It's so obvious now. They nerfed the story.
They had to. Think about it. The original story was going to be so good, so gripping, so OP, that it would have reduced the Crucible to a ghost town. It would make all other games* unplayable by comparison. Players would starve rather than tear their eyes away, even for a moment. Even the mighty Elder Scrolls would look on and weep, as it saw its legacy bested by Bungie, that most humble of underdogs. But Bungie's love--for us, for games, for all that is good in this world--led them to sacrifice their magnum opus for the greater benefit to all Mankind. Like the Traveler itself, they destroyed themselves to save us all. Thank you, Bungie. The world is forever in your debt.
*Especially COD. Yeah, I said it. Come and get me.
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To be honest they probably nerfed the story because they knew you would be doing the same missions 10x a week and wanted to prevent people from being really bored by having to sit through the same videos (though an engaging story and a button to skip cut scenes would have worked too).