~COUGHS~ They let me >.>;... Near the end of my XI career.
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On topic: I have nothing to add, carry on ^^;
I'm all for horizontal progression (it's the only true "system". Vertical progression is just glamour with numbers) but, to work in FFXIV, it would ask more than just adding new bonus types to equipments.
The jobs "system" (again, it's not a "system" in its current form. It's just glorified fan service) would need a lot of rework. A good equipment system is complementary to a good progression system.
Then, the battles design would need to change too. Horizontal progression allows players to come up with their own solution to win battles. FFXIV doesnt work like this : to win, we only need to guess the developpers' shenanigans.
That would also require interesting stats, though.
Righ now it would be pretty useless though, as most job only get 1 decent secondary stat.
XI did a lot of things right, and there is nothing wrong with wanting to see things implemented from a successful* game. No one is asking for a XI clone.
*This point will obviously be debated, but XI has stood the test of time, and is still going strong, eleven years later.
One being released in the early 2000s when MMOs weren't exactly "mainstream" let alone most people were still on dial-up and the other after WoW bringing MMOs into mainstream? The fact XI could retain it's population for a decade on it's "archaic system" as some say, with WoW being beside it, and it's graphics staying the same since 2002... I'd say it did pretty damn well.
Horizontal progression done right -> high development time -> less content successfully released on a regular basis.
Horizontal progress done wrong (rushed/un-balanced) -> BIS builds come out and large amount of content becomes ignored immediately, everyone picks and chooses their fights.
Horizontal progress done wrong (elemental resistance gimmick) -> Simply a handful of barriers/gear checks with no added benefit towards game play, basically what we already have.
Choose your poison...