If you want to pull at least one rank a week I imagine you're going to need to either play an absurd amount, or work through a lot of bounties every day.

But you don't need one rank a week. You cannot earn enough marks in one week to buy a new weapon. Aim for one rank every two weeks and it shouldn't be too bad at all.

I got a hand canon

There's that word again :P

Because something something loot treadmill.

Also I think they're supposed to compensate for the fact that when you hit level 20 now, it is much harder to get Legendaries than it was before.

Is it really harder? With the 100 mark limit you've always been limited to roughly one weapon ever other week. Without having tested it I feel that ranking up happens at about that rate as long as you're taking incidental bounties and playing missions and strikes at your level...

Does anyone else think the decision to add a new set of rare weapons in the expansion was a odd one?

I've mainly found these by completing strikes in the new Roc Strike Playlist. I haven't found any in the many rare engrams I've decoded since Tuesday. They're classified as Rare, but the final upgraded damage is 294 - practically on par with vanilla legendary gear.

So what role do they serve? Stop-gaps for players without legendary weapons, but wanting something better then the old rare weapons? Why not just upgrade them to legendary status/damage levels, and increase the diversity of everyone's end-game arsenal?

They serve the same purpose that Rares served before? To provide up and coming players with higher level weapons while they wait for the Legendaries and Exotics. The higher damage will let them keep even with the bump in the level of heroic missions.

So what role do they serve? Stop-gaps for players without legendary weapons, but wanting something better then the old rare weapons? Why not just upgrade them to legendary status/damage levels, and increase the diversity of everyone's end-game arsenal?

I got a hand canon called Polite Denial. In PvE it does more damage than Devil you Know. I think these are just small steps up from current legendary gear to hold you over until you get to the new ones.

Havok is also right in that I think they are more for players who hit level 20 now, rather than those of us who have been there since hour 18.

Also I think they're supposed to compensate for the fact that when you hit level 20 now, it is much harder to get Legendaries than it was before.

I've mainly found these by completing strikes in the new Roc Strike Playlist. I haven't found any in the many rare engrams I've decoded since Tuesday. They're classified as Rare, but the final upgraded damage is 294 - practically on par with vanilla legendary gear.

So what role do they serve? Stop-gaps for players without legendary weapons, but wanting something better then the old rare weapons? Why not just upgrade them to legendary status/damage levels, and increase the diversity of everyone's end-game arsenal?