As a long time player who has always ensured to grow my bank account of shards, as well as planetary materials, it pains me to see shards leaving however, the piss off is that there is no exchange for anything else in the game. Why do we have to have parity between those who want to earn, do earn and will continue to earn, and those who do not? If you played starting today, there is no reason you should have instant access to things. You need to learn, progress, grow and experience the game and make good choices on what you spend. Again, getting rid of the shards is just another kickin the teeth for those long time players who again get ripped off in favor of the free to play fly by night casual players.