Optional is going to be a matter of opinion depending on the job and weapon. Things may not be as bad now as they were VW era or early Adoulin, but I still see questionable expectations pushed forth by people when it comes to PUGing. As well, if something so optional is truly a backbone of the economy, it tells me that said economy is in dire need of help in other ways.


Conceptually, we'll no doubt have people who think pushing sidegrades forever is better than vertical progression, and of course that XI raising the level cap was the worst move SE ever made. Frankly, I was ready for a "reset" when that initiated because I'd pretty much gotten everything from all the content I cared for and there was a definite endgame ennui going on from established players as I saw my friends list and linkshell slowly diminish in population. The concept of Relics and their eventual counterparts is, pardon the pun, a relic of that era and something that should either be left to die or adjusted should future content actually embrace yet another level increase, either directly or through ilvl gear. When you stop to consider the direct gil drops from monsters is pretty much non-existent, NPC values on most things are too low (or have been deliberately neutered), and that today's prime casual money making method involves exploiting niche periods of time throughout the week to NPC sparks-bought gear, items costing hundreds of millions of gil, and no less expected, may start looking particularly ludicrous to the outside eye. In this case, perhaps a reset is literally the best move that could be made with character acquisition being more tied to content participation than how fat their wallet may be to avoid old money problems and the ills of the crafting system. But something like that also demands a full expansion and full team attention, which the root of this thread infers SE is not giving.


If we're supposed to wait 3 more years for SE to fart something out for XI's 20th anniversary, I'd posit anyone happily doing that is a fool. In the end, I'm only critical because I care. Wasted potential is something I've often seen throughout the game's life. Some mistakes pander more to the psychological trappings of MMOs, sure, but others occasionally seem to reflect a fear to take certain steps because they're untested in other markets or even drastic. Should we aspire for growth, some element of risk is going to be required. Otherwise, I only see the base continually diminishing the more this course is stayed. And if that is SE's hope, just be honest with us and pull the plug now. People will be disappointed either way.