Quote Originally Posted by Afania View Post
I also think the gap between 1/5 and 5/5 should be smaller.
I wouldn't argue if 1/5 and 5/5 were brought even closer together, but personally, I'd question the point of 5/5 if it was anything less than 10% difference. I'd prolly just go 1/5 wild and get everything, and choose a few to 2-3/5.
Another way to balance the content is to give additional special effect for 5/5, something like virus duration or eva down duration. That wouldn't affect the balance that much but it's still "specialization concept"
As above, I'd question the point of going 5/5 then. If they did solve it with additional effects, it would need to be something that was balanced, but enticing.
You argued that MMORPG shouldn't allow specialization cuz of game balance issue, but games with talent tree do that all the time, why can't FFXI? In a game with talent tree you can't play a class to it's "fullest ability" if you choose certain specialization, unless you reroll or re-allocate the points.

With job system or not, it's basically the same concept.
There's a major problem with this view point though. I can understand what you're coming from all too well. But in those games, your character is locked to those classes. You can diversify from within the class, but it's all contained within the bubble of that class. And in most of the games, changing to another spec within that class is not that big of a deal, definitely no where near what it'd take to, say, redo entire base stat, weapon/magic skills, and WS merits.

In those other games, the choices you make within your class effect only that class. The choices are just that, options to improve your class in a variety of ways. Talent trees, specs, what have you, they all go towards improving the job you're capable of doing as that class.

FFXI though, you're not just playing that one class that you picked at character creation. You're free to change as you see fit, to anything you've lvled. Gear it up, merit it, learn the job, and bam, you're ready to go. No need to create a new character to choose talents and such to improve your job, you've simply changed your characters job. But then you look at the merit system, and it throws a wrench in all of this. The choices you've made for your other jobs have effected this job in a negative way. What's the honest solution to that? I can't wrap my head around "it's to specialize!"

I don't really care, as my enjoyment in this game comes from about 4 jobs. But I know plenty who would prefer to be able to play their side jobs to the fullest of their ability, in a sense, making them no longer side jobs, but best geared/merited jobs. Instead, they're relegated to the closet since they're not able to. There's no real comparison I can make to other games, simply because their answer to such a thing is "reroll!"