Item Levels 120+

[Mithlas]

Could we get any teasers as to how high SE is planning to push equipment item level at this time?

I am hearing from JP side that 119 is not the end - we should look forward to higher levels.

Just curious.

[Vae]

It's far to late to go up in ilvl after spending 4 full years at 119.

I wanted iIncrease 2 years ago. At this point I'd just literally die laughing if they made i129. Do you understand the volume of rage that would happen.

It'll be the best day ever if the announce it, there isn't enough popcorn on earth.

((yes, I was there from the release. the 75> 80+ jump wont compare. the 99 to igarbage wont compare. the shitstorm of trillions spent on reisen augs would be of biblical proportions.))

[Shiyo]

Ilvl doesn't need to go up.
Unless you want to wait 5 years for there to be an actual amount of content to do in that new ilvl.

[BurnNotice]

Never say never! It could happen. Hey, I remember when people said we will never go past 75, get BLU, or even get a new expansion pack, but it all happened. :)

[Nyarlko]

If you compare stats, we basically already have higher than 119 ilvl stuff. There are 3-4 distinct tiers of 119 weapons (compare the skill+ numbers) but all tagged "ilvl 119". I wouldn't be surprised if they just retagged stuff to reflect their actual stats.. but then again, we'd probably see in the patch notes:

Item level equipment now reflect their effective ilvl.
* Player level is still capped at 99 and ilvl at 119 for combat purposes.

<,<;;

[Urmom]

I could see them holding off just to avoid the headache of dealing with the few things that actually care about ilvl directly. Plus if they do armor then they'd have to do weapons and ammo and that would cause all kinds of headaches

[Mithlas]

Haha, I'm not saying I want it to happen guys, nor am I saying that it should.

I'm more or less asking for confirmation since friends on the JP side are telling me that SE has stated that it will be increased - just a matter of when.

[Nyarlko]

Haha, I'm not saying I want it to happen guys, nor am I saying that it should.

I'm more or less asking for confirmation since friends on the JP side are telling me that SE has stated that it will be increased - just a matter of when.

I'm pretty sure they explicitly stated that they have no intention of raising the actual ilvl cap during the summer AMA on reddit. Plans could change, but we probably won't get even a hint out of the devs until dev cycle starts over in March/April. I could see them doing something along the lines of a cosmetic shift like I said above, but sincerely doubt we're going to see any sort of impact on combat.

[Jin_Uzuki]

No thanks, high level raise it's the death of good itemization.

One of the best thing about FFXI, even today, it's the incredible amount of upgrade and side upgrade that make years of content viable.

[Catmato]

Item levels were a mistake. Abolish item levels!

[Nyarlko]

Item levels were a mistake. Abolish item levels!

I would rather not try to fight 130+ mobs as a 99.. >.> Which is what we would be w/o ilvl system.

[Belmonts]

Announcing the Next Version Update (11/28/2016)

The next version update is scheduled for mid-December.

December brings along with it all-new battle content known as Omen, with rewards including materials used for further reforging artifact equipment. You can also expect the usual monthly changes to Ambuscade, making December the perfect month to try your hand in combat!

Welp, there we go, new grind inc.

[Olor]

They decided to keep ilevels at 119 once they brought in trusts...

[Mithlas]

Item levels are an evil system when combined with the encumbrance effect. It actively delevels our characters and makes us prone to insta-death. :<

[Urmom]

Haha, I'm not saying I want it to happen guys, nor am I saying that it should.

I'm more or less asking for confirmation since friends on the JP side are telling me that SE has stated that it will be increased - just a matter of when.

are they saying where SE has stated it? Because without a source...

[Jin_Uzuki]

Item levels were a mistake. Abolish item levels!

I'm not a fan of it, but as it is in FFXI, it works fine, especially since accessories don't have it and with some pieces in don't even matter (Fast cast gears, JA pieces, etc).

[Mithlas]

They're telling me from JP forums and dev posts. But I don't read Japanese sooooo... @_@
I could be a big fat wrong liar.

[Urmom]

They're telling me from JP forums and dev posts. But I don't read Japanese sooooo... @_@
I could be a big fat wrong liar.

Google translate is your friend. Anyways just recently (as in it wasn't there yesterday evening when I checked so before these rumors flew) there is a dev post that seems to answer the jps more or less asking for it to be raised. Google translate is meh but looks like a thread where they are talking about wishes/concerns about the af and someone asked about ilvl and storage slips which looks like the devs say still 119 and storable. Sounds more like these rumors were self generated

[Vold]

The playerbase is now numb to losing all of their invested gil. No rage will ever top the Salvage bans, entire QQ articles written by the banned about why FFXI was now a "dead game without the elite players" The level cap raise was a distant second, imo. This here would be like a distant....seventeen or something.

But I can't imagine they would bother at this point unless they just want to inform people of what ilevel their gear truly is, because it is beyond 119.

[OmnysValefor]

To be honest, I can't understand what SE's issue with showing accurate ilvl. So what if trusts get a little more powerful.

Presently, melee trusts can't hit lower apex mobs, let alone anything remotely hard. Bards cast whatever they feel like and the healers run out of mp.

[Nyarlko]

To be honest, I can't understand what SE's issue with showing accurate ilvl. So what if trusts get a little more powerful.

Presently, melee trusts can't hit lower apex mobs, let alone anything remotely hard. Bards cast whatever they feel like and the healers run out of mp.

My trusts hit crabs and bats in Dho with no problems, ever since the mob AGI:eva nerf a while back. Healers do fine as long as they have a source of refresh. Not due to cheer choice either because I'm using the trust:FC/macc one.. There are ways to work around trust issues for the most part. They might seem less efficient at first glance, but if what you are doing isn't working, then you might want to try out something different.

The primary sticking point about raising the ilvl cap for the devs is most likely the issue of pDIF since each level a mob has over yours gives them eva+34. Since ilvl = player level as far as pDIF is concerned, any actual raise in the ilvl cap would lower acc req's significantly. If it was a mere 3 ilvl increase to 122, that would be 102 less accuracy you would need to cap against every single 119+ mob and NM. Increasing the cap to say, ilvl 129, would reduce acc req's by a whopping 340. ._.;;
As a byproduct, it would also devalue existing gear since acc caps would be easier to reach and highest acc gear would be overkill / wasted stats for the min-maxers.
... That's why I'd expect any increased ilvls to be primarily cosmetic and actual ilvl to remain capped to 119.

[Urmom]

The primary sticking point about raising the ilvl cap for the devs is most likely the issue of pDIF since each level a mob has over yours gives them eva+34. Since ilvl = player level as far as pDIF is concerned, any actual raise in the ilvl cap would lower acc req's significantly. If it was a mere 3 ilvl increase to 122, that would be 102 less accuracy you would need to cap against every single 119+ mob and NM. Increasing the cap to say, ilvl 129, would reduce acc req's by a whopping 340. ._.;;
As a byproduct, it would also devalue existing gear since acc caps would be easier to reach and highest acc gear would be overkill / wasted stats for the min-maxers.
... That's why I'd expect any increased ilvls to be primarily cosmetic and actual ilvl to remain capped to 119.

You are super mixing up terms here. pDif has nothing to do with evasion. One has to do with hit rate and one has to do with the dmg adjust from att/def ratio. I think you mean level correction which can effect both hit rate and pdif. And each additional level on the mob lowered your hit rate by 2 which was the equivalent to 4 evasion not 34 and not really adding to their evasion. Now mobs do gain a bit of straight evasion with their level as well but that's independent of level difference.

And regardless they got rid of lvl correction except in older content which they halved. So on anything that matters just having a higher ilvl wont effect those things at all.

Things that ilvl would actually effect:

Trusts: Depending on how much this could be meh or as we saw the few days they were high level pretty awesome

Pets: While not directly effected by your ilvl the base ilvl of wyerns and jugs are based on mainhand weapon and ammo/ranged for autos and avatars. While yes we are talking about af right now I really can't see them not including weapons just for completion and again because pets would be left out. This however leads to an issue. Pup and smn just got an semi expensive crafted piece 119 piece that made their pets stronger and completely invalidating it with a higher one would make much QQ

Cure enmity: Cure enmity is based on level of the target and awhile back they adjusted to count ilvl. Raising ilvl would technically make cures give less enmity. However the effect is small/not completely mapped out because enmity is a joke these days.

[Olor]

To be honest, I can't understand what SE's issue with showing accurate ilvl. So what if trusts get a little more powerful.

Presently, melee trusts can't hit lower apex mobs, let alone anything remotely hard. Bards cast whatever they feel like and the healers run out of mp.

I'd love to see my trust's levels rise a bit to match my own, better, gear... but... I don't see it happening. Wish it would though, then I might be able to solo myself a bit higher up the gear ladder.

Melee trusts are completely useless currently.

[Camate]

With the announcement of further artifact reforging that is on the way with Omen in the December version update, it's natural to be curious whether or not the item level will be increased.
As mentioned during the Reddit AMA, the development team is not planning to increase the item level cap past 119. They feel that even at item level 119, the equipment currently available, as well as equipment coming in the future, has a wide variety of options and power, which can be used as stepping stones for increasingly difficult content levels.

[Vae]

So basically, there's a 100% chance that we'll see ilvl 120+ cause nothing square has you say is ever correct.

Just maybe not "this" set.

[Shiyo]

With the announcement of further artifact reforging that is on the way with Omen in the December version update, it's natural to be curious whether or not the item level will be increased.
As mentioned during the Reddit AMA, the development team is not planning to increase the item level cap past 119. They feel that even at item level 119, the equipment currently available, as well as equipment coming in the future, has a wide variety of options and power, which can be used as stepping stones for increasingly difficult content levels.
Good news, thank you for the response.
I enjoy no ilvl increase, I am glad the devs decided against using ilvl since it's a bad system.

[Diavolo]

Melee trusts are completely useless currently.

I wouldn't go that far. I tend to use Iroha II and/or AA GK for their ability to keep churning out SCs. Their damage isn't great, but the constant SCs ensure Shantotto II is able to burn mobs down quickly, so as long as whatever you're fighting isn't magic resistant they still serve their purpose.

[Olor]

I wouldn't go that far. I tend to use Iroha II and/or AA GK for their ability to keep churning out SCs. Their damage isn't great, but the constant SCs ensure Shantotto II is able to burn mobs down quickly, so as long as whatever you're fighting isn't magic resistant they still serve their purpose.

Good point, yes. They are still way weaker than they should be.

[Vold]

Yeah I have to agree they are pretty weak. I know why that is but if you're gonna go 'in' on the NPC help idea, you may as well go all in. The game isn't getting any younger and I think we're at a point where players have made their choices to play with others or not.

I guess I'm just tired of healer NPCs who waste MP but when you're in the red and they have MP, they suddenly twiddle their thumbs as if they're deep in tells talking the latest NPC dating drama or some damn thing...

It's just the A.I. part of it all that I have complaints about. I don't mind the usual poor DD output. Bare minimum have NPCs plant themselves anywhere but right behind the trust tank and I'll shut up about trusts forever.

All things considered, I don't see a problem with raising cap and trusts becoming stronger. SE is always going to do their adjustments if they don't like something. And a uh, say 10 level increase isn't going to suddenly make trusts amazing. They'll still run out of MP in under 5 minutes and they will still be made of paper to anything in what we call end game ._. It doesn't much matter whether they are 119 or 150. I'm certain they have nothing to do with SE keeping the cap at 119.

[Vae]

It's interesting because even at ilvl 200 trust DD would/will still be garbage. They'd be durable enough to tank more than a wet paper-bag though.

This thread really isn't about trusts though. but since it's going that way. Yeah, some BASIC AI improvements are REALLY warranted. The gambits from 12 would make trusts significantly more usable. The ability to turn off spells, would be absolutely phenomenal. And stacking up for breaths is ridiculous. Trusts need simple basic AI to simply move the hell away from the mages/tank.

It's the lack of gear haste that make all dd trust completely unusable though. Yeah, people use them, and it's their sub money. But the reality is they're crap. Even the supports have unforgivable quirks. It's highly irritating to get ballads basically ANY time, being one of many examples.

[OmnysValefor]

Ayame is an awesome trust. She'll make the best skillchain she can with you. The idea is great.

It's not great damage but it can be used with a player-mage or shantotto to MB with consistency.

Zeid will ground strike after you ws. He can be as good as Ayame.

The problem is that she whiffs a lot. I think a big improvement to all melee trusts is that they inherit the player's gear-accuracy + food. Not player-buffs, but of course buffs that affect the trust (IE, they wouldn't be affected by my Enlight, but they would be affected by Madrigal from a bard).

As long as they don't inherit attack power, their ws's will still be mediocre, but they'll serve a good purpose.

Pass these stats onto tanks as well. If Amchu WS's, I don't want him to miss.

Finally, add TP display for trusts.

- - -

I'm not so much bothered by ballads but paeon irritates me. I definitely think some of the songs should be removed from Ulmia and Joachim. Paeon never saves anyone. (Paeon, Operettas, Pastorals, Etudes because they're not as good).

Oh, and give both bards the trait of casting Mazurka after the player disengages. Could even make this occupy the third song spot.

But yeah, if I use a trust buffer, I use Qultada.

[Vae]

The problem, with skillchain trusts, is they're ungodly slow because ZERO gear haste.

It takes Ayame like a full minute to get tp. In that time I've already ws'd 4 times waiting for her to get tp. The sam trusts should be great, but even with hasso they're straight up garbage.

And that reason is because they lack again, gear. No stp-gear = NEVER use a samurai.

[Urmom]

Yeah even when the trusts were broken and at ungodly levels the melee dds still couldn't hold a candle to the solo player. But the ones with magic attacks... oh boy

[OmnysValefor]

I get that, but SE doesn't want them to be beastly. It's not unreasonable that they be able to hit the mob at least though.

I personally don't mind if I need to wait a little longer for Ayame or Zeid to pretty much guarantee a skillchain. In theory, Ayame is one of the best designed trusts because their damage is terrible but she can set a player up for a good/great SC and great MB.

Mage trusts have their own "drawbacks". Shantotto gets resisted on MB'ing apex frequently enough, for instance and her MBs do pitiful damage against anything apex or higher (compared to a real mage even in average gear).

The problem is that mage trusts are "not bad" while melee trusts are "awful".

[Nyarlko]

I get that, but SE doesn't want them to be beastly. It's not unreasonable that they be able to hit the mob at least though.

I personally don't mind if I need to wait a little longer for Ayame or Zeid to pretty much guarantee a skillchain. In theory, Ayame is one of the best designed trusts because their damage is terrible but she can set a player up for a good/great SC and great MB.

Mage trusts have their own "drawbacks". Shantotto gets resisted on MB'ing apex frequently enough, for instance and her MBs do pitiful damage against anything apex or higher (compared to a real mage even in average gear).

The problem is that mage trusts are "not bad" while melee trusts are "awful".

I personally avoid using any trusts that ws whenever I can get away with it while soloing. I actually WANT Amchuchu to miss since she rarely waits to close Light off my Fusion and turns it into Scission instead >.>;;;; I'd love it if there was a tank that only had no-sc-property moves so I wouldn't have to worry about them breaking my self-sc.. Or even NO offensive tp moves, only enmity gen and survival ones would be awesome! O_O!!

Cheers do a decent job of improving trust usability for higher clvl soloing, but I would'nt mind seeing some other method to bring their acc/macc/racc up bit since we currently have no other ways to influence their stats.

[Shiyo]

I don't think trusts should be usable above ilvl 126 content personally. Anything 130+ should require humans.

Melee DD trusts suck a lot though. Arciela 2 is good(She's a rdm though) and iroha is alright because she has a heal ws + always closes your skillchains.

[Nyarlko]

I don't think trusts should be usable above ilvl 126 content personally. Anything 130+ should require humans.

Melee DD trusts suck a lot though. Arciela 2 is good(She's a rdm though) and iroha is alright because she has a heal ws + always closes your skillchains.

Arciela II = magic melee = I don't think she is able to miss XD Being a RDM has nothing to do w/ her having reliable auto-attacks. Same thing applies to Shantotto II.

Try watching the new FP... Fujito uses curry and whiffs up a storm inside of Omen while the other devs are teasing him with "Miss, miss, miss" XD Iroha's accuracy was floored, but Fujito's wasn't really that much better :3

[OmnysValefor]

Nyariko, I've always thought there should be a /trust noWS command.

[Olor]

Yeah Amchuchu is always screwing up my self skillchains, makes me mad. Like, thanks Amchu for that 200 damage light skillchain you just closed. Real good, much appreciated...

[Zeargi]

Nyariko, I've always thought there should be a /trust noWS command.


There should be more than just that command, I'd personally want one that lets me stop Magic user from casting while things absorb magic or a command that can let me not have all of them in a nice straight line.

[Nyarlko]

Nyariko, I've always thought there should be a /trust noWS command.

If they gave me a way to block trust ws, I'd be able to use more of em at least XD