They were merged because the original afterglow path was nothing more than epeen time sinks ; it saves them time; in the future they only have to update 1 version of the same R/M/E

I'm not opposed to additional weapons costing less, but I suspect obtaining the plutons/beit/bourders will become easier over time which would effectively be the same.

S-E very rarely adjusts the requirements for RME upgrades and not in the context of rewarding holders of multiple RME.