i bought a hardtail cause it was all i could afford and loved it for a month or so. then I knew I wanted something more and got a used xc full suspension for a good price and loved it. then I bought a better used xc+ish full suspension for a better price 2 years later and 2 years after that I still love it.
still wish I had my hardtail though! full suspension makes much less of rocks, but even with it you still want to do the lines that you'd be forced to ride if you had a hardtail cause they're usually the fasted and easiest.
and even with a nice shock, railing over rocks is never great for your bike--hello untrue rim+.
Another point: unless you plan on riding chairlifts/shuttling all the time, you're gonna want something that can pedal uphill. downhill bikes truly are useless unless you plan on walking/driving, imo. plus, it's very rare that you'll need anything more than 160mm travel unless you plan on taking on aaron gwin for the worldcup.
And for that matter, unless you're huge, 160mm is more than enough travel unless you're dropping 10 foot drops, which 90% of bikers aren't doing, or you can't hit the right line through the rocks, in which case you should revert to a hardtail in the first place!
Don't bite off more than you can chew, unless money is no option, then fuck it and get whatever you want.
