Dread it. Run from it. Destiny arrives all the same.

Well, the boycott would be more in response to a recent patch that was released. The expectation would be that a show of low engagement due to the patch, at the start of the 1st season for the game, would necessitate a roll back of some of the changes - to be fair all I've read and seen is that the patch nerfed so much that people are dealing half the damage they used to, and getting less experience for their troubles. I'm early enough in the game that I likely can't even tell the difference, but for players in the end game, it's wild.

I'd also add that by the time you reach 30 minutes in VS, you're having to basically vaporized everything on the screen at once and then Death just one-shots me...I guess there is a way to beat that end-boss for a level? The difference is that the first time I made it to the 30 minute mark in HoT (which took comparatively much less time...maybe because I'm just more familiar with the style of game?), I at least had a fighting chance against the 1st map's boss, and your end-level builds seem leave more room for exploration. The quests or achievements I prefer to VS, and I also prefer the way items work (including the well) generally. VS is a fun game, but HoT really improves on it in many different ways, including the visuals/tone (which is very much Diablo-esque).