Information on inventory relief, via staff consolidation, efforts

Previously, SE has announced/hinted at efforts to reduce the number of staffs mages need to carry. Currently, we have witnessed the opposite. Since not all classes can access these staffs, some individuals have to maintain (Not necessarily carry) eight elemental staffs in addition to completed magian staffs. I've personally completed 8 Magian+2 staffs, so that that amounts to 16 inventory slots taken.

Given the current status, it looks as if there are a few options available:

1. Combine by effect: This method would entail synergizing, or through some other method, combining damages with similar stats. Note that this would probably mean branching them into different names.
Pros:
* The end result would consolidate staffs into 8 Elemental staffs, 1 Damage Staff, 1 Summoning Staff, and 1 Magic Accuracy staff.
* People only wanting outlying staffs can sacrifice effort for inventory; for example, if you only one Magic Accuracy staff, there is no need to complete the other staffs unless the final combination improves the Magic Accuracy further
Cons:
* People have begun efforts towards completing a variety of staffs, which means duplicating efforts if one wishes to save inventory after pursuing staffs from different categories; for example, since I did Earth Magic Accuracy and Cure staff, I would need to repeat those trials if seeking a single damage staff
* If further enhancement come with the final staff, it demands that players invest more time even if they just want the magic accuracy staff for one element
* Further combinations into a single staff (Avatar + Damage + Accuracy) requires people to obtain staffs outside their prospective interest or capability (EX: If you don't have SMN, well then...)

2. Combine by name: Given that the final product of Avatar, Damage, and Accuracy staffs currently retain the same name, it is possible to continue this path and have them combine at one
Pros:
* No need to branch into different names
* Allows people to obtain staffs in the manner most relevant to them (Avatar for SMNs, Damage for nukers, and so forth)
Cons:
* Race to the bottom: People will choose the easiest method, which undermines the struggle it takes to obtain one

3. Combine by availability (Jungle method): Allows for the combination of staffs past a particular juncture in the system of trials. This would essentially allow you to combine whatever you want, but only grant effects already present on staffs combined.
Pros:
* Easiest method since there are no stringent requirements
Cons:
* Would probably require one more individuating branch since it's difficult for existing combination techniques (Such as synergy) to pick out the augments on particular weapons
* Would effectively "end" the staff trials unless SE makes a different staff for each possible combination

Integration into a single staff: Whichever method you pick, aside from Jungle, you still have the

Other concerns
* Allow for the synergy of existing elemental staffs to save inventory, but remain inferior to Magian Staffs at any given point past Teiwaz

Bit of a long-winded way to make an age-old request, but I'm for it being made again until SE actually does it.

Since it looks like +3 staves were on the plate, at least until they got pulled for QA, we could consider them the starting point for the 99 push. As is, I'd do the following.

Nuking paths:
Indra's Staff +3 + Vayu's Staff +3 = "Transfixion Staff"
Agni's Staff +3 + Surya's Staff +3 = "Fusion Staff"
Varuna's Staff +3 + Soma's Staff +3 = "Distortion Staff"
Kubera's Staff +3 + Yama's Staff +3 = "Gravitation Staff"

Those four could be achieved by some synergy synth involving their respective elements. The mesh could even be temporarily weaker than their individual counterparts in their initial states. Of course, you'll want to hop over to your friendly neighborhood Magian Moogle and begin the process of bringing them back up to speed. First trial could involve kills of one element resulting in the +1 with that element boosted, the next with the other element to make the +2 with both again equal. That would conclude that specific staff.

"Transfixion Staff +2" + "Fusion Staff +2" = "Aurora Staff"
"Gravitation Staff +2" + "Distortion Staff +2" = "Miasma Staff"

Some may have picked up on playing off Skillchain properties so far, and the above is the continuation in creating the next staff set. Again, trials could involve the respective elemental kills, or maybe branch into something fancy not yet implemented. Regardless of the method, it should definitely remain accessible to the majority. End results in both trees can finally lead to the creation of a single staff that boosts the power of all elements.

It could be a lot of work. Actually, I'd hope SE would be more lenient in making the kills 100 or less per phase if not doing trade-ins since the combined effort over melee weapons is far, far greater. When it comes to Relics, Mythics, or Empyreans feeling inferior in comparison, rather bluntly, they should be improved to match or exceed on top of their native perks.


As for the Perpetuation paths, they could have similar branching, but obviously different objectives. Keeping simplicity in mind, all the SMN would likely need to do is chase down mobs like Pavan, Akash, and other wandering Abyssea avatars for a set number of kills in the early phases. Plus it'd bring attention to SE needing to fix the Ifrit and Ramuh counterparts in Chasm and Inlet that just don't seem to spawn now. Phases after that could involve VNM kills in Abyssea of respective avatars, ideally nothing more than 5 on the T3 ones.

MACC staves I'm torn on. Unless SE gets mean with high end mobs, they're rarely needed these days. That in mind, I don't think they should be as hard to complete as the nuking damage counterparts. These could just stick to geode turn-ins or other new items.

Also, something would need to be done about the cure staff sharing a name with the light damage path since it could mean someone would not be able to advance both at a particular point without them branching.

[SIZE="5"]TARZAN CHECK FOR SQUIRREL![/SIZE]

But there's no squirrel here, just an awesome concept that deserves to be mentioned again no matter how many times it has been mentioned before.

While your points are sound and I would like for this to happen, I have to ask of this:

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Originally Posted by Yugl

Previously, SE has announced/hinted at efforts to reduce the number of staffs mages need to carry.

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I do not recollect seeing anything of that nature, where is your source in this?

I would love having the ability to combine the 8 perp staves into one staff. Please. Do this.

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Originally Posted by Tarage

I would love having the ability to combine the 8 perp staves into one staff. Please. Do this.

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Would be too easy and not enough of a timesink so we won't ever see that happen.

bumping for a quality invo saving idea

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Originally Posted by Tarage

I would love having the ability to combine the 8 perp staves into one staff. Please. Do this.

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They already have it. It is called Nirvana.

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Originally Posted by Economizer

They already have it. It is called Nirvana.

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Well then they should make it so Nirvana is easily obtainable then just like the Trial staves but I doubt that will ever happen

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Originally Posted by Elexia

Would be too easy and not enough of a timesink so we won't ever see that happen.

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Originally Posted by Economizer

They already have it. It is called Nirvana.

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Originally Posted by Joslyn

Well then they should make it so Nirvana is easily obtainable then just like the Trial staves but I doubt that will ever happen

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Wait, what?

Since when is acquiring all 8 magian perpetuation staves easy? To do a single staff to the current +2 level, you have to kill between 1090 to 1170 mobs, most (900 to be exact) with the specific avatar. (Not to forget the geodes, but that is a different matter.) To get all 8, you need between 8720 to 9360 kills. While this is not as hard as getting a Nirvana, nothing is being handed to you when you try to get all of them. Some avatars (Garuda, Ramuh, and Ifrit) have some terrific blood pacts that makes grinding out their trials fairly easy, but certain other avatars (Levithan, Titan, and especially Carbuncle) have pretty terrible blood pacts that make their trials a slow, arduous slog up Unpleasant Mountain. (Pro tip: If the monster uses Self-Destruct or Final Sting, you don't get credit for the kill. Thanks for the Titan path!)

Secondly, Nirvana compared to a theoretical "Captain Planet Staff" are not the same. Currently, the +2 avatar-path staves are DMG:52 Delay:366 -6 to perpetuation cost and -10 blood pact ability delay. The level 90 Nirvana is DMG:90 Delay:402 Accuracy+30 Avatar perpetuation cost -7 Avatar: "Magic Atk. Bonus"+35 "Garland of Bliss" Aftermath (Incl. Avatars): Inc. Acc./Atk., Occ. attacks twice. In what way are they the same thing?

Any Summoner can tell you that you don't need a staff to cap your blood pact ability delay, it is fairly easy to do through gear, so that stat is not going to make a Captain Planet Staff better than a Nirvana. The Nirvana is a lot harder to get and has far better stats on it. (Whether or not Nirvana or any other Relic/Magian is worth the time and effort to get is a whole different debate.)

It takes a lot of work and dedication to make a full set of any magian staff branch, players' inventory shouldn't have to suffer because they are dedicated to their jobs.