Variance in player skill is hurting FFXIV's itemization design.

[RobbieH]

I'd only want these items with unique effects and niche uses so long as they aren't ball-bustingly difficult or grindy to obtain.

And this is what's wrong with this game and we have what we have.

[Blackcanary]

Also as for the comment "Players may neglect certain players for not having certain boosts". Theres absolutely nothing wrong with that.

If you put in 2 hours a week and someone else puts in 20.

By all rights the other guy deserves far more to be doing what ever it is youre doing. The rules of the game shouldnt change to cater to people who shouldn't even be playing said game.

I dont know at what point gaming became "I cant beat it. I give up" when its supposed to be "I cant beat it. Read guide. Watch Video. Practice" I mean... its just stupid and actually defeats the purpose of calling it a "Game".

The rules of the game dont change because you dont put in the effort to learn the game. Its not a game any more after that point.

Shouldn't it be "I can't beat it, keep playing till I can beat it." Since in my mind reading guides and watching videos is a cope out way of beating something u can't complete/cheating and a last resort.

[Granyala]

Shouldn't it be "I can't beat it, keep playing till I can beat it." Since in my mind reading guides and watching videos is a cope out way of beating something u can't complete/cheating and a last resort.

For solo games: sure. But not during raids.
It's simply rude to have 7 other people wipe over and over and over until guy 8 FINALLY gets it.

Also, during savage, you will have your hands full with getting to near perfect execution of mechanics while playing near your maximum potential.

[Brian_]

And if you consider those to be a good break for Savage, wouldn't conversely dungeons be a good break from EX trials or normal raids for a less skilled person in the exact same manner? Perhaps the hunt zerg even be a good break from dungeons for even less skilled people? Would not all group content ultimately have the same effect to varying degrees?

It's about variety and flexibility in content. Raid content can easily scale from entry-level raiding to hard-core raiding. As such, it has a much wider coverage and that's why I disagree with the notion it is niche and why I originally said it has the widest appeal. And, more importantly, it can build a bridge of progression that helps convert a casual into a core player. That doesn't exist with hunts. That doesn't exist in Diadem. It doesn't exist in dungeons because SE has said that with dungeons, their hands are tied in terms of design and difficulty.

Someone can get their feet wet in an EX-trial or Mhach and develop an appetite for more. I don't think hunts or Diadem lead anywhere progressive. Again, this goes back to my point about content breeding longevity. When the content I listed hits their mark, it hooks people.

Also, while we've seen SE have their moments with dungeon narratives, I think their dungeon narratives pale in comparison to their raid efforts. Coil, Crystal Tower, the Mhach series so far, and even Alexander all tell better stories and have larger experiences than just a dungeon. You just can't achieve the same scope with dungeon content -- even if it is sequential like the NM/HM dungeons.

[Seraphix2407]

I'll be the filthy casual here and pretty much say that I'd only want these items with unique effects and niche uses so long as they aren't ball-bustingly difficult or grindy to obtain. But as several people commented, they wouldn't have their "special snowflake" appeal then, and that would apparently make them less fun or interesting to play around with to people, so idk.

Look at relic, it's grindy and is nothing special. FFXI relic was grindy too but had some special effect to it. At least make relic unqiue and not some grind that barely gives any purpose.

[Granyala]

Also, while we've seen SE have their moments with dungeon narratives, I think their dungeon narratives pale in comparison to their raid efforts. Coil, Crystal Tower, the Mhach series so far, and even Alexander all tell better stories and have larger experiences than just a dungeon. You just can't achieve the same scope with dungeon content -- even if it is sequential like the NM/HM dungeons.

Of course you could.

After all the storytelling is 99% cutscene and 1% what happens during the raid encounter
Seriously, I found the trash bosses in Coil rather anticlimactic. "Here ya go raider, fight a random plant that is attacking you... because it can. DEFEND YOURSELF! /Klingon"

SE simply doesn't choose to do so. Why is anyone's guess, though I do think they wan to reserve the "epicness of story moments" for raids.

Look at relic, it's grindy and is nothing special. FFXI relic was grindy too but had some special effect to it. At least make relic unqiue and not some grind that barely gives any purpose.

I thought the purpose of the relic is a unique weapon model (some stages with nice particleFX) and stats being able to be chosen at your leisure.

[Seraphix2407]

I thought the purpose of the relic is a unique weapon model (some stages with nice particleFX) and stats being able to be chosen at your leisure.

Doing 800 alex runs or have some luck on maps (which many couldnt afford to spend on alot) or grind law and eso for that minimal upgrade. Yes you can change the stats in the current relic quest, however, all that for minimal upgrade. Relic is supose to be powerful, unique (yes it can be unique looking some of them are copy paste from other weapons) but powerful? Not really. They need to make gear more appealing, like making raid gear with stat bonuses (like grand company gear) could be a starter. If you don't raid well, fair enough. I think raid gear should be best. I think more ways to obtain gear and with different setups would be good too. Right now FF14 feels more like a dress up simulator, even tho I don't spend hours on glamour,I pick something I like and that's it.

[Granyala]

I think raid gear should be best.

Last time I checked, it is. Item level is king because secondary stats are pathetically weak in FF.

Now, if you want to argue that "equip higher item level and be done with gearing" is boring, we could have a discussion, because I would agree on that premise. Stat wise, the gear in this game is extremely boring. Stats beyond item level might as well not exist, because secondaries are too weak to have an impact (even if I meld only SS I don't feel any difference in casting speed) and with only 2 sets we don't have much choice in terms of "stacking fav stat" anyway.

If you only QQ because you want raiding gear to have an even bigger gap so you can feel better about yourself, compared to the non raiding peasants -> WoW is that way.

[KokonoeAiyoko]

I love both Final Fantasy XI and XIV and I'm subbed to both at the moment and have played both for years.

I do think adding unique traits or stats to armor to add more diversity is a nice idea, I don't however think making said traits mandatory to complete a huge section of content is a good idea as it goes against what even the OP wants or most people in this thread want, and that's different ways to complete content, more options. If you make it so that gear is the only thing viable for future content, then it goes back to our current system where only one option is available to win content.

Add unique traits, but keep them as a "option" for skill minded players.

Think the Dusk Set in FFXI which lowers your movement speed and gives you higher stats. Huge flaw with high reward.
Also elemental gear and stuff like that would be nice. (I'm aware there are some, but make them actually have a more potent effect than currently.)

[Belhi]

This is a somewhat trickly situation for a number of reasons.

From the Dev's perspective I think the main concern is gameplay requirements (which in turn means barriers to access on content), and content balance, particularly on Hardest level content.

When a character hits 60 now and wants to move into raiding the key obstacles is to get some gear with enough ilvl and find a group. Over all its not too bad. You have many options to get that gear and generally regardless of the source, if its the right ilvl it will put you in a situation where differences in stat allocation on the gear wont make or break performance. However the more difference those stats make, and the more complex and varied their impact on gameplay is, the larger the difference specific sets of gear will have on performance. The percentage difference in performance between two sets of the same ilvl with different stat allocations suddenly substantially more.

This is the evitable 'best' build which becomes the goal of most players. For a balance perspective the dev needs to take into account the strength of such a build because if they don't the Hardcore content suddenly becomes a lot less hardcore. However doing this means that any player not with the 'best' set will find the content noticeably more difficult, pushing the 'best' set into being mandatory to do the content.

This then starts to undermine the value of that customisation option. Its no longer a choice because you have to play optimally to do that content. Further it creates a itemisation and reward issue. If there is now mandatory gear for raiders it means accessing that gear has to be something everyone who wants to raid has to do. Suddenly any other way of earning gear drastically loses value apart from glamour, greatly reducing player interest in these alternative activities. Raiders will then have to do whatever method is needed to access that 'best' gear even if it is a gameplay style they don't particularly enjoy. More over it means that any rewards for content that the gear is needed for have to be powerful enough that any loss due to stat optimisation being effected by the new gear (such as perhaps the loss of a particular bonus effect on an ability) is mitigated otherwise the rewards for doing the Hardcore content will lose value and peoples interest in actually beating the content will drop.

Its a trickly problem and understandably one they aren't keen on tackling. Does it mean I don't think they can do anything? Nah. There are options. However any such system would need to be very carefully implemented and noticeably limited in scope to limit the impact such variation will actually have.