So the zodiac upgrades... (kind of ranty post)

[Xatsh]

They're easy to get. Time consuming, yes. Difficult? No. Therefore, they are casual weapons.

Hardcore =/= Hard Content. Hardcore is a combination of difficulty and time required to get the reward. Example Relics in XI were extreme hardcore with less then 2% of the population having one... but they were faceroll easy to get in terms of content difficulty just took ages (usually 2+ yrs) and a fortune of 30+ ppls gils (200mill + gil, about 2billion in XIV value if you were to convert it).

The time constraint of the relics makes them hardcore content. It would be more difficult for a person to start a relic now then it would be for them to get a upgraded I130 weapon from final coil.

This is the problems with relics... the time required to obtain one is simply not worth the reward.

[Prototype909]

The time constraint of the relics makes them hardcore content. It would be more difficult for a person to start a relic now then it would be for them to get a upgraded I130 weapon from final coil.

This actually -is- a pretty big underlying problem that I don't think anyone really brings up. People who have started playing the game recently have basically no incentive to begin a relic because even the earlier steps (Animus, Novus in particular) require a big time and money sink. New players can save time by just getting the 1000x more easily accessible soldiery weapon ASAP and then they don't have the money to purchase the materia necessary (Even assuming it sticks the first time, which it won't).

The entire quest line is obviously catered towards players who have been keeping up to speed with the releases of the updates to it, but at the same time people who are just starting out and pursuing a relic are basically playing an extremely lengthy catch-up game. Dunno why you'd even bother with a relic in that case.