So obviously the forums have erupted into turmoil and discontent, which is further exasperated by the conflict of opinions and shoddy information in the forums. First of all, everyone just needs to settle down. Luke Smith has come out directly stating that consumables to affect Raid drop rates WILL NOT BE SOLD by Tess. This puts to rest any of the "evidence" used by those who claim that the existence of these consumables PROVES Destiny will become pay to win. They will not be sold by Tess. Granted, this doesn't prove Destiny WONT become pay to win- but without this evidence, such a contention is merely speculation. But it's important for bungie to look at why people are reacting this way. Why is the community assuming the worst and reacting strongly to any and all edits in this current (and large) series of nerfs, patches, and game-changes? And, Bungie, I'm here to tell you: the problem is trust. I would hazard that a majority of your players do not trust you as leaders or developers. They do not believe that you have their best interests at heart. They do not believe you are knowledgable or care about the game itself. They believe you are out of touch with both Destiny and it's players. Additionally, they have begun to believe that Bungie as a company, in fact, wishes to nickle and dime them for all they're worth. In short, their distrust in you as developers has led them to believe that you only truly care about improving the bottom line revenue through micro transactions and user-base expansion. Bungie, I love you and Destiny more than I can say- but this one is really on you. The initial issue is one that stemmed from mistakes prior to the release of Dark Below- inconsistency between the communicated plans for change and the reality of those changes made Bungie appear to be either incompetent OR dishonest and indifferent towards Destiny and its community. This was mitigated by HoW, which answered a number of requests that the community had made directly. There was some great stuff that soothed raw feelings. However, Luke Smith's flubbed "$ at screen" interview really set you back. Following that, every change you made was seen as being at the EXPENSE of the player, and for the BENEFIT of Bungie- "taking away" year 1 content like exotics, raids, and missions by making them obsolete, in order to promote (and push for the purchase of) TTK; having TTK initially only available in comparably higher-priced bundles; driving even more money for exclusive collector's gear; the higher prices in the UK (which, by the way, creates an arbitrage that fundamentally weakens the value of your product); the marketed "odyssey", but actually "not-so-hidden or long" Sleeper Simulant quest; pay for emotes and the threat of pay-to-win; and numerous other promises and assurances that the community feels have gone unfulfilled. Some of the best business advice I've ever received was: "Fail fast, and move on." It's time to learn and move on, Bungie. Move on to being a company that values transparency and following through on promises. Do not say something if you don't mean it. Consider your words (all your words) carefully in order to construct a meaningful and honest narrative for the future of the game. Show your users you care NOT through gifts of "bonus content", better gear", and "more vault space", but through interacting and listening to the community and their criticism. Explain why you made decisions, and why you did not make others. Let the community know that you pay attention to them, and that you value their input. Listen- I do not know even half of what it takes to produce and execute a game of Destiny's extent and caliber. I am unfamiliar with how difficult and affecting it must be to have your community lash out at every decision you make, questioning and demanding greater and more "appropriate" results. It is, after all, YOUR game- this criticism and distrust must hurt. I am sorry that this is how things have gone. I love destiny. It is one of the best (or perhaps favorite) games I have ever played. I will continue to play it until that sentiment is gone. The community loves it too, or they wouldn't still be here- and they wouldn't get so angry. But- you can and need to repair the trust, Bungie. If you don't, players will leave and others will not purchase- no matter how great or addicting your product is. I hope you do fix this, and that Destiny continues for many years to come. TL;DR: Trust in Bungie has been eroded through a series of miscommunications and unfulfilled promises/assurances that have slowly polarized the community and created an antagonistic, adversarial relationship between developer and player. Bungie can fix this by communicating in an honest and transparent manner.