just balance them in the place they need it. PvP, simple and straightforward. Add some other vendors with new legendary and other levels of weapons and gear as a way to spend glimmer without needing to build reputation in Crucible. with the added feature to existing vendor each having a very hard to acquire faction specific Exotic. Say costing the maximum marks amount 200. This insures a real value to the exotic. All vendors including the gunsmith and Cryptarc should actually sell better gear as they and you level up like their blurb says. http://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/75969641/0/0