So the newest and hottest, "reasons you shouldn't be playing destiny," article has hit the feedback forums. I've read through the article and acknowledge why guardians are upset. I myself was initially upset that my progress was being reset on my exotics, and initially upset that people would easily be able to pass level 30 without completing the Vault of Glass. I was also upset that my favorite weapons from the Vault including Vision of Confluence and Fate Bringer would not be joining exotics in receiving a way to be upgraded. Through my frustration I still purchased the DLC. One week in and I have fully upgraded vanguard gear, taking myself to 31, a half upgraded Suros 2.0, a fresh Ice Breaker 2.0 and fully upgrade Voidfang Vestments 2.0. My vault still contains plenty of exotics that have yet to be upgraded and my glimmer stock has gone through a few fluctuations since upgrading 2 of them required around 7k glimmer each. 3 upgrades in and I still find myself using Fate Bringer, Vision of Confluence, Found Verdict, Light/Beware, Praedyths Revenge, and 3 out of 4 pieces of raid gear on a regular basis. All these weapons max out at 300. What this article failed to acknowledge is that although the level cap was increased and weapons with higher damage output were implemented into the game, the highest activity outside the raid at the moment is 30, which means weapons that max out at 300 are still viable to use during the nightfall and weekly strike. During the nightfall specifically, That extra 30 or so damage stat is rendered irrelevant because of the provided burn modifier. Maxed out weapons were effective during the Vault of Glass, and the hard mode of that raid is set at level 30. Now everything is set at level 30, and your pre DLC weapons are just as effective as they were during the Hard Raid, and I will continue to use them if those are the weapons that are viable for the situation. This article also failed to acknowledge that when it comes to your armor, increasing your light level beyond 30 is irrelevant in all activities besides the Iron Banner and the new raid. In PvE, once you equal your enemies level, your damage reduction is set to 0% and your damage does not increase on your enemy as you level past them. This theory has been tested and proven and you can see the numbers [url=http://www.destinygamewiki.com/wiki/Levels]here[/url] (Skip to Level vs Damage Test to view the findings). For this reason [b]I still wear my Vault of Glass gear during PvE activities[/b]. At this point in the game, your increased light above level 30 is nothing more than a cosmetic. Polygon did not mention that stats are normalized in PvP, so The Crucible is another spot in the game where I find myself using Vault of Glass armor and weaponry, as well as the pre DLC vanguard and faction gear. Light/Beware, Truth, Corrective Measure, Praedyths Revenge, Shadow Price, Found Verdict, The Comedian, all weapons I have maxed out at 300, are just as effective against a level 31 guardian as they are against a level 15 guardian. They are just as effective inside The Crucible as they were a month ago. My VoG gear carries my preferred perks and stats (intellect, discipline, and strength), so my build is still highly composed of said gear since I've yet to find any new armor with more favorable stats and perks. Does my current weapon and armor choice make me less effective in The Crucible because I'm still using old weapons and old armor? Not at all. Speaking of the Iron Banner, as we all know level advantages are enabled so you want to be the highest light level possible. But as well all know the damage falloff doesn't occur until around 4 levels outside of your enemies level. This means a level 30 will pretty much be just as effective as a 31 during the banner. Even 29s will be a threat since not many people will be at 32 come tomorrow morning. When it comes to exotics I completely agree with the Polygon article in that in doesn't really matter what you've done to your exotics at this point. I still believe I should have received some sort of advantage in the reset for maxing out the exotic first. That being said, even though I own all but three of the launch exotic weapons and four out of six of the warlock armor pieces. I only use a total of six exotic things on a regular basis. Those six exotics are SUROS Regime, Truth, Ice breaker, Patience and Time, Voidfang Vestments, and Apotheosis Veil. I received an upgraded Apotheosis from a drop, and while Xur was at the tower I began another 3 exotics to be upgraded. That's four out of six of my regular exotics that are already on their way to the upgraded versions. I only use Truth and Patience and time outside of the raid so there isn't a rush to get them upgraded at this point. Based on my situation, I am asking everyone who owns a high number of exotics if they actually use all of them on a regular basis. Honestly. Because my thought is you find a handful of exotics you base your builds around and you stick to them. Occasionally using the others for fun. At my current place in the game, that is what I am doing. So the 12 hours of glimmer farming and 280+ strange coin acquirement is going to spread out over months of gaming, or until the next DLC comes out, since I don't use over half my exotics in first place, I just have them to say I have them. [b]In conclusion,[/b] I feel your pain, I really do, because I am sharing the same experience. But I think the numbers presented in the Polygon article provides shock value over realistic pathways to achieve completion, and completely ignores the fact that light level 31 and 32 are completely irrelevant during the regular PvE activites, and during regular Crucible matches. [b]You don't have to upgrade everything at once[/b]. Spread out your upgrades. Upgrade your favorites first, even though Xur is completely random when it comes to upgrades, he carries enough upgrades that you'll see the exotic you have more than once. Even if he doesn't your maxed out 1.0 version is still effective in every single activity in the game so far including the new raid. By spreading out the upgrades the glimmer and strange coin farm won't be bad at all. [b]Your Vault of Glass gear is still relevant[/b]. The highest activities outside of the raid are level 30. This means a level 30 guardian in full VoG gear is just as effective as a 31 guardian in new faction gear. Use your gear to balance out your stats and if they hold your favorite perks. You won't be at a disadvantage in neither PvE nor PvP What do you guys think? I provided a link to the article at the top in case you haven't had a chance to read it yet.