My opinion on endgame gear progression : DRK i225, 4th month of subscription

[Exidrial]

Let me explain to you how I experienced this game. Keep in mind that I've only been playing for 4 months. I don't know much about the games update cycle when it come to equipment.

I levled from 1-50. Got the (what was it..i90?) stuff from the class quest.Then a few days later i was i120 (didn't own heavensward at this time.) This was ~1.5 months into the game.
Then i levled from 1-60.Once I hit 60 I was around i150 or something? The stuff you get from the dungeons.Not even a week after I was i200 because I bough sky pirate stuff.
Now I'm working on my i240 stuff.

See, there wasn't much to do.I barely did anything and already almost got the best equipment in the game.Why is it so easy?So fast?
Why do people need catch up patches like that? Raiders should, at all times, have the best equipment in the game. If there is a period in which the same gear is possible to get with much less effort then there's almost no point in raiding.
At least not for those people that just joined the game.

Personally I think it's better for the game for there to be multiple options to get high end equipment than for one source to be the unquestionable best.
Do I need i240 equipment to run dungeons? Not really. But it feels great to upgrade my character and see myself able to beat the content I do run faster.
I could use the same argument to say that the top tier content shouldn't reward gear since you clearly don't need it if you're able to beat the content.

Back at launch the tomestome equipment (mythology) was the same ilevel as the raid equipment (Binding Coil of Bahamut) with both being i90. Later the Bahamut weapon was bumped up to i95 to be better than the Relic Zenith, and future tomestone equipment required upgrades to match raid gear with the upgrade items initially being locked to the raid itself then released elsewhere in a catch-up patch. To me this would seem to be a compromise from SE to let raiders get ahead during progression patches and let everyone else catch up the patch after.

Why should I even bother doing hard content if there is an easier way of getting the equipment?
Doing Savage is not just "Yeah lets do savage for some lolz!". You have to work for it, find a party that works, then learn the fights, probably wipe a million times in the process. While I consider this fun (yeah even wiping, love hard contnet) it is hard to stay motivated if the reward is not making up for the hard work you put into it.


If everybody was just doing it for the fun then why are there even levels and equipment in the first place?

Yep you got it. We're doing it for the upgrades.How would you feel if you worked hard with your team to get something, and a few months later some random dude just comes by, rolls his face on the keyboard and gets the same stuff you worked so hard for?

As a new player I just don't see a point in raiding.