Rank cap increase every 1-2 years discussion thread

[Duelle]

I really dislike MMOs that constantly raise the level cap, simply because it makes it seem like all the effort that we put into getting our previous gear is worthless, because the new Level 60 body is WAY better then the level 50 body that I spent 6 months trying to get. I'm not saying that the new, higher level gear always comparable to the old gear; In my opinion, a level 60 body SHOULD be better then a level 50 body. However, constantly making gear that was coveted become essentially useless, and thinking that a level cap raise is necessary for the growth of an MMO is not something that I agree with.

I disagree with your entire premise, but this part of your post bothered me a bit. As someone who has done the gear grind several times in those "MMOs that raise the level cap", I can tell you that for every person who cried about their phat lootz becoming collectors' items, you also had people who simply shrugged their shoulders and got back into the grind because they wanted to see the content.

Raising the level cap means that you have more opportunities to not only add content and add gear, but also further develop the way your character classes play, or as companies like Blizzard have demonstrated, make really big changes to classes at a core level that would otherwise not be possible.

From a gear and itemization perspectives, the lv75 cap in XI being in place for so many years gave us a lousy selection of sidegrades that had to be as such as to do exactly what you wanted; not obsolete older content. Problem is, i'd rather just increase the power of the players over just sticking them with lousy sidegrades for several years. It detracts from the proverbial carrot on a stick that gear is supposed to be when in context of MMORPGs.

That there should be content in the game that lasts a decent amount of time, sure. That they decide to not increase the level cap is folly and detrimental to more than just the content it risks making obsolete.

[Wolfie]

I disagree with your entire premise, but this part of your post bothered me a bit. As someone who has done the gear grind several times in those "MMOs that raise the level cap", I can tell you that for every person who cried about their phat lootz becoming collectors' items, you also had people who simply shrugged their shoulders and got back into the grind because they wanted to see the content.

Raising the level cap means that you have more opportunities to not only add content and add gear, but also further develop the way your character classes play, or as companies like Blizzard have demonstrated, make really big changes to classes at a core level that would otherwise not be possible.

From a gear and itemization perspectives, the lv75 cap in XI being in place for so many years gave us a lousy selection of sidegrades that had to be as such as to do exactly what you wanted; not obsolete older content. Problem is, i'd rather just increase the power of the players over just sticking them with lousy sidegrades for several years. It detracts from the proverbial carrot on a stick that gear is supposed to be when in context of MMORPGs.

That there should be content in the game that lasts a decent amount of time, sure. That they decide to not increase the level cap is folly and detrimental to more than just the content it risks making obsolete.

Yep.

This is pretty much what drove me to quit FFXI. I realized, one day, that after 3 years of being 75, I was still doing the same content and found myself questioning new content as being worthwhile. I quit shortly after Salvage was released, because I realized that it was simply not worth my time to go there; the opportunity to develop my character was minimal and the effort was too great.

And I feel like I have to explain what you meant by Blizzard making core class changes, because that's a VERY good point to be made in favor of level cap raising.

When Blizzard obsoletes content with a new expansion pack, it makes it very easy to start every class and encounter with a blank slate. Since only an extreme minority will ever be going back to do the old content, they can change class skills and roles around at will and design the new content to fit around these new classes.

If they still had to keep this old content in mind, these balance changes would become almost impossible. It would mean that either the balance changes have to fit the old play styles/end game model, or that they'd have to go back and re-do all of the old content to fit the new class balance changes. It's the reason why you never see dramatic class changes until a new expansion is released.

[Duelle]

And I feel like I have to explain what you meant by Blizzard making core class changes, because that's a VERY good point to be made in favor of level cap raising.

When Blizzard obsoletes content with a new expansion pack, it makes it very easy to start every class and encounter with a blank slate. Since only an extreme minority will ever be going back to do the old content, they can change class skills and roles around at will and design the new content to fit around these new classes.

If they still had to keep this old content in mind, these balance changes would become almost impossible. It would mean that either the balance changes have to fit the old play styles/end game model, or that they'd have to go back and re-do all of the old content to fit the new class balance changes. It's the reason why you never see dramatic class changes until a new expansion is released.

Couldn't have said it better myself.