Geomancer and Rune Fencer Artifact Equipment

[Kincard]

Kincaid decided to try to make a personal attack while also implying that the number of players who only care about endgame swag and ignore cutscenes was really insignificant.

Go back and read your original comment:

However, the kinds of players who enjoy such stories and the kinds of players who would jump through whatever hoops will be necessary for "level 105" gear are generally mutually exclusive.

And you once again make that same mistake in this same post saying:

having JSE start at 99 sounds like S-E combining the worst of both worlds, namely keeping storyline out-of-reach to those more likely to be interested in it, while accessible to those more likely to skip through it

If you're going to say something like that then expect people to point out why that's completely illogical. The only thing you can prove by listing a bunch of people at rank 6 is that said characters exist (And yes, intuitively there's likely plenty of players that don't care about the story), and not that there's no overlap between people who enjoy getting gear and people who enjoy the story.

Finding characters that are stuck at rank 6 also doesn't prove anything when two-boxing is such a regular thing in the game now. They could also be RMT. There's any number of reasons a character might be rank 6 but you're making a mistake conflating them all with people that don't give a shit about the story. There's also plenty of players that don't have REMs or Top-End Gear that spam enter through their cutscenes (I know a couple of them myself).

FYI, ilevel 105 implies something about as hard as Skirmish (Refer here). People have beaten Skirmish with like 3 people. Just from that it implies this isn't going to be that hard, especially if you catch the initial wave of people getting their AF. Failing that, are you saying it's that hard to find 3 or 4 people (Which is about what is required to beat Skirmish) to do such a quest? If they were making it so that you had to defeat Taxet to obtain your new storyline armor I'd be complaining alongside you, but absolutely nothing they said implied this was going to be one of those cases. The main storyline missions from almost all the expansions still require more than one person to complete (Depending on your job), as well.

If you still insist on complaining about the fact you need to find 2 or 3 friends to do your AF quests I won't argue with you because I can understand people complaining about not having enough time for group play, but my initial post was to point out how it makes no sense for you to assume that people who like cool gear don't like the storyline and little to do with whether or not I care if they make the quest soloable or not.

[Ziyyigo-Tipyigo]

Finding characters that are stuck at rank 6

No. No level 99 character is "stuck" at rank 6. There are rank missions that a level 99 character may legitimately have a hang-up on, but none of them are at rank 6. Level 99 characters wearing nothing more than starter gear can solo rank 6 missions, especially if they are played by a player who has a realistic chance of low-manning Abyssea/Voidwatch/etc. content.

There is no "stuck," there is only "chose not to."

also doesn't prove anything when two-boxing is such a regular thing in the game now.

First, thank you for arguing my point: a level 99 doesn't need help from their alternate character to do rank 6 missions.

But secondly, a player who cared about following mission storylines would create their second character in a different city, to have a chance to play through that city's storyline without the headaches of changing their first's allegiance.

You're trying to argue for the statistical significance of players who (1) are interested in seeing new storyline, but (2) not interested enough to use their second character to do so, and further (3) created a second character to help with content (4) with the specific exception of content related to their first's rank missions, all the while (5) not being annoyed that Signet lasts hours longer on one than the other.

Really?

They could also be RMT.

Because Dynamis currency is such a big money-maker these days? So much so that they're going to waste the time (i.e. billable hours) to get to rank 6, time that could be spent doing far more profitable activities than Dynamis?

There's any number of reasons a character might be rank 6 but you're making a mistake conflating them all with people that don't give a shit about the story.

Yes, there are many reasons a level 99 player is rank 6, but only one that could be statistically significant. You're not even trying to argue that they all "just happen" to be doing their rank 6 missions at that very moment, which is a far greater likelihood than what you're trying to argue.

There's also plenty of players that don't have REMs or Top-End Gear that spam enter through their cutscenes (I know a couple of them myself).

Yes, and they too would likely be level 99 and parked at rank 6, for the very reason I stated: they just don't care.

And of those players you know who exhibit that behavior, how many of them bothered with artifact equipment, rather than skipping right on through to gear they can purchase with cruor in Visions of Abyssea?

FYI, ilevel 105 implies something about as hard as Skirmish (Refer here).

We're talking about the developers that still make all new players solo Maat capped at level 70, and you're talking to someone who clawed their way through CoP before the level caps there were removed. If "bluster through it at double the intended level" isn't an option, I have every confidence that the developers can find a way to make this content eye-gougingly difficult/annoying/whatever to a level 99.

The main storyline missions from almost all the expansions still require more than one person to complete (Depending on your job), as well.

So the people who can hold their own in Skirmish aren't able to solo 4 Jack Cardians?

I didn't "/sea all rank 6-9," I searched exclusively for rank 6. Maybe they're squeamish about trying "Leaute's Last Wishes" and 1000 Needles solo (or even dualboxed, in your scenario), but give me an Onion Sword and I'll have Flat Blade.