First VR Setup Recommendations

[PurpleRiver_Dev]

Looking for some recommendations for a first VR setup.

The standard advice seems to be to go for the Quest3, but I would rather avoid products from Meta. I'd like to go for something that gives a good impression of what's possible, as in fairly low latency, good image quality etc.
Valve's deckard is rumoured and probably going to release along with Half Life 3....
The Big Screen Beyond 2 looks incredible but is a pretty substantial investment for a First VR Setup, more than I want to sink into it at the moment but a likely upgrade path in for the future.

PC has a 3080ti so fairly capable, but not bleeding edge. Looking to play NoMansSky, Half-Life Alyx, Rise of the Tomb Raider and maybe some beat saber

The HTC Vive Pro 2 is on sale at the moment, the full kit with 2 controllers and 2 base stations for £700 (GBP)

Should I go for the Vive Pro 2, suck up my aversion to giving money to Meta and go for the Quest 3 or is there another option?

[Blasty Blosty]

The Vive wands are horrible, so if you get the Vive, get the index knuckle controllers for a significantly better experience

[m1lk3y]

I was going to possibly suggest the Index as a whole, but with the price for that Vive Pro 2 I don't think it can be beat for 700.. You can always look around on marketplaces too since a lot of people get a VR setup and then stop using it after a while and just get rid of them for cheaper than buying a new one! I originally had an OG Vive, then upgraded to the Index over time, was well worth it for me even though I don't play much right now. Can also agree with Blasty above, the wands aren't the best, but they have their uses in certain games that make them a bit easier to use sometimes. The GPU also should be great, I have a base 10gb 3080 and it does anything in VR that I want to throw at it. Hope you enjoy whatever you decide getting!