Gear level, the final nail in the games coffin.

[Orsnoire]

As others have stated, I just wanted to add my 2 cents to back them up, FF XI was far from this happy go lucky "they just had fun doing it, win or lose" community.

Mkilbride is either high then or is high now. FF XI is one of (I contend THE) most elitist gamer communities on the planet.

[Femmecalico]

I think the issue, my friends, lies with the fact that there is a odd gap im seeing between 50-onward in gear lvs that I feel is kinda confusing.

In 14, it seems that the entire end game is a multi-tiered gear grind, with the former gear always completely useless for anything than the part it was tackling. Is skill, dodging aoes, great damage rotations, food and medicine buffs, all useless compared to gear alone?

Essentially, is there a such thing as "Geared enough" as well as "Well Geared" for these events? Im getting the impression many feel they are one in the same.

My own opinion is that I hope the gear limit at least addresses this "middle ground" of equipment. The "good enough" area of not cutting a steak with a butter knife, but using sharp functional dinnerware, and yet not using a 400$ tools of a chef.

All I want to do gather the gear I need, defeat the creature, return home victorious. I however, do not feel that we the player, must be told how to do that.

[Strelnikov]

o.O

This is absolutely *not* the experience I had with FFXI :O

(but I wish I did!)

I hear ya, snide elites hanging around the fountain, sneering at your gear, not bothering to answer tells. Yea that's the XI I remember.
Best comment I ever got in XI was I healed pretty (mithra whm) ok in an all Jp group as an non Jp, their normal healer was getting an operation and I guess they were really desperate.

[Femmecalico]

"In those end-game raids and the like, people didn't complain about your gear. They just had fun doign it, win or lose. I'd like to at least get XI's awesome community back." (paraphrased)

To be completely fair to this point, I played Final Fantasy 11 in its later years, (Aht Urgan to Abbysea) and this was very much my experience, probably because it was hard to get parties for many things at that point. You couldn't be too picky about whom you took because so few people were doing certain parts anymore. Those you took were generally decent geared, and furthermore, really wanted to do content. Was there a attitude of "your gear sucks?" yes there was, but not among players I chose/happened to play with. (and still we succeeded, perhaps slower than others though)

Perhaps we all have different memories of a time long gone?

[NZ_Player]

just keep in mind all these leet pricks looking down on everyone cheated to get their gear by bypassing trash and exploiting currency resets

[Irondude]

what if you are stacking materia into militia gear? Does this mean darklight is now essential not a different option?

[R-Odin]

what if you are stacking materia into militia gear? Does this mean darklight is now essential not a different option?

Iron here raises a really good point here. Will it be made so that materia increases an item's item level?

[Kiote]

I'm sorry, but this is just stupid. It's one thing to restrict entry via duty finder based on a persons equipment level, but it is completely inexcusable to have a public gear rating system for people to harass and exclude people with. This will only breed elitism. It will not help anyone.

[Kiote]

Iron here raises a really good point here. Will it be made so that materia increases an item's item level?

Item level determines Marteria Stat Caps. It's prefactored in. The Class specific Crafted Gear is the second best gear in the game right now.

[rubina]

Wiping endlessly on Titan with people in level 35 gear would have been the nail in the coffin. I don't see how restricting people from doing that is a bad thing. Sorry if you want to waste people's time by doing that, form a group manually and avoid the gear restriction of duty finder.

6 Titan HM failed because the majority of the players have fail gear. The best was the WHM with mid-20s belt, several mid-30s accessories, AF and some low 40 staff. Then being accused by the same fail WHM for not spamming Cures2 and Regens enough.