[Dev10XX] Issues regarding the effectiveness of various stats/attributes
Hello, I would like to discuss some of the issues regarding attributes that I hope will be resolved in the next patches. (please remember I mainly play GLA so my high level experience concerns mostly melee/defense)
I would like to start by saying that attributes are basically the original "customization" in RPGs. You want gear to get stats, stats improve performance, you can defeat stronger enemies, it's a recurring theme and a good one at that.
I'll just touch on a few points:
-- All stats of the same type should provide the same benefit. Because my gear's VIT is worthless when it comes to HP, I have to use my natural VIT to get it into the high numbers. This isn't a problem currently, as other stats aren't working. Once physical level is abolished this will change I realize, but it would be more sensible to either make all VIT give HP or find another way to allocate HP, such as job and rank, with +HP gear being the modifier. I don't play much mage but I'm assuming people feel this way about MP too, since it's two sides of the same coin.
-- STR is obviously not nearly important enough. Even if base damage for attacks were to be reduced, and you could add STR though a gear build (assuming once again no phys lv), you'd still be able to do the same damage, or even more with proper optimization. I would also like to see it be more effective in blocking, since it is intended to help mitigate shield damage as well.
-- DEX is far and away the worst. I realize that accuracy is of course a sub-stat of this, and players realize that it's far more effective to simply put points into accuracy if they want to hit something (accuracy is much better in 1.18 btw). DEX isn't just accuracy though, it's parry, it's evasion, and critical hit rate. If you could add DEX and get small bonuses to each of these categories it would improve the viability of an evasion/parry tank. Also, being able to see the changes in evasion/accuracy/etc that this (and all stats) gives would give players the feeling that they have control over their character's individual skills.
I personally am of the opinion that a soft cap would help this game quite a bit. The diminishing returns in XI were steep but still made it fun to stack different statistics and see how you perform. Even if the soft cap were below 174(@50), you could still surpass it quite easily and have the ability to wear gear that lent itself to the role you plan on playing, instead of VIT and MND only being deciding factor for many classes.
A hard cap, on the other hand, is optional. I don't really see the need for one until ungodly gear comes out that allows players to pump up stats into the stratosphere. Steepening the soft cap returns as stats rise into high numbers seems like the smarter idea to me.
Also, I had a question about when there is no more physical level. Stats are linked to crafting, so what's going to happen there? I understand you could build stats through gear but the base stats that you'd start with sort of baffle me. And if you take the stats out of the equation, will they redo the effects of things such as Resolution or Sublimation? (I love me some Resolution)
Basically, that's all I can think of for now, and I have no idea how long it would take to actually implement, but I am sure that a mathematical model could be made that works properly within a relatively short time compared to the other more complicated changes, and I feel that this is just as important as any of them, if not more. If you're gonna give out gear with +XXX stat, it's gotta work or it just looks cool.
This isn't really a plea for dev response as much as it is a request to see what other players think. It's simple to say "stats are broken" but not as simple to say "stats are broken, and here's how I'd fix it". I'd appreciate input from everyone who cares about this topic, but a few mages with some input on INT MND PIE effects in practice would be nice ^^
I realize that this is probably already being worked on, and this is soon to post right after 1.18, but it's the sort of thing that should be brought up sooner rather than later so that it could be implemented if deemed worthy in the next available patch.
TL;DR: I'm a math nerd and I likes my numbers.
