Really strong? Yes. Really strong compared to D1? No.
Destiny has always had an extremely high amount of AA... I wish they'd tune down the AA some and in return slightly lower the recoil and/or flinch of the weapons to balance it out but that's not happening.
To be honest, better having "too much" AA than not enough.
With Halo 5, we experienced a FPS game on console with literally no Aim Assist at all, or really not a lot, and a high bullet magnetism, and it doesn't feel pleasing to play, the aim feel off and not responsive.
I know too much Aim Assist can be a bad thing, but Destiny feels really good thanks to this.
I have a feeling there's going to be more competition with the factions. Maybe you pledge loyalty for a season and rep totals at the end determine your rewards.
Seasons would be pretty cool actually, but I'm worrying Bungie would affiliate this to "Ranked" and not putting it. :/
It's likely just that, but I'd imagine they revamped a bit how these particular factions work compared to Destiny 1. I'd say that, in addition to the armor and weapons, they come a long with milestones, quests and daily challenges.
My one hope is that their armor is not just a new skin for existing armor in the game. That was always an issue with Destiny 1. I recall seeing a Dead Orbit cloak in one of the trailers that looked different than what's in the current selection.
I agree, hope each factions have unique and proper armors/weapons than just different skins applied to them. Actually, I didn't see too much duplicate weapons for now, so I hope it will keep the same track with the factions. Like having a goal to follow a different factions with each character we own.