I agree that Draining 2 meta is overpowered with respect to the developers’ intent for the forge system overall. However, I think “Vigour Drain down to 3 rounds” is what I would consider a “small change,” while “Add 400 Defect points” in tandem is a “dramatic change.” I think that we should be tapering/tuning the top tier end moderately, rather than abruptly changing it at this point.
Overall, I think we’re still headed in a good direction. It’s tough to consider the factors when changing an aspect like this one. Part of my hesitancy rests with the fact that we don’t have a schedule for T7 and 8 planets or the arrival of the next tiers of tools. Arguably, we were never supposed to be ravaging T6 planets as well as we are with simple gems. /shrug
Thank you @rossstephens for this detailed update and opportunity to discuss. 