Do something about the AH and lower level gear????

[Kaych]

I am not up to speed about the merging. Is it a merge of all the AHs in one world? Or all AHs in all worlds?

Will I be able to buy the items in Jeuno AH from Bastok? Or is it a merge that only connects all Jeuno AHs from all worlds?

[blowfin]

I cannot disagree with this more. Lack of low level gear on the AH has very little to do with the number of players after said gear

I think you`re probably understating a bit there. Higher demand would push up prices thus making it more viable to sell. It`s directly linked. Level sync probably did take a lot of lower level armor out of circulation, but I think the problem now is we`re still going backwards in terms of Auction House stock levels, and level sync has been around for a long time.

There`s also the fact that we level faster from 1-30 now than we ever have. The exp increase recently wouldn`t have helped either. Really it`s hard to see the role of the starter city auction houses as anything but catering to low level players, and that role is needed far less these days. Basically the cross section of time when both new players and old players alike are actually in one of those towns, and actually go to the auction house to buy something, is very slim indeed.

So yeah, this is very much about supply and demand, and the number of low level players (and the length of time they remain low level) is a big factor in determining the demand for low level gear. The micro economies that used to exist and were quite healthy in starter cities are pretty much gone now.

And it`s totally a development issue, the game has changed at the hands of SE around the start city auction houses, and they`ve remained the same. It`s all well and good suggesting people should go out and craft, or they don`t need low level gear but the facts are that some people don`t want to craft, and some people get a kick out of gearing themselves fully. The fact that the auction houses are being merged is also pretty clear evidence it`s a development issue.

I am not up to speed about the merging. Is it a merge of all the AHs in one world? Or all AHs in all worlds?

Will I be able to buy the items in Jeuno AH from Bastok? Or is it a merge that only connects all Jeuno AHs from all worlds?

They plan to link all the starter city auction houses with Jeuno or vice versa, whatever way you want to look at it. Nothing planned for inter world AH.

[Sayelle]

I cannot disagree with this more. Lack of low level gear on the AH has very little to do with the number of players after said gear. Changing Abyssea like the previous poster mentioned won't do a darn thing about it, either.
*snip*

I think that you misunderstood where I'm coming from, I completely agree that the best solution would come from the players since it is a player driven economy. I also don't think that any development changes are necessary to for a player driven change to happen, but some small changes could certainly encourage it to happen. Anyway, I'm about to leave work and don't have time to type a longer response, I'll do that when I get home later.

[Rambus]

The development team is aware of the problems you're all mentioning and are concerned about it as well. While we are planning on merging the Auction Houses in the next version update, we are aware that this won't completely resolve the issue. However, once the merge is completed, we'll closely monitor the situation and see what can be done to further address it.

You guys aware that abyssea made a deep impact on thaty situation, you guys didn't see it comming making the area accessable at 30?

[Alhanelem]

I am not up to speed about the merging. Is it a merge of all the AHs in one world? Or all AHs in all worlds?

All city AHes merged into the Jeuno AH. Same AH no matter where you go.

Not cross-server AHes.

[thelittlecrash]

ok from what i am seeing in all these post there are lots of ideas and i remember being a new player, and my suggestion to them is simple. if it drops from a mob and you dont need it sell it. AH NPC whatever gets you the most and save your gils. Low lvl gear is simple to get from ppl and we have the mentor system to help the new ppl. so i have to agree that if the new players arent staying it is there own fault for being lazy and wanting an easy economy to get rich in.

[Selzak]

Fixed that for you.

The point is to make it desirable so that people will want to do it.

The playerbase isn't going to just magically make a conscious decision to revive traditional components of the game if there's no direct reward involved. While my ideas were drastic, I did precede them with both the admission that I did not know a clear solution and by calling them considerations (I meant to imply that they are areas to look in to).

Should not be considered. This will not accomplish anything that can't be accomplished by the playerbase.

All your anti-abyssea ideas are terrible too. There is no reason to bash down abyssea, whatsoever. stuff for gear past 90 isn't going to be in there, and any new endgame won't be in there. Thus, abyssea can be left alone.

in before begin raise /dont raise the abyssea level requirement debate. (for the 400th time...)

I did not "bash down abyssea." I'm simply noting that the whole 'realm' of Abyssea has created a disconnect from the world of the core game, and suggesting that players should not be drawn to exist exclusively in the former- which is exactly what's happening. I don't miss the grinding, but I do miss the whole body of the game that was left behind with it. The AH is an extension of that, and when you don't have players leaving Kazham to go to Garlaige Citadel and leaving Garlaige Citadel to go to The Crawler's Nest you're not going to regularly see level 30-40 equipment on the AH.

Why does a level 30 character need to go into Abyssea? The only effect is that no one plays any jobs between level 30-75 now.

Playing a job has become:

Rush to level 30 solo / with PL / FoV
Key leech from level 30-70+
Throw on some Perle gear
Get to level 90.
Then start caring about the job.

To say that the playerbase can create a presence in the main construct of the game itself and that no adjustments need to be made to the cost/benefit ratio of doing that is extremely naive. Players aren't going to do something less beneficial for the sake of reviving key aspects of the game, players are going to do exactly what is most beneficial to them and nothing else- especially on a scale large enough to impact the game's economy and other functions.

If I could spend 300 extra hours taking a job from 1-99 to gain a five point stat bonus a few years ago I might have, but I sure as hell wouldn't now. I love Abyssea and all of the other log in and play changes that have been made to FFXI over the past year or so because I simply don't have the time to play LFP for an hour and a half then stay glued to a PT for five more- or you get nothing done scheme that the game grew up with. However, that traditional style (or at least some aspects of it, like a similarly leveled group of complimenting jobs taking advantage of skillchains and magic bursts) should be given some reason to exist. The old way was tedious and it was rightfully replaced, but what would be ideal is if the old way was revamped and both dimensions of the game could co-exist.

Players need incentives to create traditional six-man EXP parties to take their jobs to level 75, and they need a lot of them. Until that happens, the game's level 10-75 content will be in limbo.

[Kanjitai]

I'm glad to see SE sees this as an issue. I have a developed character and have no problem making gil. However finding gear on the AH has become a pain lately. I want to start a new character but lack of gear on AH and difficulty to make gil as a frsh out of the gate player turns me off to the idea. Things like gardening and fishing use to be a great way to make gil for newbies but it was nerfed to stop RMT.

Unless things are fixed we won't get new players and sooner or later the game will cost more then it makes. Going to PC only has come up in other threads and that be a good idea. They could redo graphics, give us a new expansion. I see the devs in their replies that it a lot of things can't be done and I think a lot of it has to do with keeping the game on a console. Sorry for the long post I just got in a grove and I wrote what I was thinking.

[Unaisis]

they should make some Magian Trials that start off as lvl 10 gear, but work up into the 99s and have some awesome stats! and requires non abyssea exp/conquest points to upgrade and stufff but thats like a few hundred trials.... SE wont do it lol

i dunno

[RAIST]

Just curious....was this an issue in 2002 when the game was first released? Just how did players make it back then?

Food for thought....discuss amongst yourselves....