I mainly do solo stuff as i cant commit hours straight for raids, since year 2 ive found i can get max level gear and weapons from strikes which are matchmaking and in the last month gone into pvp looking for the eyasluna.
The raid gear is good for raid buffs but if you like strikes and/or pvp then you will find great gear and in some cases better gear. Some strike set gear are the best in the game
Raids have raid gear but now you can get to max level doing pvp or pve, even solo
To be honest, i can see why they're doing it. Im not sure about buying it unless i can try it first. I dont know of anywhere else to try before you buy. The price i bet is more for crowd control. If it was free to try, then 8 people in a queue would be 2 hours minimum wait.