"I did this super cool thing and got this super cool reward, but won't display it because everyone has it."
I mean really? Other people completing the same content makes the activity feel less rewarding? I understand wanting to look unique, but there's already plenty of shaders and emblems for diversity's sake. The relevant end game content has always been a good challenge level, many of us may have beaten Skolas several times already but that is still a challenging boss encounter. Going flawless in Trials may be trivial for some but needing to go 7-1 naturally means most people won't get it since each I'd your 7 wins is some other team's loss.
I'm curious how challenging some people want the rewards to be? Or rather, what percentage of the player base should be able to obtain it?
There was a misunderstanding here. I never said activities themselves are less rewarding because others do them. I don't care how many people did Crota's End the first week, I still had a blast going in blind. Enjoyment of the activity itself is independent of clearance percentage. But a cosmetic trophy is totally meaningless when it's not exclusive. Not just here, anywhere.
Like if every time you hand somebody a cup of coffee you got a Nobel, the Nobel would be worthless. And people should still get credit for handing out coffee of course. But for those who do something more meaningful, a different tier of recognition is fitting.
Skolas and Flawless ToO are super challenging, but the nature of the activities means the challenge isn't necessarily evenly distributed. I have been to Mercury multiple times, but only because I've played with guys who are better than I am. My ToO K/D is 1.00 - you need to at least kill more than you die if you wanna win 7 straight matches
I'll go further. My little brother went to Mercury as a level 27 with blue weapons. And no mic. And having never played 3v3 (he didn't even know you could revive others). Bam, he's got the emblem too. Didn't even use the Mercy and 6 of the 7 matches were 5-0. Because pros are pro and he got help from 2 of them.
And that's a good thing! It promotes a community that helps. But someone like Drizz who gets 100 people their Skolas emblem should perhaps have a badge of his own to mark his feat no? Or guys who take people to Mercury all weekend long, every weekend - some for the fame and donations, others in anonymity just to help out - shouldn't they have a token to display the skill and dedication this requires?
As for how many people? A few dozen, a few hundred? Something rare enough to stand out would be great for this game.