Item level / vertical progression query

[Jerbob]

I can respect that. I think that the playerbase is varied enough that we're going to have lots of different likes, dislikes and expectations, and it's not always going to be possible to appease everyone at the time. The problem here lies in the fact that the game has changed so completely without any warning, and changing something so fundamental as level progression in a way that is so utterly opposed to the status quo is gong to upset a lot of people. With a game that has so little in the way of new players, it's going to be a dealbreaker.

A lot of people played XI precisely because of the progression model. I never realised it before, having little experience with other MMOs, but it probably did a great deal to keep me interested. I'm not a fan of working towards something that's going to be worthless before I even finish getting it, no matter how fun the event may be. Not saying that your opinion of vertical progression is objectively flawed by any means, just that I don't think it's suitable for XI.

When it comes down to it, this whole mess is the result of someone at SE deciding that it was time for another level cap increase. That in itself is a flawed premise - I'm not sure why that was necessary. They argued that vertical progression was a requirement simply because the existing system had "run out of scope" or some such. In other games perhaps there is not the variety of equipment stats and the system of equipment swapping on the fly to accommodate horizontal progression, but I would argue that equipment system is one of XI's strengths (despite the lamentable macroing system and inventory restrictions) and should be held to as a foundation.