Should the weekly Steel Path reward always be an Archon Shard?

A guaranteed shard would probably do a lot more to make the mode feel worth the time. The main complaint with weekly rewards like this is that they can feel too swingy, where you do the whole thing and get something that does not move your account forward much. A guaranteed Archon Shard gives the reward structure a clear ceiling and makes the weekly run feel less like a gamble.

If they wanted to keep some excitement, a decent middle ground would be shard guaranteed, with a smaller chance for a better version. That way the base reward is always solid, but there is still a reason to care about the drop being extra good.

I get why people want it, but I think making it always a shard might be a bit too generous if the activity is already meant to be a weekly source of progression. The issue is less the shard itself and more that the reward table has too many outcomes that feel off for the effort involved.

Personally, I think the better fix would be tightening the pool so the worst outcomes are removed, then keeping shards as the main premium reward. A catalyst or reactor as the final weekly prize would also make sense if the goal is to make the run feel more universally useful, especially for players who are not chasing shard upgrades yet.

The strongest argument for a guaranteed shard is that it gives the mode a clear identity. If the weekly reward is supposed to be a prestige payout, then it should probably always feel like one. Right now, mixing in too many lower-value results makes the whole thing feel inconsistent.

That said, I would not attach Tauforged odds too aggressively unless the base shard is already guaranteed. Otherwise it starts feeling too close to a lottery. A guaranteed normal shard, plus a small chance at better quality, seems like the cleanest version of the idea.

Another angle is that the mode could use rewards that help newer or returning players as well as long-time players. A guaranteed catalyst or reactor would be valuable because it is always useful and does not depend on whether someone is deep into shard optimization yet. That might actually make the weekly reward feel broader and more welcoming.

Archon Shards are great, but they are still a very specific progression item. If the goal is to get more people to show up every week, a mixed approach could work better, where the final reward is always one of a few high-value items instead of one exact thing every time.

I think the real problem is that the reward feels disconnected from the effort. When players look at a weekly activity and mentally file it under can skip this if the payout is bad, the system is already failing a bit. Guaranteeing something valuable would fix that perception fast.

If I had to pick one version, I would go with guaranteed shard first, then maybe rotate in catalysts or reactors on alternate weeks or as bonus side rewards. That keeps the weekly structure simple, while still giving the mode enough value that people do not feel like they wasted their time.