MrButter
04-29-2011, 04:50 AM
The upcoming changes to Dynamis will, if the developers are correct in their assumption, Bring more currency into the market, thus making the acquisition of relic weapons a less herculean task. It also makes the Dynamis event substantially more casual and low-man manageable. The fact that relic gear is in many ways no longer in the upper tiers of gear makes this change fair and balanced, and the fact that level 75 relic weapons must be bolstered via magian trials means that relics are still an intensive investment. (We'll ignore the fact that they are outclassed by emperians in almost every respect for now because it doesn't hold as much baring on my point.)
My queary is this: Will other end game events, in particular Salvage, Einherjar, and Assault, see similar adjustments to increase accessibility? My primary concern is with the creation of Mythic weapons.
As it stands, the Empyrean weapons are phenomenal for melee jobs. Unfortunately Magic Empyreans, or rather -the- magic Empyrean Hvergelmir is comparably lack luster. Yes, a % based return to your MP pool is amazing but without potency and accuracy bonuses, no mage in their right mind is going to use this staff, even with Occult Acumen allowing for the use of Mrkyr.
However, the trial-augmented Mythic weapons on the other hand seem to be quite powerful, Laevatein and Nirvana in particular. Simply put, while Empyreans are great for melee jobs, if a black mage, scholar, or summoner wants a truly powerful weapon, they must devote their energies into a mythic weapon.
By direct comparison, obtaining a mythic weapon -and- using trials to bring it up to level 90 standards is ABSURDLY more time intensive than creating an empyrean. The alexandrite alone, based on a rate of 5-9k per piece (depending on your server, and some servers it may be even worse for) makes it a 150 million gil investment, at it's cheapest. This excludes the time and gil investment of roughly 100 einherjar battles and 100+ nyzul isle runs which, incidentally cannot be undertaken along side of completing each and every assault mission. This does not including the additional investment of completing the related magian trials.
From my own vicarious experience, a friend of mine finished a level 85 almace in a few months of fairly dedicated play, including time spent farming for other members of his group. I've heard stories that if you play your hand right and spend a lot of time in abyssea they can be completed in a few weeks. The difference is staggering
Considering that mythic weapons truly are the mage equivalent to melee's empyrean, It is, dare I say, just a little bit unfair to those who prefer to play magical classes when their best weapon option is monumentally farther from reach.
SO! With all that out of the way!
The changes to salvage were indeed a step in the right direction, and greatly appreciated. however Might i make a few more suggestions:
First, Assault missions were never hard, and now they are even less difficult. In fact, many of the lower tier assaults -can- be soloed, if it were not for the party requirement. If assaults were allowed to be soloed, it would make this step of the long and arduous mission significantly less painful.
Secondly, and more importantly, an increase to access of assault would be nice. In other words, more assault permits issued at a time.
Thirdly, decreasing the gil requirement for Einherjar entry. 180,000 gil for ~1000 ichors translates to -allot- of money for 100k ichor and honestly I can't think of any link shell that voluntarily does this event anymore. Personally in my own linkshell to do any non-abyssea event that requires gil, the person who wants that event must front the money.
Lastly, even with increased access to salvage, 30,000 alexandrite is an absolutely absurd investment. as afore mentioned, it's a gil investment of 150 million, and even if you don't buy all of it, it's a time investment equal in value, compounded on top of all the other time that must be put in. Seeing the amount reduced to 10,000 i think would suffice. Even that vast sum, daunting as it is, is less absurd.
Closing out: I realize that these quests were meant to be a long term investment and a real challenge. I respect that. However it is, at present with the new pace of the game and in the advent of Empyrean weapons, too much. As a player who's primary jobs are all mages, I would like access to worthwhile weapons without having to put in tens of times more work than a melee class has to for a weapon of similar(or better) caliber, and I hope that the community agrees with me.
My queary is this: Will other end game events, in particular Salvage, Einherjar, and Assault, see similar adjustments to increase accessibility? My primary concern is with the creation of Mythic weapons.
As it stands, the Empyrean weapons are phenomenal for melee jobs. Unfortunately Magic Empyreans, or rather -the- magic Empyrean Hvergelmir is comparably lack luster. Yes, a % based return to your MP pool is amazing but without potency and accuracy bonuses, no mage in their right mind is going to use this staff, even with Occult Acumen allowing for the use of Mrkyr.
However, the trial-augmented Mythic weapons on the other hand seem to be quite powerful, Laevatein and Nirvana in particular. Simply put, while Empyreans are great for melee jobs, if a black mage, scholar, or summoner wants a truly powerful weapon, they must devote their energies into a mythic weapon.
By direct comparison, obtaining a mythic weapon -and- using trials to bring it up to level 90 standards is ABSURDLY more time intensive than creating an empyrean. The alexandrite alone, based on a rate of 5-9k per piece (depending on your server, and some servers it may be even worse for) makes it a 150 million gil investment, at it's cheapest. This excludes the time and gil investment of roughly 100 einherjar battles and 100+ nyzul isle runs which, incidentally cannot be undertaken along side of completing each and every assault mission. This does not including the additional investment of completing the related magian trials.
From my own vicarious experience, a friend of mine finished a level 85 almace in a few months of fairly dedicated play, including time spent farming for other members of his group. I've heard stories that if you play your hand right and spend a lot of time in abyssea they can be completed in a few weeks. The difference is staggering
Considering that mythic weapons truly are the mage equivalent to melee's empyrean, It is, dare I say, just a little bit unfair to those who prefer to play magical classes when their best weapon option is monumentally farther from reach.
SO! With all that out of the way!
The changes to salvage were indeed a step in the right direction, and greatly appreciated. however Might i make a few more suggestions:
First, Assault missions were never hard, and now they are even less difficult. In fact, many of the lower tier assaults -can- be soloed, if it were not for the party requirement. If assaults were allowed to be soloed, it would make this step of the long and arduous mission significantly less painful.
Secondly, and more importantly, an increase to access of assault would be nice. In other words, more assault permits issued at a time.
Thirdly, decreasing the gil requirement for Einherjar entry. 180,000 gil for ~1000 ichors translates to -allot- of money for 100k ichor and honestly I can't think of any link shell that voluntarily does this event anymore. Personally in my own linkshell to do any non-abyssea event that requires gil, the person who wants that event must front the money.
Lastly, even with increased access to salvage, 30,000 alexandrite is an absolutely absurd investment. as afore mentioned, it's a gil investment of 150 million, and even if you don't buy all of it, it's a time investment equal in value, compounded on top of all the other time that must be put in. Seeing the amount reduced to 10,000 i think would suffice. Even that vast sum, daunting as it is, is less absurd.
Closing out: I realize that these quests were meant to be a long term investment and a real challenge. I respect that. However it is, at present with the new pace of the game and in the advent of Empyrean weapons, too much. As a player who's primary jobs are all mages, I would like access to worthwhile weapons without having to put in tens of times more work than a melee class has to for a weapon of similar(or better) caliber, and I hope that the community agrees with me.