IMO, they're using the wrong carrot to entice play. I can't be arsed to play the same content over and over and over in the hopes of getting new gear. I'd much rather use the same beloved gear over and over while exploring new content. Gear in general is far too easy to get. The game I thought Destiny was going to be is something like this:
A gobsmackingly massive, always changing, cross-planet freely explorable world forms the basis. Something like Fallout on steroids. We as players would spend countless hours exploring the solar system, rooting out pockets of evil, finding long lest tech, meeting NPCs, discovering side missions, enemy fortresses etc. The world has dynamic weather, NPCs, and events which occasional and permanently alter some facet of the world. And every once in awhile, during the course of your adventures you'd find some amazing new piece of kit. Exceptional new gear would be few and far between and it would be unique, because only people who explored a certain area at a certain time would find it. Every Guardian would have samey powers, but completely unique armor and weapons that truly reflect their adventures, their legend.
Overall power should be tied to experience and skill, things under the player's control. Gear should serve to make each Guardian unique by offering special perks and bonuses, allowing each Guardian to carve out their own niche. Transitioning from one piece of gear to another should be a significant event in a guardian's career, not a daily occurrence. The vault never should have needed an increase, because gear should have never been so plentiful.
That's the game that I honestly thought I was getting based on Bungie's descriptions.