Summary: For an abridged version of what I'm about to expand on this is what I'm generally saying: If all gear can be earned in some way without RNG and random drops, why is raid gear not the same way? For players like myself who have been forever stuck at level 29, should there be some method, even if it's hard and tedious, to guarantee earning raid gear? Iron banner might be an answer to get to level 30, but only for players who have enough free time during the event window to grind to rank 3. What are your thoughts on how we should get raid gear, how and why? Why I believe we should have a way to earn gear besides RNG: [spoiler] I've had this game since release day, and have been raiding each week for about 2 months straight. I have maxed out all the gear that I could obtain which is either from Xur or just faction gear. After all this time playing, which is about 160 hours total, I've yet to earn a single piece of raid gear. I'm wondering if anyone else has been stuck in a situation like this. I understand the game is a grind, but there's only so long you will work without receiving any results. I've usually just been getting the same thing two to three weeks in a row. I now have 3 vision of confluences two Atheon's epilogue's, and two Truth's. I actually wouldn't mind this, but when the DLC raid drops in 3 weeks or so, it starts as a level 28 raid, meaning it will be just as tough, if not harder, as a hard raid on VoG- especially at level 29. Up until the raid, everything was obtainable without RNG and chance. You can grind for coins and marks and just buy gear and exotics from Xur or the factions. Anything dropped as a mission reward just made the grind a little more rewarding which gives the player some excitement. I know players who are usually the raid leaders who always know the best strategies, raid flawlessly and after 3 months can not break level 30. Technically, if all is left to chance in the raid, there is still a small chance that one could never achieve the gear they ever need to level up past 29. I also understand the iron banner is supposed to come soon with obtainable level 30 gear from Shaxx. This gear is most likely going to be achievable only at rank 3 of iron banner. Unless a player has enough time to no-life crucible matches for a whole weekend to rank up before the event ends, most people will be out of luck. I'm not sure I've ever been able to rank up a faction from zero to three in one weekend, even with the nightfall buff. Should there be some form of earning raid gear after a certain point? I thought that maybe upon full completion (doing all checkpoints) of a hard mode raid, a player would receive one raid coin. At the end of the raid some type of vendor interface would be available that offered the raid gear and weapons at varying prices of raid coins. That way, after so many attempts, a player could achieve at least one of the pieces they have waited forever to get. It would still take time, but at least there is a way to guarantee achieving gear.[/spoiler]