Way off topic but I’ll simplify it…
XC - dirt roadies. Pedals great, not the best at going downhill. 100-120mm travel
Trail - “do it all bikes” 130-150 ish travel
Enduro - mainly for going downhill, can pedal ok to get to the top of said climbs. 150-180mm travel
Downhill - these are dirt bikes without motors. Pedals like crap, total beasts and pointing down a mountain.
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You forgot downcountry now also… 
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Downcountry = rebranded and tweaked XC in order to be marketed to DHers.
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Funny thing is, the 3 full suspension variations (and the hardtail) of the Epic are all designed for a single race type (XC).
Including the Chisel, Specialized currently sells 5 different XC bikes.
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So… the MTB version of gravel bikes?
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It never ceases to amaze me how the bike industry is a victim of their own SKU proliferation….especially the major suppliers.
They feel they need to fill every gap in the marketplace so you end up with situations like this…”well some people want 110mm travel for their XC bike….but these diehards over here only want 100mm.” “OK, let’s do both!”
Add in multiple sizes, occasionally multiple colors and you quickly end up in SKU Hell.
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Hardly a victim… they’ll sell every one they make!
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Yeah…after discounting them (see current sale). 
Whether they sell every one or not was not really my point…there is a significant operating cost to carrying additional SKU’s. They would be more efficient and focus their sales velocity if they focused on fewer models / options…and in this case, efficiency = profitability.
But we are getting way OT for this thread…
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Imagine trying to explain the difference between the Chisel and Fuse to someone upgrading from a Rockhopper or buying their first sporty bike.
“…so the Fuse can take a tire that’s .2in larger and is 20mm taller in front?”
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That’s relatively easy for me. It largely boils down to Race vs Play as a focus. When you consider the “hidden” aspects on the geo between them, the bikes are quite different in feel, and potential “best case” use. You can race and play on either, but the feel and feedback will be notably different.
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Sorry… I only see the same bike with different names…
Devil is in the details (geometry in this case):
These two bikes will ride and handle VERY differently in practice. Head Tube Angle, Wheelbase & Chainstay Length are key areas of difference, but there are more as well. Each can be ripped with abandon, but will feel different and take different rider inputs to get the same results.
This is akin to comparing an XC racer to a Trail bike, in essence.
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I was this person, buying one of these bikes, knowledgeable about bikes but not MTBs, and just knew the Fuse took a bigger tire and was a bit heavier but took a bigger tire- BUT HOW MUCH HEAVIER??!!??
People saying a bike is RACIER as a downside is the dumbest thing... what does that mean??? NOTHING. On a road bike, in practical terms, it means the head tube is shorter and you bend over more. On a MTB, it means the bike is lighter and doesn't handle rough stuff as well.... but you RACE on TRAILS and DOWNHILLS.Also, do crosscountry bikes not ride on trails? Whats a Trail and what does the bike riding terrain between Gravel and Trail look like for a crosscountry bike? I like the term Trail bike, meaning not a Mountain Bike, but where do I use a Crosscountry bike? Open fields?
Also2, why are Trail bikes so freaking long and have such wide bars? Aren’t trails in the woods most of the time? Where are these wide spacious woods? Are these planted forests?
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That HT angle and wheelbase difference is probably just the longer fork.
This is why we will always need LBS’s
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So you can listen to a dude there can say “This one is RACIER and this one likes to party!”
“…so the fork is a little bigger and it has slightly more room for tires?”
Not once did I hear "Forget the fork…the bigger tire is a big deal on a HT. You can run it softer, so you get more grip on climbs and it’ll really help going over roots and rocks as well. If you’re going on a well used MTB trail, running a 2.8 really helps because the rocks and roots get dug up and are like riding over a shoe boxes "
I am more than happy to split hairs on this from a geo perspective, but if you want to do that, we should head to a separate topic. I was just trying to give a quick resource above to show that the two bikes are quite different. And that difference more than just slapping a longer fork and wider tire on the same frame.
Let me know if you what to cover it more and I will start a MTB geo discussion topic to build from here.
why are you yelling?
Without hitting specifics here, this all ties into the different “disciplines” of riding and racing on “off-road bicycles” that is the width & breadth of the MTB spectrum… from XC races to DH racers and the many steps between them.
Much boils down to the genesis of demands from each discipline that makes one bike better than another for a given task. Sure, you can ride and XC bike on a nasty DH course and you can pedal a DH bike up a hill, but you are putting them outside their general realm of intent and abilities.
I can rally my XC hardtail in races downhill and pull away from people on trail fullies. Just a mater of how you ride it. So the bike is part of the equation and will at least partially influence what can be done with them, but most of these bikes are capable as a range of function rather than a discrete hard line.
It’s like they say with power and training, more like faders between disciplines than hard lines.
Again, all best set for a separate topic.
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If you asked the LBS employee “what’s the difference between these two bikes?” and all they said was “this one is for racing and this one is for partying”, I would ask to speak to someone who could better explain it to me. If no one could, I would go to a different LBS.
If that’s the case, that sucks and I’m sorry it happened to you.
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