Hey, I am in a similar position as you OP. Currently just got my Zenith weapon, and tbh I am thinking about just ignoring the transition higher for now... :/ The Atma quests are incredibly RNG, I have been doing FATES for half a day yesterday, and not a single Atma dropped, I really don't like those odds.

So question to more skilled players: Do I lose a lot by just going for the normal weapons of the same iLvl compared to the Atma/Zodiac weapons?