SQENIX: You have a SERIOUS loot problem in this game

[Menae]

It's arbitrary, really. Random loot is "random". While we get nothing but DRG/MNK loot, you get mostly BRD loot. The issue is with the system at its core. I've no idea why MMO developers simply don't implement adaptive loot wherein you look at the history of gear received by the players whom took down an encounter and drastically increase the percent chance for "needed" items to drop.

Because they don't want you to finish gearing your character quickly, as people are more likely to leave the game once everything is dead and they have all the gear they want. Also, any system where players can manipulate the probability of something dropping will probably get abused.

[sylin]

If rare loot isn't rare, it uh...won't be rare...I think the ticket idea is boring, I mean, talk about an immersion killer, you slay this epic boss and receive a ticket....its lame.

Adaptive loot....maybe but I still think it should be totally random, sounds like it could be averaged better, but I much prefer the idea of random drops over tickets, and folks are right in saying people complain either way, I think people would complain about nothing to do if they could easily gear themselves, not to mention, isn't it boring if everyone has the same gear?

[Simaril]

If you raid for loot, you're done with the game when you have all the loot. Maybe the bosses should drop NOTHING at all, so then playeres would play for the content, experience and human interaction.

In 2003, I recall raiding bosses that literally dropped nothing useful at all. In fact in older mmos gear was much less significant. IMO only since WoW has gear been eleveated to the end all be all.

[Synovius]

If you raid for loot, you're done with the game when you have all the loot. Maybe the bosses should drop NOTHING at all, so then playeres would play for the content, experience and human interaction.

In 2003, I recall raiding bosses that literally dropped nothing useful at all. In fact in older mmos gear was much less significant. IMO only since WoW has gear been eleveated to the end all be all.

This is an irrelevant argument. While I (nor anyone in my FC that I'm aware except perhaps one person) don't raid for loot, loot is often a requirement in order to progress. Exhibit A: Please let me know how it goes attempting Twintania with 3500 health and only a piece or two of i90. Conclusion: you will have zero chance at getting past the second phase.

So, with that said, are you prepared to say it's all well and good that Free Companies should be arbitrarily held back from progression because, although they are able to consistently and easily kill previous encounters, they cannot get the loot they need to have a chance with the remaining encounters?

[Synovius]

If rare loot isn't rare...

Having the same gear is irrelevant. Although there is a "BiS" list for each class, there is nothing that would require everyone to be fully BiS to progress on, say, Twintania. For example, I'm using two pieces, right now, that are not BiS for me. However, they were an improvement over Darklight so I'm using them. I don't need BiS to consistently be over 300 DPS. I do, however, need good gear. With adaptive loot, you will still have the opportunity to gear out how you want - it's just that you won't have to sit through weeks and weeks and weeks of gear rot in order to get there.

[Synovius]

Because...

So an artificial barrier to progression must exist in order to keep people playing the game? Shouldn't they be striving to keep subscriptions by releasing quality content and interesting features instead of using the loot system as a proverbial ball and chain disallowing departure from the game?

Using a poor loot system to maintain subscriptions is essentially the same idea that most cable companies use to deter folks from canceling/switching their service. They build in arbitrary headaches and wait times by way of phone menus and obscenely long phone times on hold before you can get a hold of a customer service representative to cancel your service. Tell me: do you enjoy that kind of tactic? If not, why would you be okay with it within the confines of an MMO but not otherwise?

[Simaril]

So an artificial barrier to progression must exist in order to keep people playing the game? Shouldn't they be striving to keep subscriptions by releasing quality content and interesting features instead of using the loot system as a proverbial ball and chain disallowing departure from the game?

Using a poor loot system to maintain subscriptions is essentially the same idea that most cable companies use to deter folks from canceling/switching their service. They build in arbitrary headaches and wait times by way of phone menus and obscenely long phone times on hold before you can get a hold of a customer service representative to cancel your service. Tell me: do you enjoy that kind of tactic? If not, why would you be okay with it within the confines of an MMO but not otherwise?

Life is not fair. Why should an MMO be? You do not have the right to progress - you have to earn it... with some luck. OR wait until a major patch or expansion comes that makes it easier to progress.

If everyone could follow a clearly defined path to the cutting edge, exclusive end game, it wouldn't be cutting edge and exclusive. I would wager that it 2.1 or expansion will make it more accessible to omre people and there will be some new cutting edge exclusive thing only the few lucky hardcore gamers get to do/see.

[Pinworms]

I have never seen mnk gear drop in coil. It's rng - some things might drop...something might not. That's how all mmo are iirc.

[ApolloGenX]

I just stopped. Not because I didn't get what I wanted... but because Alleg. is ugly and since there are no raids after coil, it's pointless gear.

There's not really any progression. It's just one tier of raiding currently, so I really don't care about getting raid loot... since there are no other raids to use it in to progress.... and there won't be.

You can't really have much progression with only 1 tier.

[Synovius]

I just stopped. Not because I didn't get what I wanted... but because Alleg. is ugly and since there are no raids after coil, it's pointless gear.

There's not really any progression. It's just one tier of raiding currently, so I really don't care about getting raid loot... since there are no other raids to use it in to progress.... and there won't be.

You can't really have much progression with only 1 tier.

Tell that to Twintania who is more difficult than Turn 1, 2, and 4 combined.