Personally, I think the actual gameplay loop for getting armor is more streamlined this year. The process of obtaining leaves and ashes doesn't feel as intrusive as some of the grinding that was needed in previous years.

Though I'm not sure I like the Bonfire Bash this time around. The whole back half and outer edges of the map go largely unused, which I could go either way on. On one hand, I kinda like having things condensed to a more manageable area, and I feel like it ends up making better use of the players' time, and allows you more opportunities to reach the max ignitions. Though it also makes each run of the activity feel a bit more monotonous.

The lack of really fun elemental effects is also a bit of a bummer. While the Stasis effect was pretty busted, it definitely made the event feel a lot more like a celebration of our guardians and their abilities, so I'm a bit sad to see that reduced to a weak AOE burst (which irritatingly destroys my tangles before I can grab them).

I just wish that the armor rolls were better. I don't think I've had anything roll above 65 just yet. Honestly, I'm probably going to be still using my Solstice armor from last year as my go-to gear for the next year again.