Invalidating? No. Showing a complete disregard for? Yes, entirely.

Ask yourself why you do anything you do in game? For progression? For rewards? For fun? Well let me shut down the "just for fun" bit right now: Progressing and earning rewards IS fun. WINNING is fun. Plain and simple. Spare me the "it's not all about. . ." bit. It is. We're gamers. It IS. It always is.

Now this game, to this point has etched out a formula it follows, offering several options, all effectively to the same type of end rewards, proportional to the work put in. Like a challenge and you've got skills? You raid. Not much time, but skilled? You go for tome/primal weapons. Got time, perhaps not much skill? Relics are the long road to the top. SE's never tried to play coy about these things, and anyone who pursues any of these goals is free to pursue one, all, or even none if they wish. But you know what you're getting into, where the road leads, and what the reward is. Generally, by the time you get it, it's an accomplishment that you would, and should be proud of.

. . . Only now, they've literally broken the formula to try and sell people on a content that was NOT improved, but combined with other questionably-popular content, and slapped one big reward on it, entirely without warning. A reward that entirely defies the concept of proportional rewards for the time, effort, or skill you put into whichever option you chose prior.
Plain and simple: Raiding will not give you an i280 weapon. The relic will not become an i280 weapon. A far less time consuming or challenging content than both methods I just mentioned does. That entirely makes no sense, and even gating it behind walls and walls of RNG don't justify it either. For those that chose those options, an option that requires far less time, skill, or effort leads to a greater reward, and that is where the disappointment sets in.

This has been said, and repeated many times now, and if you don't see it, or choose not to see it, that's on you. It doesn't change what they've done, nor the huge defiance of their own formula in doing it.