RushLynx
04-13-2011, 02:39 AM
I was reading a recent thread in which someone had misinterpreted a stat description, specifically "Refresh+1," and it reminded me of an issue we are all familiar with whether we have a problem with it or not... and that is the inconsistencies of item descriptions and terminology used within the game.
I know part of it is the translations from the original Japanese to English and other languages, the transition to the Greek Alphabet causes problems with regard to the space in the description window... but there's also the fact that there are multiple ways of defining the same effects with different text...
A common example would be "Refresh+1" and "Enhances Refresh effect." They both do the exact same thing... Originally it was assumed that "Enhances..." meant that you needed to have the ability or trait already without the item to receive the enhancement, but this isn't always the case... (i.e. Brutal Earring)
Additionally, the "Magic Potency" merits for BLM are actually increases to "Magic Attack Bonus," so why not just say so... I feel like it shouldn't be necessary to look something up or do a ton of testing to be sure of what you're actually putting on your character... there are countless more examples...
I understand hidden effects, while annoying they're a unique twist to the game... But why the confusing inconsistency with item description? At the same time, there are lots of item effects and such that you can't actually view in your character's stats, even if there's a value given for the related stat somewhere... Example: Crafting Skill+ enhancements...
There's also discrepancies like "Evasion+" and "Evasion skill+," wherein there's an obvious difference, but to this day I don't think anyone has definitively determined what that difference actually is...
Can there not just be set established ways of describing certain things, instead of the confusing entanglement that we have now? And why can some increases be viewed, but others can't?
I know part of it is the translations from the original Japanese to English and other languages, the transition to the Greek Alphabet causes problems with regard to the space in the description window... but there's also the fact that there are multiple ways of defining the same effects with different text...
A common example would be "Refresh+1" and "Enhances Refresh effect." They both do the exact same thing... Originally it was assumed that "Enhances..." meant that you needed to have the ability or trait already without the item to receive the enhancement, but this isn't always the case... (i.e. Brutal Earring)
Additionally, the "Magic Potency" merits for BLM are actually increases to "Magic Attack Bonus," so why not just say so... I feel like it shouldn't be necessary to look something up or do a ton of testing to be sure of what you're actually putting on your character... there are countless more examples...
I understand hidden effects, while annoying they're a unique twist to the game... But why the confusing inconsistency with item description? At the same time, there are lots of item effects and such that you can't actually view in your character's stats, even if there's a value given for the related stat somewhere... Example: Crafting Skill+ enhancements...
There's also discrepancies like "Evasion+" and "Evasion skill+," wherein there's an obvious difference, but to this day I don't think anyone has definitively determined what that difference actually is...
Can there not just be set established ways of describing certain things, instead of the confusing entanglement that we have now? And why can some increases be viewed, but others can't?