Artificially extended gameplay loop to keep players playing. It's akin to gambling. You keep going, keep going, always losing, then you get a small amount of something that gives you that tiny dopamine rush and then you're hooked. You keep playing and tolerate getting nothing because of the feeling you get when you do get something. Bungie know this all too well and artificially extend that to extreme levels because they have nothing else they can call a gameplay loop. Give everyone loot, then they won't play as much and they might not spend as much money - especially when they insist on FOMO and really dodgy paywalls like the 30th anniversary pack. If you stop caring about loot and just try to enjoy the game for what it is, you'll either have more fun or end up playing something else instead.