I always assumed the reason the portal was separate from the rest of the game is so it could have been removed if it crashed. Well, it crashed. Also it is fine as a Vanguard ops activity. Adding crucible to the portal finally made it so PVP players could get more than 3 total pinnacles a week. It will have to stay in Renegades at first otherwise that would have been heavily delayed. After that it should no longer be the focus of Destiny. Tiered gear and power grinding will be available in all Renegades activities and hopefully the dungeon. The next problem is more of the world needs tiered gear. Bungie did make a comment: “Climbing though throwaway tiers en-route to the gear you want to build around isn’t aspirational. And the Portal itself surrenders too much of Destiny’s feeling of place and exploration”. So portal gone and maybe tiers also. Or at least massive changes. Just not yet.