Problems with the strength of gear coming from easy mode Alexander

[Brannigan]

When patch 3.2 launched everyone in the world had full item level 210 gear. With how much it was dropping in Diadem, and the large gap between patches, anyone who played even a little bit was fully geared out. Because of that, easy mode Midas dropping 220 armor wasn't a huge deal. Diadem was clearly a mistake, so wiping out all traces of that was probably a good thing.

However,

I sincerely hope that the trend of easy mode and crafted items being higher item level than the previous raid's gear does not continue into 4.0. The reason for this is that it has seriously sapped my motivation for farming out gear beyond the initial clear. It has basically reduced the reward for raiding to a minion that you cannot summon in 90% of the content in the game.

I would instead like to see a return to 2.x's model. The crafted gear released on even-numbered patches and the gear from the easy mode raid should be the same item level as the previous raid's gear. The weapon from the primal should be like that as well, like with Leviathan. This means that

-Catchup patch still happens WITHOUT completely stepping on raiders
-raiders who have completed their gear sets can safely ignore the catchup content like easy mode, which is pretty much a boring chore for anyone capable of clearing the raids
-crafted gear still has a place for those who want to push their stats to the limit with materia, but it is not 100% necessary because of its higher item level like it was in 3.2.
-The previous raid becoming unlocked might actually have some relevance for people who want to farm out a full set of gear quickly.

The reward for getting a full set of gear in a raid should be being able to use that gear in a new challenge. As it is now, you throw away this gear as soon as you complete it. A lot of missteps have been made with regard to raiding in 3.0 and I really hope that the dev team recognizes that how they've handled item progression is one of them.

[MihaelB]

And yet despite all the gear we received, wasn't the clear rate of A8S still abysmally low? I know most players wouldn't be able to clear it and considering so much time spent on development of the raids, it makes sense to provide stronger gear for it.

It would be nice if someone could provide prior and even current clear statistics of the raids we have had.

Your 'reward' is the gear from the raid as glamour currently as is most activities in this game, glamour/minions/achievement log. Until they provide a better reward system, I don't see why they should reward raiders specifically something unless they decide to do the same for the numerous other activities in the game.

I do think they need a redesign or change of the combat system and it is a constant dull chore to get higher and higher stats for new content. Farm gear, repeat, add new gear, gear becomes redundant, get stronger gear, repeat on content until gear level > content level, repeat.

[loreleidiangelo]

I'm not exactly opposed to this, but...at the release of the new story-mode raid, it's not just Savage raiders who are max ilevel, it's pretty much everyone (due to upgrade items coming from the 24-mans, hunts, and whatnot). It seems like a pretty certain way to ensure that the raid is done once for story completion, then never touched again, which doesn't seem like something SE would want.

Any thoughts on this?

[Bourne_Endeavor]

If I'm reading this right, and do forgive it being 5am, but this system were already implemented, you would have it be like...

3.1: ilvl 210 Raid gear
3.2: ilvl 210 Craft/Extreme Primal gear
3.3: ilvl 240 Raid gear
3.4: ilvl 240 Craft/Extreme Primal gear

and etc.

[Brannigan]

If I'm reading this right, and do forgive it being 5am, but this system were already implemented, you would have it be like...

3.1: ilvl 210 Raid gear
3.2: ilvl 210 Craft/Extreme Primal gear
3.3: ilvl 240 Raid gear
3.4: ilvl 240 Craft/Extreme Primal gear

and etc.

Pretty much, yeah. In the 2.x series this is more or less how it was (as I recall).

2.0 i90 raid/i95 weapon
2.2 i90 crafted/i95 leviathan; i110 raid/i115 weapon
2.4 i110 crafted/i110 shiva (she also dropped 120 bracelets which were an upgrade - good system imo); 130 raid/135 weapon

I'm not exactly opposed to this, but...at the release of the new story-mode raid, it's not just Savage raiders who are max ilevel, it's pretty much everyone (due to upgrade items coming from the 24-mans, hunts, and whatnot). It seems like a pretty certain way to ensure that the raid is done once for story completion, then never touched again, which doesn't seem like something SE would want.

Well, non-raiders in the past still wanted to go for weapons usually, but you make a good point. In an ideal game, I think it'd be a good idea to ease up on how freely upgrade items are distributed during odd-numbered patches (in order to encourage people to get into raiding), but that ship has sailed and I'm not arguing for it here.

With that said, if they want people doing story mode they need to stick it in trial roulette and put a decent tomestone bounty on it. They should probably also change how its drops are handled. It's a bit dumb that it takes 4 freaking weeks to get a body from story mode but you can buy a higher item level body with 2 weeks of tomestones or craft an equal ilvl body in one day.

p.s. I realize I kinda havent addressed your point but it's 5 am and my mind is kinda fried. I might revisit this after sleep time.

[Asmodai]

Yeah really, the only reason I have not pushed for clearing raid content in this game as I have in others is in three months I am going to be able to get the same ilvl gear from tomes. It might not be perfectly optimized as you could do with a mix of gear, but why waste your time raiding?

[Ashelia_Ferron]

Yeah really, the only reason I have not pushed for clearing raid content in this game as I have in others is in three months I am going to be able to get the same ilvl gear from tomes. It might not be perfectly optimized as you could do with a mix of gear, but why waste your time raiding?

For the challenge and sense of accomplishment. Everything else in this game is catered for the casual community.

I don't think many people raid for gear. They raid because they want to put their skills to the test, to actually make USE of that gear.

You say you can get that gear next patch in 3 months, but what's the point of getting that gear if you aren't doing anything that even remotely requires it? Just look at the MSQ this patch. Highest you have to be is 205. So you don't even need it for story progression

[Asmodai]

For the challenge and sense of accomplishment.

Which is nice, but with no reward it doesnt go very far. The reason mmo's are mmo's is because you character progresses, in this game progression is watered down so much to cater to the lowest common denominator that its almost useless. It might as well be a chat room. I also still raid, I just dont push for it as much as I used to in other mmo's. Hell, I dont even push for it as hard as in 2.0. FFXIV just has something missing, you should never be able to get gear equal to raid level gear from just doing faceroll content.

[Ashelia_Ferron]

Which is nice, but with no reward it doesnt go very far. The reason mmo's are mmo's is because you character progresses, in this game progression is watered down so much to cater to the lowest common denominator that its almost useless. It might as well be a chat room. I also still raid, I just dont push for it as much as I used to in other mmo's. Hell, I dont even push for it as hard as in 2.0. FFXIV just has something missing, you should never be able to get gear equal to raid level gear from just doing faceroll content.

It only seems that way because FFXIV has short patch cycles.

And again, there's no point in having high end gear if you don't make use of it. Progression for the sake of progression has the least amount of value.

This is a theme park MMO. You have to keep players entertained for short bursts. Fast vertical progression is a result of that, and it's not going anywhere

[Asmodai]

It only seems that way because FFXIV has short patch cycles.

And again, there's no point in having high end gear if you don't make use of it. Progression for the sake of progression has the least amount of value.

This is a theme park MMO. You have to keep players entertained for short bursts. Fast vertical progression is a result of that, and it's not going anywhere

I wouldst even be kind enough to give it that much credit, when all new content comes out based off of much lower level gear than what is available from faceroll content the previous patch cycle. Makes you overpowered for everything.

For your second point, there is zero reason to increase the power of tomestone gear because the content they release for non raiders doesn't require it. You dont need it for the content you're doing. Which is really the OP's original point, and mine.

For your third point, it will when enough people complain about it. Even casuals are getting sick of the repetitive nature of the game. I'm willing to wait it out for a bit and see what happens in 4.0. If it doesn't get better I think I may just focus my energy in real life things. I've always wanted to try tournament fishing.