Required rank on all gear

[KiriA500]

Gamers are too entitled these days... Nobody wants to earn anything anymore, it has to be given to us every step of the way.

I hope 1.19 has a "Rank 50" button that just gives you infinite experience points so people can get that whole "leveling" thing out of the way. I want my character the way I deserve it, max level with the best gear.

[Jabo]

Why not both?

Restrictions for the "good" gear like Haubergeons, Cuirasses and weapons etc.
No restrictions for all round gear like Tabarts, Chainmails etc.

Required gear would be the best regarding stats, but if you don't want to get your inventory filled with gear, because you level 3-4 different classes, you can use the all round gear.

Quality vs Flexibility.

[Arcell]

if you have so much trouble finding gear your rank, level a craft. Your the one who wants to lock it in place and doesn't care about appearances. I wear my matching gear for when I'm not in combat. when I'm in combat i wear optimal gear.

Or join a Linkshell. I don't know about everyone else, but when I need some equipment I ask my LS first. Generally someone has leveled the necessary craft(s) and I can get my gear at cost or free. If they can't make it I can generally find it in the wards.

As someone else also mentioned the crafting simplification will help with this, especially for the lower rank gear. Some of the low rank gear has obnoxious requirements for crafting currently which also may be a contributing factor to no one making it.

Why not both?

Restrictions for the "good" gear like Haubergeons, Cuirasses and weapons etc.
No restrictions for all round gear like Tabarts, Chainmails etc.

Required gear would be the best regarding stats, but if you don't want to get your inventory filled with gear, because you level 3-4 different classes, you can use the all round gear.

Quality vs Flexibility.

We currently have both, some people want to take that away apparently. Unique/Untradable gear tends to be rank or class restricted, at least all the NM/Dungeon gear since Yoshida took over is.

[Fensfield]

Ugh -.-

I can tolerate the special stuff being class locked. In fact, in some ways it makes sense and I support it. However, it's long pee'd me off being class/rank locked on average items that affect appearance.

Lock my ability to have thematic control over my character's looks, and I very likely will leave; it'd be the final kick in the teeth from my perspective. In the meantime, I'll be wearing what I like, and you're very welcome to not invite me to your raid parties in turn.

Honestly I'd sooner see systems like in Mabinogi and the Phantasy Star games, where stats are either partially or wholly divorced from character outfits and equipment either has a minimal stat influence or has little to nothing to do with visuals. People should be free to choose how their character looks and if they want to focus on stats or not, and other people should in turn be free to not party with those that don't subscribe to their ideas about 'proper' gear usage or whether or not they look 'right'.

Failing that, I'd prefer they just let us use whatever we fancied and make it damned clear our stats are suffering as a result of wearing stuff's class or rank inappropriate.

[Velhart]

I must agree with the OP. This is a very effective method in progressing our economy and would help bring more lower level armors into the game. I also like a good idea on who is low level and high level. I think wearing the best gear in the game should be earned, not handed to you at lv.1, and find it funny seeing a lv.12 GLA wear lv.48 Iron Plate gear. They already changed this with dungeon gear, but I agree it should be done with all gear.

Maybe putting a wardrobe system in would help also.

[Forbin]

agreed! no more wearing rank 48/49 gear at rank 8.. REQUIRED LEVELS PLEASE!

[Dread]

The amount of misinformation in this thread is staggering. It's as if the majority of people are just spouting off ages old rumors as fact and haven't actually tested anything themselves. I have personally tested the effects of using gear under the recommended rank, and the notion that you are sub-par by doing so is unlikely at best, and flat out wrong in some cases. So here are some of the cold hard facts I've managed to collect on the matter:

FACT: Using a weapon with a much higher rank comes with the disadvantage of severely increased durability damage rates. However, both attack and accuracy are generally the same, or *better* than a rank appropriate weapon. So as long as you keep the weapon repaired, you aren't losing anything but the gil required for the frequent repairs. Shields count as armor, as far as durability damage rates are concerned.

FACT: Using armor with a much higher optimal rank offers the same or *better* defense and avoidance as rank appropriate gear. As far as I can tell, if there is a durability damage rate increase for armor, it is very, very small in comparison to the weapon, so small that I couldn't even notice a difference while actively looking for it. Small enough to level a job 1-30 without needing to repair even once.

What I haven't personally tested in-depth are stat bonuses such as STR or VIT while using gear with a higher optimal rank. It is clear that they do not give maximum bonuses until optimal rank has been met. However, they still scale downward in rank and award smaller bonuses, increasing slightly as you level up, just the same as all other gear in the game. Until the abolishment of physical levels and the re-balancing of stats, it's likely you wont notice any difference whatsoever on stats awarded from optimal gear compared to gear in which you do not meet the optimal rank.

TL;DR?

Anyone who says that using gear far above you in optimal rank hinders your performance is *wrong*. Period.

[Arcell]

agreed! no more wearing rank 48/49 gear at rank 8.. REQUIRED LEVELS PLEASE!

You're completely disregarding the fact that only someone who has no idea of the penalties would do something like that. Enjoy gaining almost nothing from it and having to repair it every day, 4.5k per dark matter for each piece would be tough for a rank 8. Otherwise they could simply wear their appropriate gear and get an actual bonus from the armor which doesn't deteriorate at an obnoxiously accelerated rate.

However people would actually realize this if the penalties were outlined more clearly.

If you go by the actual attributes sheet you'll see a decrease, in the gear menu it shows as a bonus when equipping higher rank gear. I don't know how they've changed it recently but the reason I started following optimal rank is because I saw the decrease in stats equipping things that were too high for me.

[akisato]

its not needed, When stats matter you won't even what to equip a yew longbow at 42 if you have an oak composite bow.

[Rau]

I love the responses to this topic. Shame I couldn't take part because of stuff at home. By I'm really digging the idea of unique and material gear being made rank required, and making everything else rank free increasing the penalty is definitely agreat alternative.