It seems like not many people know what legitimately is, or, rather they take the game too seriously with the items of this game and it goes way in over their heads. Let me clarify this. Xur is selling Ice Breaker for 1/16/15. Fantastic. Great. But what's up with all these "you haven't earned it" or "ice breaker nerfs"? The only "earned" portion of this game which I believe are venders weapons and Xur's list of items every weekend and here's why: 1.) Your grinding marks to get venders items. 2.) For newcomers or people just recently starting on a new character, your working on bounties to get your vender levels to 2/3 to obtain the items. 3.) Xur is like "Santa". For all we know Bungie could have 100% excluded him from the game and had us all bid on RNG 100% for exotic drops which are very low in this game. He has been created and put in the game as a sense of grace for players. Whatever he sells in those weeks are perhaps "earned" through strange coin weekly strikes. Any drops you get are 100% RNG (unless if you want to get into the topic of a rumor of this game is not 100% RNG there are some topics out there that claim so with fair evidence). You haven't earned it. In fact, with all due respect, half of you shouldn't have "earned" the exotics you are wielding now. Even items. If your still not with me, stay with me on this part of the experience. Let's say these people "earned it": 1.) Oh that guy who has a sinking score of 2 kills and 20 deaths in the crucible and is last in place? Got a Red Death drop. Everyone else in the team got either rares or nothing. He earned it!!!! 2.) Oh your friend or random person who jumped in the nightfall or raid at the last moment and the game ends got a GHorn drop. The whole team got either materials or rares or items they've already have. He earned it!!!!! 3.) That one guy in a ROC strike that stays afk and let the other two teammates do all the work got a exotic drop at the endgame table. He earned it!!!! If you honestly think that these moment above are earned then in my opinion that is not -blam!-ING earned. It's upright -blam!-ING LUCKY and in fact some: bullshit. You also need to factor in this: 1.) Not everyone thinks the IB or GHorn is the "best" weapon in the game. Everyone has their own weapon layout and different playstyle. 2.) Newcomers: there will always be new people jumping into this game and by the RNGesus majority of them probably won't have IC or GHorn. We need to remember those portion of the community. 3.) Complicated but I've met some people that right before the DLC drop they couldn't be level 30 because of RNG until the DLC drop. Level 30's were RNG chosen at that time. 4.) Favoritism: before I got the GHorn I personally (and believe others) experienced some negative of being denied of joining raids because person X doesn't have MUST NEEDED weapon A. Really mother-blam!-ers? Let me sum up: 1.) Items are not earned in this game unless through vendors or Xur. Period 2.) Bungie gave players grace by creating a NPC called Xur to come on weekends for a chance at some of the most rarest items and for some items we wouldn't care about. 3.) Bungie changed the algorithm for Crotas End so the RNG is a bit "smarter" of knowing what it dropped you before so you have a better shot at level 32 in which my opinion is a good thing and lately I've been hearing people are near 32 which is great. 4.) Players should not be based 100% on levels and weapons. In fact I believe a good portion is: 20% based on armour, 20% based on level, 20% based on weapons stats/abilities, 40% based on skill (cmon, the mother-blam!-er needs to know how to aim and shoot and reflexes and so on) Just because a player is 32 does not mean he or she is the shit. Not bashing on everyone but I've met a couple full 31 fireteams or 32 fireteams that fail critically in a raid because of either there is no skill/order/upgraded weapons/etc. Too much rant or too much listing but this is it for now. Comment below maturely with some good backbone to your comment if your against this. Yeah went slightly off topic as well. *** THIS IS MY OPINION OF THE VIEW OF "EARNED" DOES NOT CONTRIBUTE TO 100% OF PLAYERS -- Addition 1: perhaps there should be some changes to the way Xur represents towards us. Instead of selling exotics to us he should "sell" us a or some exotic bounties, unique to each of its own. Not only its weapon but armour as well. As well as implementing a smart system knowing what exotics you already have and doesn't give you a bounty that ends up in the same item. It's a work in theory but a thought. Addition 2: some of you guys replied below that exotic bounties are earned. That I agree all the way, double rainbow. Addition 3: Edits are on the way