Power-leveling is absolutely BROKEN

[JudgeN]

Leveling in FFXIV at this moment may not be "content," but that doesn't mean leveling is never content. What they need to do, instead of just letting everyone basically bypass leveling, is make it so you level WHILE DOING content. You know, like the vast majority of RPGs.

That would make sense if they did that from the start but they didn't, this game is never going to be quest leveling type of system. I mean I would love for an update to say "we added 1000 quest for you to level up with". Partying is the direction this game seems to be going and I rather have it be easy then really shitty like the 2003-2004 days of FFXI. With the current party search system its going to be borderline impossible but hey lets make them take time fixing exp formula's instead of creating content.

[Travesty]

That would make sense if they did that from the start but they didn't, this game is never going to be quest leveling type of system. I mean I would love for an update to say "we added 1000 quest for you to level up with" but it will never happen. Partying is the direction this game seems to be going and I rather have it be easy then really shitty like the 2003-2004 days of FFXI.

First, I wouldn't be too sure about anything fundamental with this game right now. It's in a huge state of flux. And we've already seen the addition of quests, plus the leve system is a rudimentary quest system.

Second, even if it's not a quest leveling system, that doesn't mean it has to be a repetitive grind. There are a ton of different ways to create content besides quests. Raids at more frequent level intervals, different kinds of enemies that require different tactics beyond just "beat in face, repeat," more story missions, PvP(though I would personally prefer not), enemy invasions similar to the one's that already exist, but more prominent, etc etc etc.

Creating a more versatile and interesting game is what they need to do, not take the leveling out of their RPG.

[JudgeN]

First, I wouldn't be too sure about anything fundamental with this game right now. It's in a huge state of flux. And we've already seen the addition of quests, plus the leve system is a rudimentary quest system.

Second, even if it's not a quest leveling system, that doesn't mean it has to be a repetitive grind. There are a ton of different ways to create content besides quests. Raids at more frequent level intervals, different kinds of enemies that require different tactics beyond just "beat in face, repeat," more story missions, PvP(though I would personally prefer not), enemy invasions similar to the one's that already exist, but more prominent, etc etc etc.

Creating a more versatile and interesting game is what they need to do, not take the leveling out of their RPG.

When they first added quest they added a grand total of 16 I believe and they all had crap rewards, nothing close to quest leveling. And guildleve's o man are they terrible SP, lifeless, Favor doesn't regenerate fast enough, and we haven't had new one introduced in a year I believe. The system was decent on paper but SE don't have the resources to make it good IMO. Dunno man I have a feeling after this game first failure of a year its going to try to follow FFXI footsteps to recover.

I do agree with your second point it does need more interesting versatile ways to level up but with the unknown size of the team (assuming its small) and the rate in which they put out patches, I just don't see these ways coming anytime special coming soon. At the end of the day the game needs content quickly but if we harp on meaningless stuff like people powerleveling they will never get around to creating it.

One more then not directed towards you but the tread. Has anyone noticed that weapons/armor below about 40 ARE NOT being made? I have a 14 MRD that i'm trying to level with no powerlevel but I can't get weapons or armor. This seems like one of the major reason people are just powerleveling there way through because all the gear being made by crafters is 40-50 range for materia converting. One of the major flaws with the materia system IMO. Nerf PL isn't going to fix this issue its just going to make it crappier for everyone who's leveling.

[Travesty]

When they first added quest they added a grand total of 16 I believe and they all had crap rewards, nothing close to quest leveling. And guildleve's o man are they terrible SP, lifeless, Favor doesn't regenerate fast enough, and we haven't had new one introduced in a year I believe. The system was decent on paper but SE don't have the resources to make it good IMO. Dunno man I have a feeling after this game first failure of a year its going to try to follow FFXI footsteps to recover.

I do agree with your second point it does need more interesting versatile ways to level up but with the unknown size of the team (assuming its small) and the rate in which they put out patches, I just don't see these ways coming anytime special coming soon. At the end of the day the game needs content quickly but if we harp on meaningless stuff like people powerleveling they will never get around to creating it.

I would not assume any development team for a company as huge as SE is small, especially one for a game in their flagship franchise. I'd imagine it's actually quite large. The reason patches have been coming so slowly is because they're redesigning the game nearly from the ground up, and they're having to work on a ton of crap at once. But the patches they're releasing are extremely large in scope.

And the reason people, at least me, harped on powerleveling, is because if it stayed like it is now it would be a deathblow to the game. At least slower leveling slows down people's advancement a little. If there's a solid way to hit 50 in a couple days, and very little endgame content, the population would plummet rapidly because people would hit 50, blow through the limited content, and then have nothing to do.

One more then not directed towards you but the tread. Has anyone noticed that weapons/armor below about 40 ARE NOT being made? I have a 14 MRD that i'm trying to level with no powerlevel but I can't get weapons or armor. This seems like one of the major reason people are just powerleveling there way through because all the gear being made by crafters is 40-50 range for materia converting. One of the major flaws with the materia system IMO. Nerf PL isn't going to fix this issue its just going to make it crappier for everyone who's leveling.

This is true, but the way they fix it is by introducing more lower level content, and just generally bringing in new players. If you put in a level 35 raid that has lucrative rewards, with the way gear is now, all of a sudden you're going to see 30ish gear on the market because there will be demand.

[Vaer]

One more then not directed towards you but the tread. Has anyone noticed that weapons/armor below about 40 ARE NOT being made? I have a 14 MRD that i'm trying to level with no powerlevel but I can't get weapons or armor. This seems like one of the major reason people are just powerleveling there way through because all the gear being made by crafters is 40-50 range for materia converting. One of the major flaws with the materia system IMO. Nerf PL isn't going to fix this issue its just going to make it crappier for everyone who's leveling.

This is more due to the fact this game is mostly top heavy now. Most people who are serious about playing have a LS they can ask for a crafter to craft them gear. There aren't as many new players coming in so there is really small incentive for making low level weapons and armor, especially if they have been playing a while (large % of the player base at this point in time) and have a ton of money.

Now, once more new players come in, you will see a steady increase in the amount of low level weapons and armor. The new players will (hopefully) make it, trying to make some money, as it is harder now to make a ton of gil than it was before.

Most people don't have issues with power leveling itself, but with the speed of progression and how fast it is compared to the amount of effort.