The perks are only bad when you compare them to the rerolled weapons from year 1, which can explain why bungie left them in the past. That & ttk is basically a sequel, so progress & things of that nature. Marks & motes are hardly a grind now. I almost always have around 150 motes on each of my characters without trying to get them. & they nearly doubled the mark drop rate. There are also weekly activities that can get you around 200 marks just by completing them. If you think any of that is a grind, you should probably take a break from destiny, or stop playing altogether.