[dev1070] Salvage Durability/Repair (& Make it Fun)

I see that there's another thread about the durability system, but that one is just whether to remove it. I'd like to post my ideas about how the durability system can stay but be turned from a penalty into something good.

Basically...

The basic function of repair is this: your items start out good and eventually become bad until you get them repaired. Let's break that down.

"Your items" is your weapons, tools, and armor.
"Start out" is their basic, pristine, new-subligar smell.
"Good" is 100% and "Bad" is 0%.
"Get them repaired" is really synonymous with "see a crafter."

So, your gear decays by 100% until/unless you see a crafter.

There are a lot of problems with this. And by "problems" I mean "things players really hate so they cancel their subscriptions."

The Problems
They are:

1. Gear that is less than 100% can't be sold to other players.
2. Gear has substandard performance as it approaches 0%.
3. Players have to constantly repair their gear just to try to stay near the baseline (100%).

It's like the Drowning Game. You know, where you gotta keep working really hard just to stay above water, and then you die. (Trust me, it's not as fun as it sounds.)

It's a hassle from an adventuring standpoint, and it's crappy from the crafting point of view too. It costs you time and inventory space, and it costs somebody repair materials, and of course if you don't do it then you gotta live with yourself 'cause you know that playing with broken equipment sucks. Crafters have better ways to make money, even when they're not running a charity.

But the complaints against durability aren't really new. It isn't popular because it's a penalty that never goes away.

The Solution
There's a way to salvage durability. A magical way that makes everybody (less un)happy, a way that doesn't require scrapping the system or making drastic changes to the code. It's called: spin doctoring.

Instead of a system where gear decays from 100% to 0%, use a system where gear decays from 200% to 100%. Here's the proposal:

• Make gear start at 100% and stay at 100% until/unless you see a crafter.
• Let crafters bring your gear up to 200% by enhancing it with crystals or materia or whatever. Not inventory-killer like rare scraps of animal hide or glue, but pure phlebotinum here.
• For an added bonus and extra flavor, let each craft have a special ability. E.g. blacksmiths can "Keen" a weapon to give it a sharper edge (better accuracy and damage) and alchemists can "Elementalize" gear to give it a resistance/affinity bonus.

It's still a system where your gear decays by 100% until/unless you see a crafter, except now it isn't a penalty.

For the adventurer, it becomes more of an optional thing. You don't need to get gear buffs if you're just farming, and you don't need to level a crafting job if you don't want to. For the crafter, it's no longer a duty/obligation. Is that fellow just farming? Then don't bother buffing his gear for a measly 1g. Is he doing an HNM? Maybe he'll be willing to pay.

The Conclusion
The problem with the current system is that it is a chore. It isn't fun, and it feels like work. I know that playing FFXIV is going to be a lot of work, but the trick to an MMORPG being successful is that it shouldn't feel like a job.

The TL;DR version:

1. Replace durability/repair with equipment buffs that gradually wear off.
2. Get rid of inventory-hogging repair materials.

If you agree, *like* this post and discuss below!
If you disagree, *like* this post and provide your positive feedback below!

♣: Knock knock.
♦: Who's there?
♣: The Spin Doctors.
♦: The Spin Doctors who?
♣: Well, that's the music industry for you.

Hello, i'm the creator of the other thread about repair.

First of all i have a question about your idea: you're saying that gear CANNOT go under 100%? so that it stays normal and only gets "buffed" by DoH's up to 200% with possible buffs coming from each different class right?

If i understood well ( i hope i did ) I Totally Agree with you.

/thumbsup

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Originally Posted by Icopico

Hello, i'm the creator of the other thread about repair.

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It's a good discussion despite the massive trolling :p

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First of all i have a question about your idea: you're saying that gear CANNOT go under 100%? so that it stays normal and only gets "buffed" by DoH's up to 200% with possible buffs coming from each different class right?

If i understood well ( i hope i did ) I Totally Agree with you.

/thumbsup

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Yes. That is exactly what I am asking for.

Ok then sounds like a great Idea, Devs should consider this as people are willing to always be in the best "set" before trying to do any important thing in this game ( See food and guild support for crafters, and the planning before NM runs )

So this might truly become a vital part of the game, instead of remaining just a thing to worry about.

Love it +1

Heres just a couple reason why this thread should be considered more. ( from the other repair thread )

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Originally Posted by TonyMontana

I have all 7 of the crafting jobs that can do repairs at R34 or higher so I have a ton of time invested iin crafting. That being said I do not like the repair system.

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Originally Posted by Cairdeas

Personally I'd like the whole system to go bye bye. its been a broken mess since alpha and it should go back to being a dumb idea that never got implemented

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Originally Posted by Zephir

We don't want to transform craft class in useless class...but now simply that's not balanced..

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Originally Posted by Messenger

Why not suggest to get rid of the wear system =P

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Originally Posted by AngryNixon

The repair system itself is just an inconvenience, which in and of itself isn't the end of the world. The annoying thing is the repair NPC...

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Originally Posted by Nuru

Even if you are at the exact Optimal rank for the weapon, it still degrades incredibly fast, especially DoM weapons. =/

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Originally Posted by CoolBlitz

Moving my post to here....

Please redo the current repairing system.

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Originally Posted by Leeloo

I should be able to visit a grinding spot I like without wondering if I made a mistake by not purchasing a 3rd or 4th copy of the same exact weapon.

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Originally Posted by rubina

I still think there is still something up with my Willow wand getting damaged too quickly. My CON is R.22 and I was shocked to see how quickly my wand was damaged to yellow.

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Originally Posted by Cutriss

Hey, you want to talk about screwed up equipment wear?

Why does armor incur damage during crafting? Am I stabbing myself with my needle?

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Originally Posted by Kiroh

...A couple of days ago I logged on and grabbed all my 100% repaired gear from my retainer and went off to kill some levequest baddies. After ONE leve, my lance was already at 89%. That's 8 monsters, for 11% of my weapon durability, in other words roughly 1.5% (or EXACTLY 1.375%) of my lance's durability PER MONSTER. That is absolutely ridiculous...

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Originally Posted by Seraphita

The repair system in this game is retarded. Just imagine end game content...

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Many quotes are incomplete ( just adding ideas on how to solve the problem mostly ) but you can go and check them in the thread.

This is a great idea let's keep this alive guys!!

Thanks. As much as I hate durability as it is now, I hope S-E fixes it rather than just remove it. MMOs these days are becoming more and more featureless, so I hope S-E chooses to save this feature rather than just take the easy way out and kill or ignore it.

Great idea!! This kind of system could be a huge gear sink if you could for example: Bring an item up to 200% durability with a piece of materia, the materia could then add a bonus like +5 dex. When the durability decreases to 100% you will need more materia. Maybe the next time you could use +5 VIT bonus. Durability could also decrease slower based on the quality of the materia.

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Originally Posted by Alzelia

Great idea!! This kind of system could be a huge gear sink if you could for example: Bring an item up to 200% durability with a piece of materia, the materia could then add a bonus like +5 dex. When the durability decreases to 100% you will need more materia. Maybe the next time you could use +5 VIT bonus. Durability could also decrease slower based on the quality of the materia.

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So, quality of what you use for the buff determines the quality of the buff? Using a shard might give you like 200%, a crystal 200% + craft-specific bonus, and materia 200% + craft-specific bonus + materia bonus?

i wouldnt mind if it were 200% to 0% (when buffed, polished, waxed, cleaned, generally maintained), 100% being the norm.

just wish there was more consistency, an Anathema wears out in hours but a Taurus staff lasts about a week before hitting 0%. I wouldnt mind so much if the Anathema lasted longer and the staff a little less