Instead of gear loss how about a less harsh outcome?

[Aeyis]

What is this, a free-to-play game?
Oh, wait...

Pay money, attempt to upgrade your gear, lose it all, pay more money...
I hate this renowned mechanic with great passion.

I'm not of the gambler mindset.
Time is valuable.
I like my work to actually count for something.

I don't know what's up with you people saying "I'd like all my time and effort to get washed down the river because it'll stimulate the game's economy!"
You've either got a screwed up sense of fun or a desire to wreck others'. (Or bad judgment.)
How 'bout you discard your entire inventory and start buying?
That'll stimulate the economy in perfectly similar fashion. You'll be so pleased!

You must be new to the mmo life then. Ragnarok Online was already mentioned above (twice) and there were other games as well that used it quite succesfully. None of those were free to play either.

It actually did make one feel like one achieved something in even posses an item with a higher upgrade level.~

[Soulfire]

You must be new to the mmo life then. Ragnarok Online was already mentioned above (twice) and there were other games as well that used it quite succesfully. None of those were free to play either.

It actually did make one feel like one achieved something in even posses an item with a higher upgrade level.~

New to MMO life? I've been doing this for over six years. Granted I did not play many pay-to-play games, so I'll give you that.

When I said it was the epitome of free-to-play I meant it summed up the mechanics I personally would not expect from a pay-to-play game. To my dismay, it appears my expectations have been betrayed, and a number of pay-to-play games are using such systems.

Let me say that again in a way easier to understand. It's not about what's in free-to-play or pay-to-play games. It's about quality. When I have to pay monthly fees to play a game, I expect quality.

Currently this game is free-to-play because it did not meet that bar - that bar of expectation of quality held by so many.

You know what I hate to see?

Tears.
People crying over losing something important.
And especially the jerks who say stuff like "Quit your QQing."

This will become what you see. Over, and over, and over again.

That is NOT an enjoyable environment. That is NOT quality. It makes me so very, very FURIOUS at the people responsible for implementing that system. I do not want to hear how Square Enix caused my dear friends to suffer.

All of it for what? One guy to feel like he accomplished something, you say?

Many others fall into depression and shed actual tears, all so that one guy can have a coveted item and feel accomplished? Feel accomplished because of LUCK?!

Last I checked this game was gonna be based on skill and strategic planning.
Last I checked the aim was to make this game as enjoyable as possible for everyone.
I must've missed the memo that said otherwise.

[mysterytaru]

New to MMO life? I've been doing this for over six years. Granted I did not play many pay-to-play games, so I'll give you that.

When I said it was the epitome of free-to-play I meant it summed up the mechanics I personally would not expect from a pay-to-play game. To my dismay, it appears my expectations have been betrayed, and a number of pay-to-play games are using such systems.

Let me say that again in a way easier to understand. It's not about what's in free-to-play or pay-to-play games. It's about quality. When I have to pay monthly fees to play a game, I expect quality.

Currently this game is free-to-play because it did not meet that bar - that bar of expectation of quality held by so many.

You know what I hate to see?

Tears.
People crying over losing something important.
And especially the jerks who say stuff like "Quit your QQing."

This will become what you see. Over, and over, and over again.

That is NOT an enjoyable environment. That is NOT quality. It makes me so very, very FURIOUS at the people responsible for implementing that system. I do not want to hear how Square Enix caused my dear friends to suffer.

All of it for what? One guy to feel like he accomplished something, you say?

Many others fall into depression and shed actual tears, all so that one guy can have a coveted item and feel accomplished? Feel accomplished because of LUCK?!

Last I checked this game was gonna be based on skill and strategic planning.
Last I checked the aim was to make this game as enjoyable as possible for everyone.
I must've missed the memo that said otherwise.

Really? You realize none of these things are real right? It's make believe. 1s and 0s. Pretend. If having an item in a game break and force someone to get a new one makes them literally break down in a torrent of real tears, they need to step away from the keyboard and reevaluate the things that matter.

[Kafeen]

You know what I hate to see?

Tears.
People crying over losing something important.
And especially the jerks who say stuff like "Quit your QQing."

Its not like your weapon is destroyed because you used it too much. You're given a choice, you can either take a chance knowing your actions will potentially destroy your weapon or potentially improve it to a new level, or, if your weapon is important to you and you don't want to risk loosing it, stick to only attaching a single materia to it. Even attaching 2 shouldn't be too difficult, its only if you really want to push for the best of the best that you're going to be going through numerous iterations of weapons. Why shouldn't those who are prepared to go through that risk be granted greater rewards?

Many others fall into depression and shed actual tears, all so that one guy can have a coveted item and feel accomplished? Feel accomplished because of LUCK?!

Just like that sense of accomplishment that one guy gets because they got the HNM drop that everyone else wanted.

[Viridiana]

Honestly, there are only two things I'm not looking forward to with this system. First is how poor I'm going to wind up, and second is the inevitable day where my gear breaks on that fifth materia.

That said, though, I agree with the decision. I'll keep selling things to offset the costs, and I'll grumble and move on when my weapon decide to suffer critical existence failure. . .