Buyable Gear Options

[Myo]

I know what this might devolve into... but it has to be said. I was a hardcore FFXI player for a long time between 2007-2012, and I still respect that players who put in more time and effort want better gear. However, after playing for the last few months from a casual perspective, it's an unavoidable fact that rare/ex gear, and hard to obtain buyable gear, specifically weapons crafted from delve boss drops (costing over 10,000,000 gil), are creating a huge canyon in the middle of the playerbase between people who have this gear, and people who don't.
Despite how easy this gear may, or may not, have been to originally obtain, shout groups now require delve gear, simply to obtain delve gear. The only backdoor being mage jobs and other positions that a lot of players just don't enjoy spending their time in. And the auction house isn't putting out any weapons to purchase that can even come close to 100+ DMG, single handed weaponry or 200+ DMG double handed weapons. To be blunt, any player who doesn't feel like leveling BRD, COR, or WHM, (or have a delve weapon already) is left with weapons that have approximately half the DMG amount of Delve-obtained gear.
As mentioned previously, I do believe hardcore players, and anyone who jumped on the Delve ship early enough, deserve their gear for putting in their time. However, unless there is an affordable option for every weapon type on Auction House that at least has around 80-90% of the DMG of a Delve weapon, the DD's who have been left out of delve, will continue to be left out of delve.

In short: The game needs more buyable weapon choices. "Rare/ex only" gear is leaving casual players in the dust.

[FrankReynolds]

I know what this might devolve into... but it has to be said. I was a hardcore FFXI player for a long time between 2007-2012, and I still respect that players who put in more time and effort want better gear. However, after playing for the last few months from a casual perspective, it's an unavoidable fact that rare/ex gear, and hard to obtain buyable gear, specifically weapons crafted from delve boss drops (costing over 10,000,000 gil), are creating a huge canyon in the middle of the playerbase between people who have this gear, and people who don't.
Despite how easy this gear may, or may not, have been to originally obtain, shout groups now require delve gear, simply to obtain delve gear. The only backdoor being mage jobs and other positions that a lot of players just don't enjoy spending their time in. And the auction house isn't putting out any weapons to purchase that can even come close to 100+ DMG, single handed weaponry or 200+ DMG double handed weapons. To be blunt, any player who doesn't feel like leveling BRD, COR, or WHM, (or have a delve weapon already) is left with weapons that have approximately half the DMG amount of Delve-obtained gear.
As mentioned previously, I do believe hardcore players, and anyone who jumped on the Delve ship early enough, deserve their gear for putting in their time. However, unless there is an affordable option for every weapon type on Auction House that at least has around 80-90% of the DMG of a Delve weapon, the DD's who have been left out of delve, will continue to be left out of delve.

In short: The game needs more buyable weapon choices. "Rare/ex only" gear is leaving casual players in the dust.

This is a huge problem with the path to progression that they have chosen.

When characters grow by experience points, they buy / quest / farm level appropriate gear and use it until they level into new gear, then they sell it or hang onto it for the next job they level. This allows new players to purchase gear that can get them from point A to point B and creates a cycle.

When characters grow through gear instead, they wear the gear until they get something better and then the old piece is of no use to anyone because it cannot be sold and it will never be good for anything to that player again unless the developer decides to give it a stat / level increase.

[Lordkrys]

I completely agree with the op, there has been a lack of quality gear added that can be purchased from the AH for quite some time. But if your looking for a better weapon have you tried Skirmish? It's very casual friendly and some of the weapons are pretty decent (especially if your lucky enough to get a good augment on them). Only real issue is getting the items needed to make the KI to enter. Sometimes it hit or miss on them at the AH. And I'm not sure if there's a good way to farm them other than spamming Reives.

[Lordkrys]

Also, I believe the Devs stated that 5 new sets of gear are coming when they add Skirmish part II. And the ability to +1 the weapons. Depending on how it all works out the Skirmish stuff may help a lot of people get into delve. I think that was supposed to be the plan in the first place. Aquire Bayld gear, Wildskeeper reives gear, Skirmish weps, and then tackle delve. It was a nice plan "in theory".

[Hayward]

Cue the min/maxer $#!*storm in 5...4...3..2...

Truth is the pro endgamers wouldn't have the perspective to see this as a viable option. It's Delve weapons/armor or nothing in their minds. Plus, knowing S-E developers, those AH items are guaranteed to require components from Delve, creating a Gordian Knot of Catch-22s.

[Damane]

This is a huge problem with the path to progression that they have chosen.

When characters grow by experience points, they buy / quest / farm level appropriate gear and use it until they level into new gear, then they sell it or hang onto it for the next job they level. This allows new players to purchase gear that can get them from point A to point B and creates a cycle.

When characters grow through gear instead, they wear the gear until they get something better and then the old piece is of no use to anyone because it cannot be sold and it will never be good for anything to that player again unless the developer decides to give it a stat / level increase.

actually its not a design problem, its more a community problem for being retarded to require delve gear for basic delve things. People have done it previously without any delve gear ¬.¬

If you cant find other poeples play mage job, there is still that option. And if you are one of the people that dont want to play mage jobs at all, well guess what. deal with it like the rest of us that plays mage jobs!

[Babekeke]

It's not Delve gear only for delve as it stands right now anyway.

Many 99 RME are still very acceptable options for Delve, and in the case of Polearm, Mythic is still better than Ophidian Trident.

[Babygyrl]

I know what this might devolve into... but it has to be said. I was a hardcore FFXI player for a long time between 2007-2012, and I still respect that players who put in more time and effort want better gear. However, after playing for the last few months from a casual perspective, it's an unavoidable fact that rare/ex gear, and hard to obtain buyable gear, specifically weapons crafted from delve boss drops (costing over 10,000,000 gil), are creating a huge canyon in the middle of the playerbase between people who have this gear, and people who don't.
Despite how easy this gear may, or may not, have been to originally obtain, shout groups now require delve gear, simply to obtain delve gear. The only backdoor being mage jobs and other positions that a lot of players just don't enjoy spending their time in. And the auction house isn't putting out any weapons to purchase that can even come close to 100+ DMG, single handed weaponry or 200+ DMG double handed weapons. To be blunt, any player who doesn't feel like leveling BRD, COR, or WHM, (or have a delve weapon already) is left with weapons that have approximately half the DMG amount of Delve-obtained gear.
As mentioned previously, I do believe hardcore players, and anyone who jumped on the Delve ship early enough, deserve their gear for putting in their time. However, unless there is an affordable option for every weapon type on Auction House that at least has around 80-90% of the DMG of a Delve weapon, the DD's who have been left out of delve, will continue to be left out of delve.

In short: The game needs more buyable weapon choices. "Rare/ex only" gear is leaving casual players in the dust.

Honestly i have to disagree.. the new content Rare/ex gear is so easy for even casual players to obtain.. got most of the delve gear in one weekend and R/E/M's can be done low man at your own pace now. much easier to obtain then ever before.

[Raksha]

The problem is that delve is the only way to get a reasonable amount of plasm. No one wants a bunch of sub-par DDs slowing their plasm/hour rate down so they shout for delve-DD only. The real solution to this problem is to make lowman options for aquiring plasm so that ppl can grind out their weapon and hop into a delve shout to be more efficient at it.

[Justyn]

The problem with getting dd is there are soooooo many dds why pick a dd without delve weapon When there are many dozens dd with delve weapon answering your shout?

Dont want to play white mage? Why should the person with rank 15 delve weApon play white mage for you?

There are buyables better then delve weapon such as senbaak nagan or razorfury. The best thing to
Do even when your dd is Max out is to get one support job for now or future events.