There has been a lot of criticism about both of these topics lately and pretty much all of it is warranted. Like, really, really, really, really, really, really warranted. Truthfully, I feel Bungie, as a whole, deserves a lot of criticism but that's another topic for another thread. Well, that's the topic of most threads, I should say. Anyways, onto the meat and potatoes! First, the meat.. *tl;dr version at bottom* [b][u]IRON BANNER[/u][/b] ~Now, I hate Crucible with an unbridled passion the likes of which haven't been seen since the days of Inigo Montoya. That being said, I do understand that PvP tends to favor the more hardcore of gamers who really love proving they're the best and doesn't favor someone, like me, who likes to jump around from game-to-game playing based on whatever mood I'm in. It's one of the reasons D2 sucks so hard is because pretty much every change from D1 to 2 centered around the PvP balancing than PvE super-crazy-powerful fun of destruction. Thank God we have DOOM for that. ~I stated all that simply so you understand where I'm coming from should anything I mention about Banner or Crucible, in general, come across biased. Also, because DOOM Eternal is gonna be awesome. ~The concept of having an Iron Banner quest which unlocks the new...ehem, "new" armor. This is a pretty good idea in theory but there's just one problem... You already have BOUNTIES in the game that fall along the same category as this so-called "quest." It's just more "Do this thing and now do this thing" garbage that's merely padding the experience. Players have to jump through more hoops just to get things they were, technically, already getting beforehand! So how do we rectify this? It's actually amazingly simple. Actual powerful and meaningful rewards at the end of the new bounty.. I mean, quest. ~The quest is meant to be done over the course of the entire season but the steps involved are genuinely insane. Those ability kills should not have been separated but combined. Get 200 kills using your Supers, Grenades or Melee attacks. There, that solves the biggest complaint people have about this quest. It lessens that grind-y feel, even if just by so much, and further encourages players to go for it. But why aren't they getting rewards simply for playing? Why do they HAVE to do this in order to get further drops of the exact same gear? To be frank, they shouldn't. ~There should be a mix. A grab-bag of gear to obtain that will allow all players to play however they want. Freedom of choice! Instead of Bungie dictating exactly how it should be and everybody has the same experience and gets the same thing and looks the same and... Okay, this is just the Destiny experience, isn't it? My point is that there should be various avenues to follow to earn gear. One set drops as Legendary, not Powerful, at the end of games in Banner. Another set can be earned as Powerful by completing the bounties. Then, there's the quest. A full-masterwork set. You return to Saladin and choose from either a Masterworked void, arc or solar set of powerful Banner gear. BOOM! Now players can choose how they want to play. If they don't care about getting powerful stuff, they can play Banner normally and earn drops like the good, old days. If they want the powerful stuff, bounties. If they want it powerful AND masterworked then they complete the quest. Choice. Actual rewards. There, I solved your problem. ...potatoes. [b][u]EVERVERSE[/u][/b] ~This one's a lot easier to address. Microtransactions range from "suck" to "who cares" and you, Bungie, definitely fall into the "suck" end of the spectrum. ~You removed the ability to earn the cosmetics for Season 8 and put every one of them behind a paywall. Yes, Bright Dust is still technically behind a paywall as it is the contents of the engrams, the most efficient way of obtaining is through the purchase of them, to be dismantled to get the Dust to buy the very limited items on sale for just Dust. We saw hints of this coming with the Whipser skins being completely behind a paywall and it continued with Thunderlord and Outbreak. I'm fine with cosmetics being behind a paywall, not even for Dust, as long as there is a cosmetic to earn via playing the game. That way we can have a choice in the aesthetic of our weapons/gear we've earned with an option to buy a new one. ~Might notice I mention "choice" a lot, huh? Yeah, that's because the only choice in Destiny 2 with cosmetics is to either give them more money or don't get anything. It's a pretty awful system and exposes a lot of greed. Again, putting some things strictly behind a paywall is not bad but when you make it the only way to get some cosmetic goodies then it becomes bad. "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become EA." ~Now, a proper step in the right direction has been addressed by making anything you've obtained through Eververse be redeemable with Glimmer & Shards. That's good but that only works if we DON'T have to pay to earn cosmetics as we keep going. Yes, I know bounties will offer Dust for that limited selection but the payout of Dust is awful, as it is, and I feel it will not improve by the time the new system is implemented. If anything, they'll argue that there are so many more ways to earn Dust that the payouts can be much smaller. You have to put back in the ability to earn cosmetics through the Bright Engram lootboxes we unlock as we play. To put every cosmetic behind a paywall is pure greed and nothing more. ~Yes, I know that cosmetics are totally optional but they are an added bit of fun you naturally progress toward while you're playing. Like a "cherry on top" kinda deal. But that's not what's happening anymore with the Year 1 engrams. I had one in my inventory from yesterday and I cared so little about it that, when I hopped online for a couple hours earlier today, I didn't even remember having one. I still don't know when I got it, either. That's how little I cared. I know I'm not alone there. ~You're supposed to make us WANT to support you, Bungie, not tell us that we HAVE to. All your current Eververse system tells players is "Give us more money." We should be earning lootboxes (Bright Engrams) and then paying outright for the items in the store if we opt to do so. Choice! That comes across as more inviting and encouraging than simply you attempting to thrust your hand into our wallet to grab every last penny you can find. Earning lootboxes while having the option to directly pay for an item is like, "Hey. We know you wanna get some sweet, cosmetic loot while you're playing. Well, here it is. Just play and play as much as you want, doing whatever you want, and you'll earn these lootboxes that can drop some simple or rare cosmetics for your characters. But, y'know, if you want to just directly buy that Ship or Ghost or Armor Set and not wait for it to drop then you can do that. Don't have to but, if you do, it further helps us out financially to keep bringing you content and routine updates." tl;dr ~Give your players choice. Stop forcing everyone to do the exact same thing for the exact same rewards. And stop putting everything behind a damn paywall. Choice!