Posted this a few days back...it's similar to how I feel:
I agree with the criticism many fans are having... once they reach max level, there is really no more meaningful progression left in the game. They hit a roadblock.
There are two sides to this argument as I see:
1. It's a benefit to new players because removing the grind allows the new people to join up and be raid ready MUCH quicker to play with their high level friends. Example: We are all 300 and raid ready. Our friend just started the game and he was able to hit 275 in less than a week and be ready to join us on all our events including nightfalls and the raid. Cool, Bungie made it more accessible for those who don't have much time. I can't argue against this since our friend now doesn't feel left behind. I actually applaud Bungie for this.
2. It does kinda sucks for those hardcore time sinkers like myself. Reaching the soft cap isn't very hard to do IMHO...and once you do, almost everything from a progression standpoint is meaningless.
So if I'm PL305, all legendary engrams are pretty much useless, all faction gear and tokens are useless (I don't care much about fashion destiny), all public events are useless, all lost sectors are useless, etc. The ONLY thing we have to
maybe push us one PL higher are the once a week milestones.
I totally understand both sides of the argument here. I think Bungie has done a phenomenal job with the game overall with the campaign, story, gameplay, music, level design...the list just goes on. But the sad truth is, some of us don't want to let go of this game so quickly...we REALLY enjoy playing it, socializing, and discovering new shit with our friends while trying to actively progress and make our characters stronger. But again... the problem is that we are no longer progressing. Once our power levels are high enough, we are basically playing a slot machine by turning in faction tokens and weak engrams.
It's exactly like Luke Smith said:
"one of the biggest problems are that people will always play through the content much faster than we can create new content".
I totally understand that and applaud all the hard working developers. I do think there is a solution that can improve the progression and can cater to both groups I listed above...
Allow additional areas where the hardcore fans can continue leveling up without making our constant playtime feel totally useless...and that solution is bringing back the overall Grimoire Score and overall Faction Level/Rank system, but add some real life and meaning into it this time. Not only will we have In-game grimoire cards, but they will slowly be unlocked after a few faction level/rank ups...but most importantly, we will earn
exclusive rewards by turning in those tokens to each faction and hitting a certain level (in conjunction to what we're already getting). A bit confused?
Well... you guys remember Destiny 1's faction rank system? Say I would try to rank up with Dead Orbit by turning in Motes of Light. I would always get Dead Orbit related gear... However, in Destiny 1, after reaching rank 25, Dead Orbit rewards you with an exclusive class item that can ONLY be obtained by reaching level/rank 25 with that specific faction. After that, it was all basically meaningless. For Destiny 2, let's fix that and improve the longevity and meaningful progression... Here are my ideas:
Gunsmith: Banshee
Every 100 level/rank ups with the Gunsmith, a new exotic gun quest becomes available. After 100 more level/rank ups, another new exotic quest. All these quests can be similar to the Gjallarhorn quest from Rise of Iron...where you find out a little bit more about the lore of a certain weapon through a small mission before obtaining it along with an emblem that tracks kills dedicated to that weapon. Eventually we can even see things like Exotic mods that have some unique features. This will also increase your Grimoire score and unlock related grimoire cards to things like Suros, Omolon, Hakke, etc.
Factions: New Monarchy, FWC, and Dead Orbit
Every 25 level/rank ups with a specific faction, you get to do a specific faction quest that dives deep into the lore of that specific faction and adds to the grimoire score. Every 25 level ups after that will allow you to learn even more about that faction, the history, some of the characters, and earn some cool exotic class items (cape for a hunter, etc).
Vanguard: Zavala, Ikora, Cayde
Every 25 level/rank ups with
Zavala, you unlock very challenging heroic/prestige versions of a strike with some cool new changes and exclusive rewards.
Every 25 level/rank ups with
Ikora can open a very challenging version of a campaign story mission (time based with anomalies, etc). Reward will be unique gear that helps with strikes (ex: boots that don't slow you down in electricity in exodus down, armor that reduces damage from shriekers for the Titan strike, etc)
For
Cayde, after finding about 10 of his hidden chests, he will give you a skeleton key that can be used for Zavala's heroic strikes. All of this will work in conjunction together and will also add to the overall Grimoire score while unlocking grimoire cards for certain Titans, Warlocks, Hunters.
Eververse: Bright Engrams
Every 25 level/rank ups with Eververse, opens a new small questline for your character class that will unlock a new path for your subclass. Currently there are two paths for each subclass. Arcstrider hunters for example have "Way of the Warrior" and "Way of the Wind". Once we reach this 25 rank goal with Eververse, unlock at least one extra path or something... For example, "Way of the Assassin" for the Arcstrider. 25 levels after that, a new path for Gunslinger...then 25 more after that, new Path for Nightstalker. This will truly make us feel like we're progressing and it's all paying off. (This doesn't have to a
significant advantage in PvP).
Raid
Once you level/rank up 10 times using the Raid tokens, the Leviathan opens up as a mini patrol area with some awesome new challenges (a prison of elders defend mode in the Castellum) with exclusive loot with unique perks to the raids.
Planetary Factions
Every 50 EDZ level/rank ups will unlock a new cool Adventure on that specific planet, add to Grimoire, unlock grimoire cards about the EDZ, Devrim, and other related stuff.
Every 50 Titan level/rank ups will unlock a new cool Adventure on that specific planet, add to Grimoire, unlock grimoire cards about Titan, Sloane, and other related stuff.
Every 50 Nessus level/rank ups will unlock a new cool Adventure on that specific planet, add to Grimoire, unlock grimoire cards about Nessus, Failsafe/Exodus Black, and other related stuff.
Every 50 IO level/rank ups will unlock a new cool Adventure on that specific planet, add to Grimoire, unlock grimoire cards about the IO, Asher, and other related stuff.
Crucible Faction
Every 25 level/rank ups with Shaxx, he will give the player exclusive new exotic weapon skin/exotic shader, emote, emblem, and ghost. True, this isn't that rewarding as the rest, but seeing how frustrating PvP can be for some people, I personally think sticking to only cosmetics wouldn't be so bad. Plus, just like everything else, it'll add to the overall Grimoire score and unlock grimoire cards related to the Crucible, the PvP maps, the Redjacks, Shaxx, etc...
For the record, the level system still exists using third party apps:
http://destinytracker.com/ (enter your PSN ID or GamerTag and you'll see what level you are with each faction.
Hope you guys get the idea. But very importantly, all this isn't meant to give the players who are far higher rank in every faction a significant advantage in something like PvP. As I mentioned earlier, the whole point Bungie is trying to get across is so that everyone can have fun together. Even if you're a new player who has only played 20 hours and are PL265, you should still be able to play with your friends who have invested 200 hours and are PL300 and have fun. I applaud Bungie for this, but I also think it would be very satisfying and awesome if we hardcore fans who play almost daily can get rewarded for reaching certain heights with things like exclusive lore, exclusive new adventures/quests, and exclusive PvE gear that cannot be obtained through random engrams. Much love, GAF, Bungie, and Destiny fans. Sorry for the long post.