Yoshi-P on Character Growth

[Frederick22]

Keeping the original formula is fine, what should be done is put different and dynamic things within the formula.

PotD and Wonders Tails ( I hope ) is a good start.

[Nalien]

Keeping the original formula is fine, what should be done is put different and dynamic things within the formula.

PotD and Wonders Tails ( I hope ) is a good start.

The problem with both these pieces of content though, is the rewards... Why would I grind Palace of the Dead for i235 weapons, for example? XIV has become far too predictable in its patch cycles, and the result is just that I've lost interest in chasing item levels... Why am I going to put effort into farming "relevant" item levels, when I know full well a patch will drop and pretty much reset everyones progression? I didn't bother chasing Palace weapons, or Nidhogg ones, because I knew full well that 3.4 was en route with replacements...

That's great for new players, since they can catch up to a "relevant" level quickly, but for someone who wants to keep playing and enjoying this game? Character progression is just shallow and I've completely lost interest in it... That's why I constantly relink the Final Fantasy IX suggestion, it adds some depth to content, depth that is ultimately optional, or at the very least not something that can be probed... If I don't set Dragon Killer for a particular fight, there isn't really any way anyone can tell...

They don't even need to go that far... I think Palace of the Dead would have been the perfect place to introduce horizontal progression in a localized environment... Instead they did nothing with it, it's just a series of hallways with rapid vertical progression... They could easily have made it so the aetherpool arms and armor could gain special effects, that only work in Palace of the Dead, and I'd have enjoyed the content a whole lot more... I'd go in to get stronger in Palace of the Dead, rather than just going in to grind to the finish and reset my progress for a completely irrelevant i235 weapon... Here's hoping Deep Dungeons II really does improve upon Palace of the Dead, because unless Accursed Hoard takes me by surprise, and 51-200 are amazing, Palace of the Dead is really kind of lackluster...

Item levels really just do not appeal to me in the slightest anymore... Doesn't help that a lot of content simply doesn't benefit from higher item levels... It's either useless, or capped off for a lot of content... The only reason to care about Scripture gear is so that you can farm things like Sophia for item levels to... Do nothing with... Only reason I might care is for glamours, but the glamour system in this game is horrible, and even then... Glad I never bothered to farm Ravana for glamours, given 3.4 will let me buy superior versions off the market board... Item levels just don't do anything for me anymore, while a Final Fantasy IX system would give the perception of getting stronger... Filling out that list of stats by collecting all sorts of gear and grinding away would be rewarding IMO, I'd be limited in what I can set, and that would prevent someone with loads of free time from overpowering someone with none, but just filling that list would work for me...