This Novus Weapons Quest... Nnnnnhhh...

[Zfz]

One should always remember that the Relic is supposed to be done over a long period of time. In which case it isn't that much of a grind. It's only a grind if you want it quickly.

For example I got 16 Alexandrites on day 1 of the scroll because I've got Allied Seals in stock. I also have 10 Tier 4 materia that I needed because I didn't bother selling them. If you farm FATEs for Alex, you should also do spiritbonding (in fact I started actively spiritbonding for materia during the Animus stage); although Hunts are actually the most efficient way if you get together with people who are also farming Hunts. With daily roulettes I can get 2-3 Alexandrites per day. So 59/3=19.x about 20 days of relaxed play just doing what I do anyway, I can get my Novus.

The Relic is content that was designed specifically to be done bit by bit over a long time period, it's not a grind at all.

[Mrkows]

this is awful... how relevant will this be in heavensward?!

[Kanemano]

It will be the best weapon going forward into Heavensward.

Will it eventually be replaced? History says yes. History also says it eventually will become BiS again. Is it necessary? No. It's up to you if you want to put forth the effort.

Yoshi P. also stated that end game gear will remain relevant through to level 60. Once you hit level 60, i'm assuming the treadmill begins again with higher tier gear/weaponry, and Zodiac will fall from BiS, until patch 3.1 (where the new "relic/zodiac" quests will be introduced).

[Ultear_Milkovich]

One should always remember that the Relic is supposed to be done over a long period of time. In which case it isn't that much of a grind. It's only a grind if you want it quickly.

The Relic is content that was designed specifically to be done bit by bit over a long time period, it's not a grind at all.

this guy has it!

[Yukiko]

this guy has it!

No he doesnt, because everything is relative!
If you design "long grind" for players who are playing 24h a day, there will no other human beeing be able to get it expect those who play that long...
If you design "long grind" for players who are playing 12h a day, it will be still unimaginable LONG term grind for most of the players...
If you design "long grind" for players who are playing 4h a day, it is the common timeperiode for many players but then:

If you define "long grind" with 2 years and longer, most of the players are just skipping it because its way too long to get a "single" piece of gear in a game where progress is designed by getting gear (it means you take ONE step forward your path of progress).
If you define "long grind" with 3 months and longer, many of the players are just skipping it because its a little bit too "grindy" and you still have to consider if it is exclusive content grinding or if you can get it while doing random stuff.
If you define "long grind" with 1 month and longer, its a good timeperiode because subscription is also a month and average subscription time is about 3 months. However, are you finished or not? If it continues endlessly or if the output is not worth the grinding players begin to lose interest at all...

Lets say you define "long grind" with 1 month (4 weeks) and design it for players who are playing 12h a day -> in result players who play 24h a day will have it in 2 weeks (and thats what we currently have).
Depending in gamedesign (Bonus Glowing, Garuda 3Minute farming,...) you can finish it even faster!

Never ending does not mean you can have a feeling of satisfaction. If ypu patch every 3 months with continuing relict and average number of players did not finish it, it results in frustration and feeling of left alone...

Edit: The Problem we have now is the ammount of Content:
So to calculate with 3 months or more for chocobo breeding alone, then 4* requirements alone, or getting cards from NPCs alone... dont forget about weekly lockout alone and RNG droprate to complete a gearset alone... its WAY TU MUCH for a single human alone! So either we skip content or become superhuman, its hopless... While in other MMOs you can finish one thing and then focus on the other we are getting on each content more, more, more with each patch! You know: Eating more than you can isnt good for your health.

[Sersei]

Yoshi P. also stated that end game gear will remain relevant through to level 60. Once you hit level 60, i\\\\'m assuming the treadmill begins again with higher tier gear/weaponry, and Zodiac will fall from BiS, until patch 3.1 (where the new "relic/zodiac" quests will be introduced).

I would really like to see a source to this as I have personally heard that the new 60 relics will be easier to obtain than before (jury still out on upgrading). And with the THREE new classes, any player planning on playing one of them will probably not have access to a great weapon like everyone else.

On topic I agree it\\\\'s a grind (haven\\\\'t touched it but researched) and in my mind it could be done better at this stage of the game with the expansion close. Simplify it but keep the original for the HC Elite that want to do it the hard way. Though now more people are going to skip it anyway because: A. Heavensward classes, B. Perceived irrelevance

[Lemuria]

One should always remember that the Relic is supposed to be done over a long period of time. In which case it isn't that much of a grind. It's only a grind if you want it quickly.

So far for me it's been almost a year working on the bloody thing. Exactly how long does something need to be before it's considered 'too long'?

The original concept was for it to be aimed at casual players. Yet casually playing through means literally taking months and, yes, even over a year to complete. Meanwhile the game moves on without you, progressing weapons far quicker than you are and leaving you with a relic in the truest sense of the word. That is, a worthless trinket of a bygone era.

And now there are free i130, two easy to get i115 and i110 pentameld weapons. You dont NEED the relic so the relic quest doesnt have to be fast. Its already easy and optional.

Really, you're only strengthening my argument, which is that it shouldn't be so needlessly grindy for a weapon which is essentially obsolete. If this weapon had some unique bonus or special properties like the FFXI relics, then I would happily concede that it justifies the grind. It doesn't, therefore it can't.

[Staris]

If you don't enjoy playing the game go do something else, the relic is just a bonus for time spent doing something most of us enjoy.

I know someone who is almost finished with all of the weapons, clearly it doesn't take as much time as you think.

[Ayrie]

Oh man. You're to this point with Alex?

I feel for you on your hundredth primal...

And I will finish with 3 words:

Dat zodiac RNG.

Get out while you can.

[Ultear_Milkovich]

I've been out of the game for... a good year

then you just pay the price of your lack of efforts. Some people are online everyday since release and are rewarded for that. No need to whine and complain if you gave up on progression for such a long period this is normal.

why should you get a boost to catch up if you just left the game?

I mean you left the game for one year and now you basically ask for a free zeta, wtf? Others just did the grind succesfully without crying like babies. Where were you?