[i]I struggled a long time with stats and how they influence this game. I have finally made an overview which I present here to discuss. The most interesting thing is the long Game, meaning [b]how does this Model work out in the far future of this franchise?[/b] Based on the data we got to this point, we can draw the following conclusions:[/i] 1. At the moment the damage model is constructed so that the Damageupgrade we receive via the DLC can`t compensate for the Damage reduction we get when facing enemies of a higher tier. To illustrate this: To compensate for the 32% damage loss a 32 currently gets when facing 33 enemies in the Hard Raid, we would need to have weapons with an Attackrate above 400 (the current max is 331). 2. Furthermore the Armor-defense gain we receive by equipping Armor with higher Lightlevel has diminishing returns since it seems to be fixed at 88 per Lightlevel. 3. We should always seperate Level and Lightlevel. A 32 has a Lightlevel of 12, only then it becomes clear why you have to equip 4 armorparts with 36 to reach 32. A better form to explain it would be: Lighttotal = Lightlevel * Multiplier The Multiplier is the most mysterious thing, since it converges continously when you reach Level 20. It goes from 20 to 12, where it stays fixed. This is also the reason why you get the feeling that going from 20 to 26 is a lot faster than going from 26 to 28 and eventually to 30. The net-Light value has diminishing returns until it finally stays constant. 4. With HoW the Level cap will probably be raised to 33, not higher. To get to 33 you will need 4 Armorpieces with Light 39. To make the Crota raidgear not irrelevant like they did with VoG, Bungie will most likely cap the new HoW Vendorgear at Light 35 (one Level below current Exotics/CE-armor). 5. We already heard that Comet (the next big thing after HoW) will introduce a third subclass, which is a sign that it won`t change Lightlevels drastically, my best guess is that it will have at least the Levelgain of TDB&HOW combined, allowing for a max Level of 39/40. This fits also in the Levelcurves MMos like WoW tend to raise their Levelcap with core expansions by 10. (Comet compared to Vanilla Destiny) 6. A big issue is at the moment that for someone starting with the game, previous raids become totally pointless because oft the outdated stats on the Lootitems. Binding the Lightlevel to fixed Armor becomes a problem when Lightlevel has such a dramatic influence on endgameperformance, which leads to practically everyone being forced to wear the same armor. To counter that Bungie could introduce a 4th tier of Rarity, let`s call it „epic“. It should sit between the normal Legendaries and the Exotics. Epics are nothing else than „evolved“ versions of legendary items. To evolve a legendary item into an epic one a new type of shard/material could be introduced. These epic shards unlock the „true potential“ of any legendary gear/weapon. So an „epic“ version of Blackhammer should be able to reach the HoW Attackrate of 360, an epic version of the Tireless Striders (Hunter-Raidlegs) would have a Lightlevel of 39 etc. How epic shards can be obtained needs tob e discussed, but should not be too easy obviously. This way Bungie could kill two birds with one stone: New Players have an incentive to do the elder raids to obtain weapons/armors they can craft into ones that are currently useful, and vets can dust off their old gear and give it a new purpose, which will lead to more diversity. [b]TLDR: Dissecting the Number salad in Destiny[/b]