AF gear - handed to you for dinging 45/50

[darios]

Lol I still remember the dragoon and warrior AF fight in 1.0 pretty intense and rewarding and the coffer hunting on ffxi those were fun moments. I guess I will focus on af1 and completing my relic

[rution19]

I think everything in the game should have some level of difficulty to get, that being said, is AF+1 out? Does it look exactly like AF? Or is it a different color like AF2 was in FFXI? Is it as hard to get as a relic weapon? If so then I understand giving away AF, it is just an identifier for hitting 50. AF+1 is the accomplishment.

[Pylfer]

I think that it's a better idea to help the casual players get some gear out the gates so that they have something to help them get the next tier should they choose the pursue it. Also it gives the hardcore players something to get going with so they can get into the real "fun" (lol) gear grind. There is a gear grind involved in this game... you will have to do it in order to get the best gear that you can get in the game... I guess SE just wanted people to have something without having to bend over backwards to get.

This isn't FF11. We don't need to make it so that all high end armor is stupid hard to get.

[Koga_Edge]

Here is the reason (I dont work at square, but it makes sense)
In FFXI it used to take a good party to obtain said items(back in 04~09), Of course FFXI was geared for party/hardcore people, and things were made hard to obtain.

XIV on the otherhand was/is geared for both Solo and party players, with that in mind they decided to make AF gear (semi-decent gear) easy to get for the casual or solo oriented player, so they could still occasionally take part in the more end game focused areas with out having to be a hardcore/party player.

However, on the other hand there is better gear to get that requires more work to be put into the game and thus better stats, this gear is focused for the hardcore gamers that will spend more time doing endgame content.
This way everybody can be happy, and/or not need to depend on other people for some gear, which to some people is important

[Krylancelo]

The AF gear you are talking about is NOBB AF gear.

The real AF+1 is super hard to get

[Pavise]

I think the way SE designed that you had a full set of AF gear when you complete all your class quests is great design on the developer's behalf given the fact that they wanted to make dungeons somewhat challenging giving everyone a set of early endgame gear by going through their quests just helps everyone as a whole.

Now imagine if you had to complete a few of the 45+ dungeons without a partial set of this lovely armour? Yeah that would be a hoot.

[niwaar]

Why is there absolutely no effort or work in obtaining the class defining AF armor? At level45, you basically just have to talk to NPC's, loot bags on the floor, or open random chests in a zone that's of no danger to you. There is no effort involved, it's extremely easy.
The level50 quests are slightly harder, having an actual boss fight, but still incredibly easy.

Why doesn't AF require dungeons? Or party bosses? Why is basically "free" full blue armor upon dinging 45 and 50?

I think AF armor should be an accomplishment, and some actual work involved, would make it more fun. Maybe make the gear a bit more powerful since it would require effort.

Sure AF+1 exists, and actually requires effort and dungeons, but I don't think your class defining armor should be so easily obtained. When every single person is running around in full AF the second they ding 45 and 50, it makes it feel a LOT less special and more generic.

Damn these forums need a dislike button in addition to the like button.

I won't even comment on what was there in 1.0 because yes, there was a lot of "fun" involved with obtaining them with group content and all. Let's go back and look at the predecessor game and its AF. In XI you had 2 quests where you needed a group and a bunch where you simply sat in the back of Garlaige, Onzozo or Davoi waiting for a coffer to pop. This was "work" but how much fun was that work? Yes, I wish the hat and chest had involved group based encounters, but its not the end all be all. Was AF in XI really awesome? No it was mid level iconic gear that was designed to get you over the hump and reward you for a job well done. That's all the current AF is for, and it does a great job at it.

[AzumaKun]

Maybe it's rewarding you for spending the 80ish hours required to get that level?

Give me a break. in FF 11, you had to get to the level, THEN you had to do the (in some cases incredibly difficult or irritating) quests.

[Pandastirfry]

I find it funny that people are saying "AF gear is just handed to you, not rewarding and it's too easy. In 1.0 we hard to work for it and it was rewarding and challenging"

Because in 1.0 I remember people sayin "AF gear is just handed to you, not rewarding and it's too easy. In XI we hard to work for it and it was rewarding and challenging"

Ah, the more things change the more they stay the same.

[JackOlantern]

Because it's not your end game gear. It's the starting point for end game. The rest is a LOT hard to acquire and upgrade. AF gear is more of just a visual nod to your class and a reward for achieving 50 simple as that.