Dear DeeJ, I am sorry that this post will probably not be read by you or most people (and if so, probably ridiculed), but the advice coming is, I believe, sound and the only way forward. I work in a severely high performance profession and know this much: if what you produce/do get emotional and crass responses - well, then you are sitting on gold (people actually care). I am what you would call a casual hardcore player. I played hundreds of hours of D1 and will amass probably more in D2. Still, I have never done a raid, a nightfall, trials - but have grinded and grinded to achieve the highest possible level. As a solo player (have only 1-2 people to play with - don't use the lfg argument, please) the sheer thrill of finishing the Thorn quest and overcoming the multiplayer fear was tremendous. In D2, if I get a kill score of 18 - streak 10 - efficiency 3,5, I am so so proud and will take a screen shot and send it to my friends. The real hardcore players, of course, will think that is a particularly shitty performance. Well, we are all different... So, Bungie has made some very good moves in D2 by making dedicated players like me feel the euforia of actually reaching the level cap through dedicated play. I could never in D1 due to the raid requirement and so on. What is the solution? I hear you, Slayerage, all you hardcore meta lovers - I understand. At the same time, have we forgot all the tremendous hate D1 got for the convoluted leveling scheme, the endless repetition and random rolls, the discrepancy between raiders and not-raiders (the list goes on)? Now you want it all back?! So, as promised, here is the very simple solution: 1. DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE HARDCORE META AND THE CASUAL META 2. LET THE CASUAL AND THE SEMI-CASUAL EXPERIENCE WHAT D2 NOW OFFERS: MAX LEVEL AND ACCESS TO MOST CONTENT, + A SCALED DOWN RAID WITH MATCHMAKING (NOT IN THE CURRENT OFFERING) AND CURRENT 4V4 PVP AND SO ON 3. LET THE HARDCORE BE HARDCORE! GIVE THEM TRUE RAIDS, PVP AND STRIKES WITH SPECIAL WEAPONS AND ROLLS AND ARMOUR THAT ONLY THEY COULD GET THEIR HANDS ON AND USE (IF THEY WERE TO VISIT THE CASUAL COMMUNITY - THOSE WEAPONS/ARMOUR WOULD BE OFF LIMITS). LET THEM HAVE A D1 ECONOMY OF COSTUMISATION/RANDOMNESS AND ROLLS AND A SCALED UP RAID, PVP, STRIKES ETC ETC. 4. SERIOUSLY, WHY IS THAT SO DIFFICULT?! DON'T ROB THE CASUAL AND SEMI CASUAL (POTENTIAL HARDCORES) OF THE THRILL OF REACHING MAX LEVEL, PARTICIPATING IN ALL ACTIVITIES, ENJOYING THE GEAR. JUST MAKE A TIER 1 AND A TIER 2 FOR EVERY ACTIVITY!! IF TIER 2, YOU HAVE A FIRE TEAM OF 6, NO PROBLEM, CHALLENGES, ENDLESS CUSTOMISATION AND SO ON. THIS IS THE WAY YOU BRING EVEN MORE PEOPLE OVER FROM CASUAL AMD SEMI CASUAL TO HARDCORE: YES, I CAN EXPERIENCE EVERYTHING D2 HAS TO OFFER, BUT IT'S VANILLA - SHOULD I MAKE THE STEP UP? OF COURSE, WITH THE CUSTOMIZED WEAPONS AND GEAR IN TIER 2 YOU WOULD BE KILLED, BUT (!) SIMILAR TO THE THORN QUEST FROM D1, THAT'S HOW YOU LEARN AND GET TRULY HOOKED. Bungie, in the end you need to make money, you need people like me to be hooked, the hardcore (most vocal community) as well as the mindless casual to be invested and shell out money so you can deliver a supreme product. Why on earth is this so difficult for you to figure out? Just make the experience identical (on the surface), but where one is all about matchmaking and tier 1 (casual), but the other is all about the META?! It is really just about coding the old "Heroic" modifier and its vendor/drop/loot economy differently to the token (literally) randomness of casual D2. Seriously, in this way all the casuals and semi casuals would feel worthy and achieving of something (getting all out access), but of course getting obliterated in the "real" game - aka the META. However, it would be there as an enticing, seemingly unreachable destination, but - who knows? Look at me, I never played multiplayer and fps in my life, but through the then grueling Thorn quest, here I am, managing 18 kills, a 10 streak and 3,5 efficiency through true practice. Laughable by hardcore standards, but so so satisfying for a very large base of your community. I say: 2 GAMES IN ONE. Introduce TIER 1 AND TIER 2 before it is too late. Should be easy. Out.