A *Different* Reason For The Removal Of Perk Tiers (Not The Grind)

I mentioned this in another thread, but I think it warrants its own post.

Quite often when the concept of removing the perk tiers mechanic is raised, it's mentioned in the context of reducing the grind- as it was in the latest QnA stream. While I do understand both sides of that argument (wanting a more permanent fix, versus the idea that the stopgap would last long enough to give time for that permanent fix to be designed), I think there's a big upside to removing perk tiers that should be addressed as well.

Specifically, the removal of perk tiers would allow for more freedom in perk design, by no longer requiring every perk to have a scaling effect. As an example, take Discordance- why does it have a distance requirement at all? It's completely unnecessary, especially as the distance it does have is so large you're almost certainly going to be in range no matter what. Well, the distance requirement is the part that scales with perk tiers- and if you wanted to remove that to make the perk simpler, well, there'd be nothing to scale.

(Well, in the case of Discordance specifically, there would be the amount of time the yellow aura lingers, but you can see my overall point, I'm sure.)

There are also plenty of perks (for an example on either side, I'd use Aftercare and Whispers) that really aren't that bad, but are only useful at level 3 because the part that scales makes it completely useless at level 1. With the removal of perk tiers, perks would be far more usable far quicker.

This concept can also be applied to new perks, too- perks that don't feel as though they have to put an arbitrary timer or cooldown on just so there's something to scale have a fair bit more freedom in how they're designed. I'm not saying that any perk in the game right now really feels like that's the case, though I do think some could be simplified - what I'm saying is that I'm sure a few potentially viable perk ideas have been shelved during the brainstorming sessions because of this, in whole or in part.

Here is where I would like to circle back to the grind, just briefly. I respect not wanting to put a ton of work into a temporary solution, and I do respect that it would be a temporary solution for the grind... but perhaps the future-proofing benefit of allowing more diverse perk designs without being weighed down by needing scaling factors could be a boost that causes the idea to be re-evaluated?

Just wanted to get that out there. Have a good one, everyone.