While there aren’t any announced plans to [i]remove[/i] the New Gear Bonus entirely, the bonus is being reduced with the release of [b]Renegades[/b], per the TWID posted September 4th (emphasis added): [quote]• The New Gear Bonus will be changing for the Season: Lawless Artifact. • Starting in Season: Lawless, the New Gear Bonus will be a flat bonus for all Featured Gear. It will no longer be tiered as it is currently in Season: Reclamation [i][b]and will be a max 5% damage for weapons[/b][/i] and a max 10% damage resistance for armor.[/quote] So at the very least using older weapons will put you at [i]less[/i] of a disadvantage when this change goes live. (΄◉◞౪◟◉｀)

[quote]We should not be penalized with reduced damage output just because we want to use an old gun that we still enjoy. The old weapons are already outclassed by the new Tier 5 weapons, they do not need to also be doing less damage simply because they are not "New Gear". Let us play the game with the gear we want, and maybe we'll stick around a little longer.[/quote] The older weapons have normal damage just like they always have. New and featured weapons get a slight bonus in damage. You can play with whatever gear you want in just about everything except a couple of activities that have modifiers for new gear only.

As sonjalovestyson said, you are not penalized for anything, you just don't take advantage of the benefits granted by new gear.