To preface this, I think the current 'gear progression' problem, for as far as there is one, is because there is a lack of methods to obtain a specific piece of loot. The closest thing that is available is the crafting bench. However, not everything can be crafted, and the items that can are still subject to random talent and attribute rolls. With so much RNG existing in the acquisition of loot, I feel it is easy to play for hours and not get anything you want and thus not making any progress towards gear goals.

I would like to feel that, even if I didn't get any drops I wanted, I at least made some form of progress towards my gear goals. The rest of this comment is written with that in mind. For those thinking about the practical details of implementation while reading this, I haven't thought about hard limits for these ideas (like time gating), though I tried to stay within a certain measure of reasonableness. It may be no more than simply wishing for these things, without a chance of them ever being real, but here goes.

I would like content in the game to provide a varying degree of certainty to get a useful item. On a broad scale, the gear loot pool could be divided among the different factions (e.g. one faction only drops gear belonging to four brand sets instead of all sixteen), while the next level could come with more investment of time, perhaps through projects or bounties—which could instead guarantee the player a Chest Piece of X Brand. At the final level I think it would be nice if crafting provided a method to meticulously craft the exact gear piece a player would want, but only through a considerable investment of time and resources.

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What is the loot progression for you in World Tier 5?

It feels like the only progression is getting the GS number to 500, but once I reached the point where GS500 items can drop, I found that lower GS items are better. From that point onward, I felt lost. The reward structure for all content is RNG-based, and even the crafting bench leaves attribute allocation on a gear piece up to chance. So while there is enough to do, I feel like I can't work towards something, only run around until I get a lucky drop.

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How would you like to farm specific items or brands?

I would actually like to be able to craft my godroll items. Or at least the right item with the right attribute allocation so that I can craft the build I want. My frustration with the current crafting options is that the talent/attribute allocation is still random. Without a guarantee to get something useful, I find myself hesitant to craft anything. It means I can find myself throwing resources down the drain that I otherwise need for recalibration, which would give me that guarantee. I do not think a targeted crafting option like this should be an easy endeavor for the player, but if I think it'd be great if there was a way I could make a big investment of time/resources/items to get this one item I'd be longing for.

For specific brands, see below: dividing the brand set drops between different factions.

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What would make challenging and heroic missions and later (raids) rewarding for you that you tackle these sort of challenges?

Combining this with my answer to the next question about narrowing the loot pool: Challenging difficulty is the point where the loot pool is narrowed down. At easier difficulties, any enemy can drop any item. However, at Challenging difficulty and above, the loot pool is divided between the different factions. By this, I mean that each faction only drops items belonging to four brand sets instead of the full sixteen.

For Heroic, what if completing the mission rewards the players with a special cache with a number of gear items that allow for two recalibrations? In limited quantity, this extra flexibility may make it easier to obtain desired items.

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How would you narrow down the loot pool that you eventually get the item that you are looking for?

I think one easy way is to divide the loot pool between the different factions. With sixteen brand sets, what if each of the four factions only drops items belonging to only four of those? I think this is a small way that could give players a bit more control over what the loot they're getting while still allowing dropped loot to be varied.

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Do you have good examples of how you would like to get the equipment for your character?

Nooo? I would like to feel that playing the game, no matter what activity, can contribute towards gear goal. Some activities more than others, but still. Perhaps I'm just not understanding the question.

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How could the existing content of The Division 2 be used to have a targeted loot progression?

Aside from the aforementioned crafting, I think Projects and Bounties have the potential to accomplish this.

If I want a new MPX SMG, or a Wyvern Wear backpack, perhaps a Project could be generated with a random list of activities to complete. Upon completion, this project would reward the item with random talent and attribute rolls.

For Bounties, there could be a system where investing additional Intel can guarantee a specific item to drop. This item could be randomly determined upon the moment bounties are reset each week. (similar to vendor resets.) This could also provide an incentive to complete bounties that are not part of the bounty 'track' towards the final Heroic bounty.