adjective
1.
of foreign origin or character; not native; introduced from abroad, but not fully naturalized or acclimatized:
exotic foods; exotic plants.
2.
[b]strikingly unusual or strange in effect or appearance:
an exotic hairstyle.[/b]
3.
[b]of a uniquely new or experimental nature:
exotic weapons.[/b]
4.
of, pertaining to, or involving stripteasing:
the exotic clubs where strippers are featured.
So um...I'm thinking, they were not meant to be the overpowered game breakers some of them turned out to be (I'm looking at you VM), they were supposed to be on par with legendary's but look unique/different and have somewhat unique perk(s). The expectation of Exotics was/is too high. We can chalk it up to bad communication from Bungie.
It makes sense though, it supposed to be a choice for you. Do you stick with your legendary, OR this neat looking exotic that is available to buy, or randomly dropped or obtained via bounty. Does it fit your play style? Do you like it?
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It has, in fact been explicitly stated that was the intention. If you look back at the update when DeeJ said Thorn and Bad Juju we're going to be buffed, he said the idea was for exotics to be unique and play differently than other weapons, but to not be objectively more powerful than legendaries.