Bungie, I have 3 characters with a spread of 22 Exotics between them; of my Exotics about 88% are currently maxed and have been prior to your last Exotic Shard update, so they were upgraded under your first system which required shards/energy and materials…oh and XP, don’t forget all that XP! I am also sure that most of the guys/girls that have played since launch are in a similar boat or damn near to it. Working it out so far to reach this stage, just on Exotics alone, it has cost me: 96 Ascendant Shards, 132 Ascendant Energies, 944 various materials (Spin, Bloom etc), Roughly 131,400 Glimmer, [b]AND[/b] a host of time grinding the same missions/strikes and bounties to get the XP to allow upgrades in the first place. Now, under your new DLC, [b]IF[/b] I want to upgrade the armour and weapons to the new defence/attack cap [b]AND[/b] get to the upgrade stage I am currently at, then I have to further invest: 154,000 Glimmer, 154 Strange Coins. That’s to just get them converted (as and when Xûr gives me the option?) to the higher rating! [b]Then[/b] to reach my current level I need a [b]further[/b]: 154 Strange Coins, 1846 various materials, 164,700 Glimmer [b]AND[/b] not to mention all that XP over again. That’s a grand total of [b]318,700 Glimmer[/b]; [b]1846 materials[/b] and [b]308 Strange Coins[/b]; [b]PLUS all that XP?[/b] You’re having a laugh right? It’s April, May, June and July’s Fool right? Good one, now what’s the real score? Because if you are serious then IMO you have just handed Destiny a slow and insidious death sentence. Good luck with your 10 year plan…I think you’ll be very lucky to make it to the end of 2015.

EDIT: after someone's wise words, I retract this statement. I understand why Bungie did this. I will stick around to see what else unfolds. So I've wasted my time with leveling exotic gear... My whole life has been a waste. I think I really need to reassess my life. Thank you Bungie for showing me that I was a fool to put time into this game. You've opened my eyes. I don't think I'll be needing your services anymore.

This update feels mostly... punishing and stupid. Bungie, you're basically telling us: "You've put 300+ hours into Destiny, uhhhh? Well, good for you! Now you'll just have to do everything all over again, idiot!" This makes me feel like my hard earned level 30, is just an entry ticket to a place where I'm practically worthless. I mean... I get that there's gonna be new gear, and that it'll be more powerful, but... I have to many points to talk about, I'll do it properly... 1. What the F are the Crucible and Vanguard commendations? Does this mean that you(Bungie)'re gonna hold our hands and allow us to get only one legendary (1 Crucible, 1 Vanguard) piece for each reputation level? What about the levels I've already earned? are you gonna give me one commendation for each? I've already earned them, didn't I? I'm Crucible level 6, Vanguard level 3, Dead Orbit level 3, Future War level 3, New Monarchy level 3, Iron Banner level 5... And you're telling me that I have to earn a commendation to buy a legendary piece?... =S 2. Why the 60 ascendant shards that you gave me in the Venus Raid (instead of the arms piece or the helmet piece from the Raid armor. If I'm level 30 is because I busted my ass in the Iron Banner event) are not good for anything anymore? If they're worthless, I want you to trade them for the ones that are gonna be used for the same purpose (same rate)... 3. I spent... ... ... 150 Crucible matches improving my Red Death... If it's an exotic, and it's a reward that I earned with my hard work... Why do I have to throw my 150 matches of leveling, 7 Strange Coins and 7,000 Lumen to the garbage in return for a damage upgrade? And by all means... Why does a fully upgraded exotic has the same worth for this process that a new one that hasn't had the same player-work effort, over it? Please Bungie, really... Make me understand! 4. Radiant... Ascendant.... Bungie, you deal with it. This is the most "compelling?" thing about this update but has a catch... During my runs through the Vault Of Glass, I've amassed a bunch of Ascendant Shards for no armor to upgrade (since I have it all upgraded)... On the other hand, I have (also) a bunch of legendary/exotic weapons to upgrade for no Ascendant Energy to upgrading them... I would like to see this trade in-out energy-shard thing applies to all legendary/exotic upgrading materials... Ultimately this is suposed to be fun and rewarding, and it feels like I'm giving you $35 season-pass-bucks for you to punch me in the face and send me to work extra time for being a bad boy... I'm the hero Bungie, not the enemy!

I'm not doing it lol. I've played my arse off for 500 hours to get myself into the position where I can just log on for weekly's and raids, or simply just when I choose to, allowing myself a good mix of family and social time. I'd already stocked up on hundreds of mat's, motes of light, coins etc as well as shot up all the vanguard /faction rep levels ready for the DLC to try and cut down the grind. No way am I pretty much starting it all over again. I've had a blast the last few months and met some awesome players in this great game but I just cant bring myself to do it. MMO's just aint for me I guess. Good luck to all you guys for the future and thanks for the memories ^^

Love the game, all the things they did before, even all updates... But with the last anouncement, i feel SAD, really Sad... Takes time to level up, take fun yes, but now i feel like... Like a child you know, you give him a toy, you let him play, promise playtime, and then, oh you love this toy ? Ok i replace with a new one... I never thought i'll be so Sad... Never thought i'll quit one day... But now i think i'll give it a try But with no more pleasure, no more fun... Bitterness, disappointment, don't know how i can call it... Feel Free to put a little joy in front of my eyes, feel free to answer...

1) This is a really shitty change. Exotics are no longer investments, they are a really expensive subscription. Not a fan at all! 2) Making an entire set of materials useless is a poor decision and will anger the majority of your current playerbase. Should rethink this one. I suggest allowing a conversion of ascendant materials to radiant materials. 3) This is cool! And should be added for ascendant materials! 4) Again, a really great change. This shows they are trying to improve the player experience. 5) I'm guessing this is so they have a chance to root our the exploits and that hard mode rewards stay rare (unlike mythoclast) 6) So what are we supposed to do with our marks? And what is a player supposed to do when they are levelling a faction through PvE and don't have crucible marks to go with these new crucible commendations we will be getting? This will be a mixed bag. The exotic upgrade changes WILL cause the game to lose a large portion of the playerbase. You are warned, Bungie.

To anyone who is saying that resetting exotic exp is a good idea, please explain this to me. What is the point in playing at all this week levelling up your current exotic weapons and armour, if that effort is going to be completely wasted? Will you be trying to max out your weapons? Or are you less likely to knowing that you are wasting your time? What will then be the point at all in playing through January/February when the same thing happens again for house of wolves? The fact is that telling players that all their effort is coming to count for nothing will turn them away from the game. Tonight I was planning on levelling up my thorn some more, now I think I will watch a film and don't think I will waste my time on destiny tonight. Probably for the rest of the week. I imagine many players are feeling the same.

Hey everyone, Myself and my pal will be starting up the Crotas End Raid as soon as it releases. I have completed the VOG many times (50) between 3 lvl 30 characters. I have every maxed weapon and know how to get shit done. I am looking for 1 other teamates to help us figure out and battle through Crota. I believe it will release at 2 am est time so you have to be ready to go. Criteria- 1. Lvl 30 warlock/titan/hunter 2. Max weapons including ghorn vex ice breaker 3. Age 22+ 4. Listen well, hold your own 5. Pack chews (just kidding, but you're a beauty if you do) Leave your psn below and i will check ya out, I will update the OP every time I find a new teamate and add you to friends. Roster: 1. RAZckorol - W/T 2. BOflex- T 3. rockman22o- W/T/H 4. PetesmagicDrag0n W/T 5. Kuda465 T/T 6. ?

My favorite part: "[b]How Bungie Plays Destiny[/b] While it was exciting to dig into Destiny’s first major expansion, one of the most striking aspects of my visit to Bungie involved the conversations I had with the team members. Specifically, Bungie’s approach to playing their own game is surprising; Bungie developers play the game alongside all of us on the retail servers, and don’t cheat to get ahead. As a result, I was surprised by how many of the developers piped up with their own frustrations at Destiny before I even mentioned them coming from the community. Like the broader game population, several Bungie devs bemoaned the tedious work of farming for destination materials in the launch game. Another spoke about their frustration at waiting for raid boots to drop in the Vault of Glass after weeks of fruitless attempts. By engaging with Destiny side-by-side with the gaming community, the developers at Bungie are more than aware of the places in which Destiny still struggles. In many cases, I heard from team members about how eager they are to see specific changes go in that will improve the experience. Given its scope and size, The Dark Below isn’t aiming to reinvent the Destiny experience. However, my time with the game has me excited, as it’s clear that Bungie is paying close attention to its players, and endeavoring to polish the game with each passing week and expansion. The community response to the new upgrade systems, quest lines, and more are undoubtedly going to shape where Bungie goes from here with Destiny. Based on what I heard during my time at the studio, the developers are listening; they may even be doing so silently right by your side as you play. "

Wow, I feel like I've wasted 3 months.

What level will the new vendor armor provide? 30. Or 31? Assumption: In order to get to 31 you probably have to wear 3 x vendor armor + 1 x newly leveled exotic gear

Wait so will Xur sell HawkMoon and exotic weapon bounty weapons?

Everyone is complaining about the upgraded exotics, however, this DLC is much more user friendly than a game like Diablo 3. Diablo's first DLC (RoS) completely made legacy items obsolete. Side note: Diablo's DLC cost 40$ (60$ if upgrading to 8th gen).

sooo,i didnt read all the comments,but Surely someone Else noticed This>> [quote]Our recently announced sci-fi issue of the magazine includes an extensive look at Destiny: The Dark Below. [b]We traveled to Bungie several weeks ahead of launch and played through the expansion[/b][/quote] so,lets hear another bedtime story about how the dlc isnt on the disc,and the dlc wasnt even done yet....yeah. and now,these stupid changes forcing us to farm even more,making our former farming Useless,and some other Irksome details as well. wtf bungie?? just...w..t...f. you keep making Stupid decisions that make More and More people want to play Less!!

This is no longer Destiny. It has become World of Diablo: Halo Duty of Clans Online Episode I & II

"... It's the player's reactions that are wrong." -DeeJ