I haven't played Destiny for months now, since just after The Taken King came out in fact, and still haven't run the raid that came out with it either.
I have been almost exclusively playing The Division since it game out, whilst it's great game it's even more of a grind fest than Destiny. And at least with Destiny you aren't forced into PVP to get the best gear.
So I'm looking to potentially get back into Destiny, but I only have one decent character (lvl 40 Nightstalker Hunter with a light level of 297) so what have I missed, and any pointers for getting back into it at all and whats with all this "Chroma glow" gear?
Just pasting what I put a couple pages back:
There are a few ways to get decent end game gear:
Raids - Will drop up to 320 in King's Fall NM and 335 in King's Fall HM.
Nightfall - Can drop gear up to 5 levels above your current equipped level. NF is LL 320 now so this may be beyond your light level (as in you will do no damage to the enemies).
Strikes - End strike loot can be better than what you already have and strike specific loot (RNG whether it will drop) will be + up to 5 greater than your current light level.
Crucible - Basically the same as strikes minus the specific loot. Crucible can be an excellent source for both strange coins and motes of light. Obviously your mileage will vary here as you will be playing against other players and may not enjoy the experience.
Iron Banner (Banana) As per crucible but with end game level loot. Assuming the drops / drop rates remain the same in the next IB you can expect to see loot drop at the end of games which is up to 5 levels above your current level. Loot pool will be what Lord Salad Man is selling for that week but it can be a decent way of getting infuse material. You will also get a 320 artefact at rank 3 and end game level loot at rank 5. Bear in mind you don't have to win or even go positive to get decent loot.
POE - As per strikes but minus the strike specific loot.
Challenge of the Elders - Basically a "arcade" version of POE where your goal is to hit point targets for that week. You will want to be greater than LL 310 before even starting this as the rounds are 310-320-330. You can go in at a lower light level but without help it will be a massive struggle (simply as you will do sod all damage to every enemy type). CoE is on a weekly refresh so the modifiers and rounds change each week.
Faction and Vanguard Rank up Packages Every time you rank up your Vanguard and Faction (FWC, New Monarchy, Dead Orbit) you will get a package which can contain a random piece of armour or weapon up to 5 levels higher than your current light level (maxes at 330). You can rank up both quickly by doing patrols and strikes (an din the case of factions by donating materials).
Decoding Engrams - Assuming you are below 310 light make sure to decode your engrams one at a time, equipping the decoded item if it is a higher level than what you are currently running (even if you won't use it). Engrams can decode into a higher light than your current light level so you want to be as high as possible every time you decode. This also goes for exotic engrams.
Other options:
Trials of Osiris - End game 3v3 competitive PVP. End game level loot but can be a right sweat fest.
Xur - Tentacle Face dude that brings with him 3 random exotic armour pieces and a exotic weapon (sometimes an engram) every Friday (through to Sunday reset). Everything he sells will be LL 280. He also sells Three of Coins which can be used to boost your chances of getting an exotic drop from the next Ultra you kill.
Not all of this will apply to you (you are no doubt aware of a few of the options for end game level gear) but it is a decent starting point.
As you haven't run the raid I would look at that first. I still need to do it on my ~307/8 Warlock (Xbone). Following that getting vanguard and faction rank up packages are easy, as is strike specific loot (as you are a high enough level to do Heroics from the get go). NF is now sadly off the cards until you get to ~305+.
Chroma is visual only. Can be applied to specific armour and weapons since the April update. You get some for free from the Sterling treasure (of which you can get three for free every week).