Item Levels

[Ziyyigo-Tipyigo]

1. "Item Level" will be based on the item's fully augmented stats, regardless of how many (if any) augments have actually been applied.
2. "Item Level" will affect gameplay experience.
3. Therefore: anything that is not already fully augmented will not be used at all, lest the game throws more at you than you actually capable of handling.

And since this "Item Level" mechanic will only be applied to Adoulin gear, this right here is why level 99 gear predating Adoulin will still be in relatively high demand; it will give you stats and buffs without breaking anything else.

[Demon6324236]

And since this "Item Level" mechanic will only be applied to Adoulin gear, this right here is why level 99 gear predating Adoulin will still be in relatively high demand; it will give you stats and buffs without breaking anything else.

The only thing this seems to effect is the /check feature, and possibly experience points. Which of these two are worth gimping my character? /Check is only for checking the level of the mob, I suppose once we understand this system a bit more it can make it easier to determine the exact level of a mob above 99, maybe. As for experience points, we can get a chain of mobs and lights high enough to give even level 50s around 500~600 experience a kill in Abyssea, why would it matter if in Worms we have a level 120 WAR killing everything? We already get lv60s as EP while level 99, that is a 40ish level gap, so why would it be so unlikely to see level 120 WAR killing EP Worms in Abyssea, bringing everyones XP/Mob down a bit, but increasing the kill rate by an insane amount? I assure you, if these are the only changes, old gear will gain no true relevance it does not already have, or would have had without this feature.

[Nebo]

Wasting resources on updates that do not matter, while ignoring things that really need attention!

Keep up the good work, SE!

I can't say I'm suprised. As much as the dev team renounces claims that they do not play and understand the game, they sure do make a lot of updates that suggest that they really don't have the first clue.

This nonsense...

The main reasons for switching to this is due to the fact that if we kept it the same as it is currently, regardless of how strong a monster is introduced the message displayed when you "check” would be inaccurate and we are aiming to change this. We are also aiming to make sure the amount of experience points gained from defeating enemies, as well as the pace in which they are obtained, do not become unbalanced.

...Sounds like it came from someone that hasn't set foot on Vana'diel in the lat 4 years.

That aside, Gearswapping for every action: TP phase, Job Ability, WS, Situation, Spell cast, precast, mid cast, etc, etc EXISTS.

Pretended it doesn't and making ilevel enemy /checks based on currently equiped gear really highlights the lack of understanding of the dev team about basic, fundamental gameplay mechanics.

This ilevel monster check will not function properly at any level.

Balancing enemies to give less exp with higher level equipment...

Who cares about exp from normal mobs?

Abyssea exists. /end reason for exp balance update.

[Camate]

Greetings everyone and happy Friday!

Below are a couple of posts from Producer Akihiko Matsui where he explains about the choices made for the adoption of item levels.

Hello, Matsui here.

Apologizes that it took so long to post. I'd like to expand a bit on the explanation as to why increasing the level cap was not a choice for the direction we are taking. I apologize ahead of time for the complexity and the jargon that is used.

• A problem of programming consensus
  
  As a development consensus, it was decided that the UI display would not exceed level 99 and as such an extremely large amount of aspects were created based on the idea that the level cap would not exceed 99.
  
  I'll go ahead and mention this for the sake of the developers, but normally things are structured with as much margin as possible so that aspects can be addressed by just changing definitions and compiling.
  
  However, if there is too large a margin for save data, packets, and other multiplicative elements, then performance will be affected, so there are a lot of areas that have been setup on a bit by bit scale. Also, in statements for content and events in FFXI, a lot of them have been written on the basis that the maximum level is 99.
  
  
• The problem of man-hours required to change this
  
  If we were to simply increase the level cap to go beyond 99, we would first have to start by investigating exactly how many areas would experience the above issues. As I stated previously, it's not only the program, but there are also level statements in the scripts for content and events. The time needed to check all of these, re-write them, and then test each one could not be secured before the deadline for Adoulin, and as such we were unable to select a level cap increase as an option.

Due to the above reasons we were unable to adopt a plan to increase the level cap.

However, in order for FFXI to continue to operate, I feel that in addition to growth via items, a new growth system is necessary.

While it will take some time considering everything we have in the game thus far, we've allocated the necessary people and time and have begun calculating and testing where possible. With that said, I apologize for not being able to get responses out right away.

One more thing.

As many of you have mentioned in your posts, I too believe that level design-wise, starting with the implementation of craftable items and quest rewards, then moving on to party-based battles, and then ultimately high-level, alliance-based battles is both normal and correct.

However, many FFXI players have already completely played through all the high-level content for level 99, and we felt that quick implementation of new, high-level content was desired. Due to this, in order to break the feeling of stagnation, we prioritized the implementation of reives, Skirmish, and Delve, which make up the vertical backbone of content.

Speaking in regards to Delve, while we have received feedback that it's really fun, we understand that a lot of players have given up on challenging this content.

Both the staff and I have no plans to see these conditions continue.

The development team is currently in the midst of discussing the priority order of the items to be implemented after the August version update, but unfortunately since final adjustments are being made to the content for the July version update we were unable to finalize this yet.

Below is an example of the things we have been discussing:

• Addition of battle content that can be undertaken by low-man parties or solo (+NPC)
  The idea is something like an Adoulin version of Meeble Burrows.
• Expansion of synthesis and other non-battle content
• Continued adjustments to reives
• Addition of solo-content that focuses on exploration instead of battle
• Adjustments so that players’ efforts are more naturally tied to colonization
• Revamps and enhancements to equipment
  RMEC weapons, job specific equipment, etc.

To start off, we'll be placing a heavy emphasis on increasing the amount of content variety, supplementing the gaps in content, and making it possible to increase your item level solo or low-man, and we are proceeding to prepare for the implementation of a lot of this.

As we are in midst of working on the July version update as well as the August version update, I'll need a bit more time before I can tell you new information, but I’ll be doing my best to deliver it to you as it becomes available.

[Godofgods]

•Expansion of synthesis and other non-battle content

Synthesis that is not synergy please! Tired of most things being revolved around that single one.

[Kristal]

Synthesis that is not synergy please! Tired of most things being revolved around that single one.

Synergy is not really 'one' craft. It's an extension of ALL crafts. You could level nothing but synergy and just party with someone who has the required skills for the recipe.

[Ziyyigo-Tipyigo]

You could level nothing but synergy

In my experience, that's not really practical. If I remember correctly, synergy was designed and intended as an "endgame activity" for crafters, and my impression of the recipes is that you won't get anywhere without at least one craft at 60+.

[Zhronne]

However, in order for FFXI to continue to operate, I feel that in addition to growth via items, a new growth system is necessary

Why? Why is this "necessary"?
Game survived how long with a level cap of 75? Why can't it do the same now at 99?
If you really felt a growth further was necessary, then why not expand (and I mean with a great expansion) the merit system?

The point of "growing up" through levelling is that anybody can do it, it's just a grind of experience, which you can accrue in several different ways. It's also "permanent" and "across-the-board" because it stays with you no matter what you do, no matter what you equip.

Growing up through items is such a bad idea in a game like FFXI instead. You cannot obtain items with just will and grinding.
As a comparison with the level 75 era, it will be like if a certain part of the population will be at level 75 and the rest of the population will be stuck at level 65, unable to progress further that cap.
Think about all the possible implications of such a retarded system. Gear swap, abilities that remove all or part of your equipment, equipment that you cannot use on all your jobs.
This is such... really, I have no words to further explain why this is wrong in so many ways.


It's almost as Matsui wants to burn the little life left in FFXI as fast as possible with a big, fancy, shiny "boom", instead of constantly and slowly putting fuel into the engine and making it last as long as possible.
This is turning into something that's not FFXI anymore. And why do you think people kept playing FFXI so long? Because they were hoping someday it would have tried to imitate other MMOs? Or exactely because it was different from everything else on the market?

[Rwolf]

There is no current reason to add this feature into the game. I'm fine with it actually displaying the level difference between myself and the monster for anyone who cares about this for some reason. However I see no point in penalizing experience points in the current state of the game. You can't just partially "balance" experience point gain. Unless they are planning to nerf all exploits of experience points such as Abyssea and Grounds of Valor, there is absolutely no reason to add this.

The development team and some players in this thread might see it as proper balance but it really is not. So I'm allowed to exploit experience points by taking advantage of being power leveled through Grounds of Valor pages? I'm also allowed to key chests or stand around in Abyssea, while someone with item level 120 weapons destroys mobs? But it's imbalanced to actually work on experience points for any reason with my own hard earned gear?

Like most players are stating in this thread, focus on something that matters. This balances nothing, it is just a nerf (not a big nerf but a nerf nonetheless) for no real justifiable reason in the game's current dynamic. If I put in the effort for getting the Delve boss win and 200,000 plasm, I deserve to go into older content unhindered and grind it to dust, laughing along the way. There is a sense of reward and progression that is noticeable, which is fun.

I get the concept that you're stronger but unless you're going to treat the entire game with that methodology, I see no point in doing so to only part of the game. It's more ridiculous to me they are spending development time trying to balance this versus fixing real problems with the game.

Don't spend time replacing perfectly working pipes when you have septic tanks leaking elsewhere left unrepaired.

[Nebo]

It's Definitely one of the more absurd things they've done in a while (and that's saying something)

As if the concept of instantly changing clothes mid battle wasn't silly enough...

Claim Mob (TH gear): I'm LEVEL 107 > Gear Swap (TP set) > LOOK I"M level 118 > Gear Swap (Weaponskill set) > LOOK I'M LEVEL 120 > Gearswap (PDT set) > AH man, now I'm level 105 > Gearswap (RACC land Acid Bolts) > LOOK I'M level 103

In one fight with one monster, a player will be constanty changing ilevels with gearswaps.

How did this idea even get past the "Hey, what about adding ilevels?" brainstorm phase?

edit:

inb4 massive lag due to ilevel check spam mid battle from gearswapping lol..