Re: Complaints about people being "gifted" the Ice Breaker (and other exotics) instead of earning it.
I think the main aspect of the argument you guys are presenting that confuses me is; why does bettering someone else's enjoyment of the game lessen it for you? The argument could be made for the Suros as it would affect PvP a lot more than the Ice Breaker will, yet, you still had/have the same opportunity to get it as everyone else.
The fact that some people bought these exotics does not, in any way, cheapen the weapon for anyone. I've passed on every single exotic weapon Xur was selling just so I could buy this. I wanted the suros. I wanted the gjallarhorn. I wanted the red death. I wanted other exotic armors. Yet I passed time and time again for this.
People say "well you didn't earn it, you just bought it." Ok, how did you earn it? Did you kill a level 6 dreg on the moon and get a lucky drop? Maybe. Did you afk a PvP match and got a lucky reward afterwards as a result? Possibly. Did you beat something very challenging like a nightfall strike or a raid? Also a possibility. Ok. What about the other guys who have done the exact same thing as you 100x over? Guys who have spent 100+ hours, run 75+ strikes, played countless PvP matches, completed every nightfall strike, finished the raid multiple times... run heroic strikes and created alts to run more so they could save up enough coins for this weapon. Is that not in any way the same or better than some of the ways you "earned" your weapon?
Let's be real. This is a loot game. Some people get lucky, others don't. Just because you got lucky doesn't mean everyone else should have to "suffer" through the slog of grinding until, they too, get lucky. I can somewhat understand your point if you consider someone who's just picked up the game and after a week has the coins to buy this when you had to wait a month to get a lucky drop. But at the end of the day, how does it affect you really? I got the raid AR and scout after my first raid run... so at first, I can see why to some it may make those weapons feel "cheaper" to me if they were for sale all the sudden. But, they're still not gifted to you, and I also have NO IDEA what the people buying those weapons have gone through just to hope they get a lucky drop like you or I did. In this case, I'm the one who got lucky with my raid gear. The other guy may have worked a hell of a lot harder than I did to get the raid weapons I already have.
In terms of exclusivity; you still have the raid weapons and armor you can get nowhere else but the raid. My guess is this trend will continue in future raids. So, what you're looking for is present in the game. I just don't see how you getting a lucky drop a week after the game launched, possibly from afk'ing a pvp match, seems to be a more justifiable method than someone who's played the game for countless hours grinding, hoping for that same luck who then has to result to buying it with coins they've saved since day 1 because they never found it.
I spent all morning running around with the ice breaker and am loving every second of it. It won't make me play less. It won't make me enjoy the game less. It won't ruin the loot drop anticipation or anything else for me. It's making me enjoy a game I already enjoy even more. I don't have to slog through a bunch of grind-y scenarios hoping I one day get lucky like you did. Turning in 100's of blues and 50+ purples and never getting what I'm looking for sucks. I've earned this. Same as you.
