Future Plans for Equipment

[Zhronne]

You really need to consider doing a 109/119 of the AF2 (relic) or AF3 (empyrean set)

While we don't know what ilevel they will have and if they will come in a single version or an upgradable one, they already said multiple times that new versions of Relic Armor and Empyreal Armor are indeed coming.

I have very little to say about Skirmish sets. Aside from the augments and the PDT aspect, the usefulness of these sets for me is in the fact it's "shared" among multiple jobs, and as such it can be an useful inventory saver.
Sadly, in that regard, it's not as useful as the 3 Delve sets.
For instance mage jobs are split between Gendewitha and Hagondes. Which means for example my SMN cannot use my cure-pot augmented Gendewitha items, and so on.
Or that my RUN and DNC cannot use my PUP/SAM/NIN/MNK's Otronif gear (whereas with Manibozho they could).

At the beginning of SoA it was awesome how much inventory space I managed to get when jumping from old gear to Delve one, in the slots where I could.
Now I'm starting to have an insane amount of specific gear. Skirmish sets, Delve Sets, Delve MB drops, Naakuals 115 drops, 109/119 AFs... and my inventory is crying.
I had to go back using Porter Moogle again which is a nice addition but it's not as comfortable/fast to use as to take gear out directly from one of your main inventory repositories...

[Demonjustin]

Another important thing to note about this is the fact we are very likely going to have our augments reset again, which is going to send anger through the roof with this gear, after all, many people have thrown a ton of stones at gear for the augments they wanted, and now this is going to come along, outdate their gear with a copy but better, and make them experience the same pain all over again.

[Karah]

Another important thing to note about this is the fact we are very likely going to have our augments reset again, which is going to send anger through the roof with this gear, after all, many people have thrown a ton of stones at gear for the augments they wanted, and now this is going to come along, outdate their gear with a copy but better, and make them experience the same pain all over again.

You should've known better, obviously. If you didn't have the money to throw away, shouldn't have bothered. You knew perfectly well that it was likely coming, after seeing the weapons.

[Ravenmore]

Ah yes, the 75 cap. A period of time when--in spite of lacking the myriad of quality of life improvements that we practically take for granted today--the game was at its peak with a variety of things for players to do that were still relevant. Back then as now harder content was rewarded more-handsomely, but not so dramatically that you were expected to have all the best stuff or GTFO (because, well, the content was freaking hard!).

Or am I forgetting anything here?

So sitting at a HNM camp for hours on end just hoping you beat the other LSs that might or might not have bots and if it happen to spawn in JP prime good luck. Oh and then killing Kirin for the 1000th time hoping it's your turn for W.legs. None of the old content at 75 cap was hard just a giant time sink of extremely low drop rates. Frankly yes to get into a HNMls that did ground on a DD you were expected to have the best of the best gear to even be considered not cause it was hard just cause so many people wanted it. Sky was just that easy that getting into a sky LS AH gear was more then enough, sea finding your way was the hardest thing, limbus what a joke that was, the really good players were 6 manning Omega with 18 people with half a brain it was a cake walk. Dyna staying awake was the hardest. Ein was about the hardest event around to bad it relied to heavy on pure luck on which mobs you got, roll drk elements and the Chairmen you were in for a time and drops from the none Odin chambers were crap. There just wasn't enough incentive to get the masses to do it.

On top of it all no one did any endgame content out side of nyzul isle and assaults with shout groups. So if you didn't have a LS you didn't do much endgame and spent your time in game waiting for a merit party to kill little pink birds or if your were in a LS spent it waiting on people to gather for a event that you had long since become sick of and only showed cause it was close to your turn to get something or you didn't want to give up your point lead. I don't really care for delve or skirmish now that I'm sick of it just like I was sick of dyna, limbus, NI, or sea at 75 and meriting was so slam head on desk mind numbing, I maxed merits on one job and stopped leveling others.

[Return1]

Most old 75 content was harder than anything that's come out from SoA. We really gonna compare Skirmish to Byakko? Delve to Dynamis Lord? That's pretty much all SoA has to offer is those two events and WKR, and there's only one really bad WKR and that's only because it spams doom and you can't 100% doom removal.

Sure 75 content was easy once you know what to do, but at least it wasn't instant win button like Delve once you know what the NMs gimmick is / throw enough beads at it, or a literal snooze fest like Skirmish2 that spit out some of the best gear in the game provided someone in your group could stay awake long enough to use a key.

Also, at 75 we had far more relevant content. Sky, Sea, Limbus, Dynamis, HNM, Einherjar, Assault, Nyzul, ZNM, MMM, BCNMs, and KSNMs. What's more, while there was a best option, obviously, there were a lot of side grades so you didn't have to do events that were not your cup of tea if you didn't want to for the most part. Believe it or not you could make a strong Tank/DD/Mage without a single Ground King drop, which is what everyone complains about first and foremost about 75cap, the event with the least amount of drops and the most grind.

The old system was so successful that the game lasted as long as it did, and has quite frankly dropped off with a lot since the level cap increase altered how the game was played. SoA put the game on life support with the stupidity of the iLVL system and rampant outclassing of old gear. That's why they've self-imposed the 119 cap and are working to add more battles that are relevant. And look, players online are slowly creeping back up. If they were smart they'd leave the cap at 119 for good and work on re-updating Sky, Sea, and Limbus once they finish the HM battles from ZM and PM.

Also, Relic and Empyrean armors 119 need to be a priority. Upgrading JSE will add more life than monotonous-everyone-wears-the-same Skirmish armor. It also adds more stuff for players to do. Make Empyrean 119 and you have to go back and get all your empyrean gear if you haven't, then upgrade it, and you need to do that for any job you want to be relevant. 20 sets of relevant gear vs 4 sets of relevant gear. They need to realize having more gear relevant = more stuff to do, which is what everyone wants whether they know it or not.

[MDenham]

Ah yes, the 75 cap. A period of time when--in spite of lacking the myriad of quality of life improvements that we practically take for granted today--the game was at its peak with a variety of things for players to do that were still relevant. Back then as now harder content was rewarded more-handsomely, but not so dramatically that you were expected to have all the best stuff or GTFO (because, well, the content was freaking hard!).

Or am I forgetting anything here?

That there's a difference between "relevant content" and "fun content"?

I dunno. I've outlasted a lot of the people I knew in this game because I've got different standards of what I find fun. Exploring East Altepa on my WHM25 way back in the day at one end of the spectrum. Soloing - well, me plus three Trust NPCs, but at least I know that if I die it's because I did something stupid - the second-tier Jailers, or soloing Abyssea zone bosses, again on WHM as a more recent example. Trying to do things that would be considered ridiculous otherwise, just for the sake of seeing if it can be done now when I know it couldn't in the past.

Eventually the game will reach the point where it's pointless even for someone with my playstyle - or, more likely, it'll reach the point where it's no longer earning its keep before then - and I'll be done, but the memories of doing things my way, for my own entertainment, are what I'll end up keeping. And very little of that involves content that was relevant at the time.

---

That's kind of beside the point of why I mentioned the 75-cap era, though. I mentioned it because the "all gear is situational" thing leads directly to complaints about inventory space as an unfortunate side effect, and the devs are trying to minimize that particular complaint through means other than "here, have more inventory". It wasn't "have the best stuff or GTFO", it was "carry forty pieces of equipment and make life a pain in the ass for your healers who aren't using tools to ignore people blinking out, or GTFO".

[Secondplanet]

As long as item level is a thing, there can be no guarantee that anything that we're playing with now won't be obliterated (not just obsoleted) by the next version update. This is the main issue I take with the game as it is; this is why, in spite of my overeager excitement to explore the western continent, I have refused to use my money to purchase the Seekers of Adoulin expansion, where this madness all began; and this will certainly be the cause for the playerbase to plummet further if left unchecked.

Who's stopping you guys from creating Item Level 120 items on a lark? 139? 159? 9001? If Vana'diel intends to survive for another 11 years, we need stronger levies against such rampant, spiraling power creep between players and enemies both.

Its not just SE thats making it hard to enjoy the game with these iLvl gear its the player base with their i119 or GTFO.

[Puck]

You really need to consider doing a 109/119 of the AF2 (relic) or AF3 (empyrean set) , you really dont need to create more new different armor, just let us build on alot of our beloved pre existing pieces that we already carry around for JA/situational macro pieces.
We don't need item level higher than 119, seriously just let us 109/119 sidegrade for the next year AF2/AF3.

I could've sworn I heard the dev team was considering relic/empyrean armor ilevel upgrades. Was I just imagining that? Well, for sure I know they said this:

Rune fencer and geomancer job-specific equipment
We'll introduce relic and empyrean armor for rune fencer and geomancer in the future.

Which would be COMPLETELY useless if they weren't ilvl gear. So I'm hoping that means they're going to give relic and empyrean gear the same treatment they gave AF. If not, then WTF are they thinking??

[Tamarsamar]

That's kind of beside the point of why I mentioned the 75-cap era, though. I mentioned it because the "all gear is situational" thing leads directly to complaints about inventory space as an unfortunate side effect, and the devs are trying to minimize that particular complaint through means other than "here, have more inventory". It wasn't "have the best stuff or GTFO", it was "carry forty pieces of equipment and make life a pain in the ass for your healers who aren't using tools to ignore people blinking out, or GTFO".

Now this I can understand, but it still doesn't sit right with me how dramatically more powerful equipment seemed to become overnight. Weapons literally more than doubled in power (which is kind of ridiculous, if you ask me, even for an alleged 20-level gap). However much equipment you were using before was almost all rendered effectively worthless by whatever SE feels like should be the new best-in-slot at the time. In effect, it's actually a worse deal for players whose inventories were cramped with gear swaps--sure, they have tons more free inventory space now, but only because all their prior treasure has since turned to trash!

And you know as well as I do that SE will keep populating the "Level 119" tier of equipment with rewards from whatever new content they want players to participate in. As I seem to have missed your point, you seem to have missed mine: what's stopping them from decimating relevant content all over again simply by introducing a new "top tier" item level on a whim, obtained from a single event that--if Delve is anything to go by--probably isn't any fun, either?

[Catmato]

So sitting at a HNM camp for hours on end just hoping you beat the other LSs that might or might not have bots and if it happen to spawn in JP prime good luck. Oh and then killing Kirin for the 1000th time hoping it's your turn for W.legs. None of the old content at 75 cap was hard just a giant time sink of extremely low drop rates. Frankly yes to get into a HNMls that did ground on a DD you were expected to have the best of the best gear to even be considered not cause it was hard just cause so many people wanted it. Sky was just that easy that getting into a sky LS AH gear was more then enough, sea finding your way was the hardest thing, limbus what a joke that was, the really good players were 6 manning Omega with 18 people with half a brain it was a cake walk. Dyna staying awake was the hardest. Ein was about the hardest event around to bad it relied to heavy on pure luck on which mobs you got, roll drk elements and the Chairmen you were in for a time and drops from the none Odin chambers were crap. There just wasn't enough incentive to get the masses to do it.

As opposed to the current state of the game which boils down to:
-Get sparks gear because it's better than anything but Delve gear
-Delve
-Log out

I'll take my Sky, Sea, Dyna, Limbus, Ein, Assault/Nyzul, etc. Just because you grinded everything so it wasn't fun anymore doesn't mean everyone did. No, there's no clear upgrade path, but at least there was some variety.