The thing is that people that prefer HD over nomod have certain reasons to do so: One of the major reasons is removal of clutter.
But then again, a lot of the anti-clutter benefits you get from HD are also achievable through skinning (e.g. skinning your approachcircles away).
Even dedicated HD players (personally I know this guy https://osu.ppy.sh/u/2747072 as an example) will usually prefer nomod on maps that are difficult to read as HD does indeed make maps harder to read although it is usually a very minor factor on maps that are suited to farm pp - straightforward rhythm and close to no reading difficulty are the major traits of any map suited for farm after all.
I think a bonus is definitely justified - it is reasonable to say that the bonus through HD is far too high on some maps and far too low on others but that is a problem with vision mods in general (let's not start with FL, shall we?). Saying they're not more difficult but mere preference is definitely missing the point though. Even on farm maps, getting an equal performance with HD is an ability that has to be gained through practice.
But then again, a lot of the anti-clutter benefits you get from HD are also achievable through skinning (e.g. skinning your approachcircles away).
Even dedicated HD players (personally I know this guy https://osu.ppy.sh/u/2747072 as an example) will usually prefer nomod on maps that are difficult to read as HD does indeed make maps harder to read although it is usually a very minor factor on maps that are suited to farm pp - straightforward rhythm and close to no reading difficulty are the major traits of any map suited for farm after all.
I think a bonus is definitely justified - it is reasonable to say that the bonus through HD is far too high on some maps and far too low on others but that is a problem with vision mods in general (let's not start with FL, shall we?). Saying they're not more difficult but mere preference is definitely missing the point though. Even on farm maps, getting an equal performance with HD is an ability that has to be gained through practice.