So there has been a lot of discussion since the summit on the topic of Destiny in regards to casual play vs grind. We've also heard the mantra from Bungie of wanting to return Destiny to the hobby game it was in D1. Since there has been so much written on that including by myself in previous posts I'm not going to go super deep into all of that, but I will reiterate again that while no one is arguing that D2 needed to bring grind and meaning back to the game, there were very real and valid reason as to why the devs felt D2 needed to be a more accessible game and it's important to not throw that away. We've seen a lot of feedback since Warmind launched on the progression system and how punishing this expansion can be for some players and I think that is a result of changes being implemented that maybe were more stopgap attempts at corrections than what we'll see come the fall, but something that was brought in this week really underscores for me this entire debate and the heart of Destiny's grind vs accessible play as well as what Bungie needs to consider while working to make the game a true hobby. This latest patch introduced changes to the Faction Rally system as we all know and it was another change that has been very polarizing in the community. I had a discussion this morning on twitter with a couple of players about the topic with myself being of the opinion that these changes feel like a job to me and I don't really feel any desire to go grind a faction and them taking the side of it's just 8 or so hours of grind if you really focus in and that's not so bad. Again that to me is not a hobby, it is a job and it's not how I want to or enjoy playing Destiny. I have no issue with having grinds for things in the game and I hear the argument of whether or not it is okay to have things in the game that some players may never get. I don't have an issue with that per say if the things are accessible to everyone who put in the time or do the activity required to get those things, but a comparison was made this morning between grinding the Factions and doing the exotic sword quests in D1 and there is a very big fundamental difference there that sits at the heart of all of this. Yes the sword quests were very long and involved and could be punishing, but they were something players could work on at their own pace and a goal they could steadily or in bursts build towards. To me THAT was Destiny as a hobby. The same could be said for hidden ghosts and fragments and to a lesser degree things like grinding rep for Queen's gear. I say lesser degree because that was something that started way too limited in how much we could do a week (much like the issues progressing in Warmind) and could be way too punishing on the RNG nature of the drops (again looking at Warmind), with the combination of both leading to an experience that was more frustrating than fun when another week passed without any real progress for time invested. Bungie wants D2 to be a hobby again, but things like putting limits on how much we can do or progress in a week directly contradict the hobby philosophy and the way Faction rallies have been set up also completely flies against that. The biggest problem is the switch to it being a week long event 3 times a season. Suddenly where in D1 I could go at my pace and get the swords when it fit in with my schedule and when my life allowed me to really sink into that grind. With the system now, if we want things from all 3 factions, we now have one week to rank up and get everything we want from each one and that was the danger of making our faction choices account based and then tying unique drops like exotic ornaments and weapon catalysts to the factions. It's a turn off for me (and a lot of my friends) and one I'm not going to break my neck to achieve, but this also brings up a second point that I think is a very important discussion to have in regards to hobby and grind, particularly with the upcoming return of weapon randomization and what that might mean. Gjallerhorn. It was the first real chase and grind for a lot of players and to me it kinda summed up the origins of that Destiny as hobby experience, but one of my best friends played the hell out of Destiny in year one... raids, strikes, nightfalls... and didn't get the Gjallerhorn until the week before TTK and what happened then? It was nerfed and suddenly made irrelevant and for all the great things about the hobby aspect of D1, it was constantly undone by that gear being left behind and unless that changes I don't see people ever fully investing in D2 like they did back then. I chased a 3rd Eye Coiled Hiss all throughout TDB, finally got one days before HoW dropped and it didn't ascend. I spent an entire day grinding glimmer and mats to re-roll a perfect primary scout in HoW and it got left behind with TTK. Then everything I invested time into the last 2 years... the exotic sword quests, the raids, the Queen's gear, Iron Banner, exotic faction quests... It all got left behind with D2 and that's the real rub here. If we are going to be tasked with having time-limited events to obtain things that require us to completely dedicate ourselves to playing like it's a job and getting things done in that time frame, is that gear going to stay relevant or is it once again going to be left behind with the fall expansion of eventual release of Destiny's next step (that hopefully isn't followed by a number)? If this is all temporary then I don't see the reason for the investment. I'll still play the game and do the things I enjoy either solo or with my friends, but that hobby aspect of logging in to work towards completing things like faction rallies is diminished. I just last week finished the Forge weapon quests and got the last one and my Sagira shell and it felt REALLY good to accomplish and I love the shell, but if I had a limited time to to do that I just wouldn't have it. We also have weapon randomization coming back in the fall and we don't know what that means yet, but I can say when we were giving feedback at the summit on random rolls, the last feedback I gave on the topic is that if we were to go back to a system where you may or may not get the exact weapon you want or it may take you a long time to get it because RNG, that those weapons need to stay relevant and not get left behind like they have in TDB, TTK and D2. Destiny can be a true hobby game and it can have depth of experience and things we have to grind for and work towards, but it can also do it in ways that are healthy and respect the time and lives of the players without turning the hobby into a chore or a job. Feeling like we have to grind 10 hours of Public Events and Lost Sectors isn't a hobby and if we do that job and the end reward becomes irrelevant in 3 months or a year, that isn't respecting our time and investment. Whatever side of this issue and debate you fall on, I hope this has painted a clearer picture on the subject as a whole and we can work to find ways to make this a game that everyone can pick up and play when and how they want, while still being rewarding for those who want to really invest themselves. Thank you.