Farming feels pointless in FF XIV

[Garotte14]

And here comes the first weak-as to defend the boring gear progession we have right now

Does the whining ever get boring to you? Or do you just naturally wake up excited for the day ahead, and comb the vast reaches of the Internet in hopes of finding something new to complain about?

[The_Last_Dragoon]

i don't have the feeling that i really need them for anything special to beat the " normal " content because the game is way too easy. Don't get me started on the Savage mode which is not that hard, the hardest part being finding good players

The hardest part isn't finding good players, it's finding a bunch of players who have the patience to clear content that is brutally challenging. You really can't say that Savage mode isn't that hard when you've yet to clear even AS4, and judging from your off and on play style, you don't want a game to be that challenging.

Also, for a lot of people the end-game is glamour, as I'm sure they'll be ready to tell ya, which is why crafting still makes a lot of people rich.

[Palourde]

The hardest part isn't finding good players, it's finding a bunch of players who have the patience to clear content that is brutally challenging. You really can't say that Savage mode isn't that hard when you've yet to clear even AS4, and judging from your off and on play style, you don't want a game to be that challenging.

Also, for a lot of people the end-game is glamour, as I'm sure they'll be ready to tell ya, which is why crafting still makes a lot of people rich.

Don't get me started on the way you think i play. You don't know my background as an MMO or solo player and i can tell you that i've always liked some challenge. I tried to have a group of 8 people since i got hooked into the endgame of this game and i've never been able to find a perfect one, the main problem being as you just said that it's really hard to have 8 players available during one whole night.
Since i play this game, i always try to look after new PF so i can eventually find new players to group up with but it is always the same story.

But don't ever tell me again that my " achievments " in game mean anything, they are totally irrelevant about my playstyle.

[Vivi_Bushido]

Another thread about gear progression. Honestly none of it matters. It's a game. You play it to have fun. If you aren't having fun, don't play. There is literally nothing else that needs to be said.

Does the whining ever get boring to you? Or do you just naturally wake up excited for the day ahead, and comb the vast reaches of the Internet in hopes of finding something new to complain about?

It's called feedback.

[Wanzer]

but i just can't have fun anymore relatively to the farming aspect of this game.

This could be different if, in frontline, you weren't just running in circle on your mount while your whole team was working for you. :P
But now, i kinda understand why you were acting like this. And i'm totally agree with your statement though ! I do hope they are going to change how things work with Stormblood !

[Vaer]

So, please explain why that is a problem and how it directly affects your play in any way.

I don't really care. You're reading something in there that isn't there. It's not a "omg casuls getting muh gear" post. Way to jump to conclusions.

[Kosmos992k]

I don't really care. You're reading something in there that isn't there. It's not a "omg casuls getting muh gear" post. Way to jump to conclusions.

I responded to your words as written. If that was not your intent, great.

[Claymore65]

Gear progression is a very difficult thing to balance.. You have to balance a number of major factors:

1.) How long should gear "last?" Should it be ~1 Month? ~6 Months? A year? ~10 years? The Entire life-span of the game?

Each has its advantages. Shorter lifespan of an item gives players more to accomplish, as they can seek out stronger items more often. However, it also lessens the attachment to those items. Extremely long lifespan for the item makes it more valuable, but also disincentives getting different loot, since your item lasts longer. Item resets can really help newer players catch up, but can hurt the accomplishments of established players.

2.) How long should it take to obtain gear? A couple of days? A couple of weeks? Months? Years?

Once again, each has its advantages. Obtaining new gear quickly can be very fun, as you see a constant increase in power. However, gear that takes longer to acquire can feel more satisfying once you obtain it. Long waits before improvements, however, can lead to boredom and burnout as players feel like they can't accomplish anything. It also can be unnecessarily harsh toward more casual players, as they might never be able to obtain gear.

3.) How "important" and "powerful" should gear be? How much of an advantage should it provide in combat?

One often neglected question is the "importance" of gear to gameplay. For example, if a heavy emphasis is placed on gear, player skill becomes less important. If Player A's Weapon deals 200 damage and Player B's Weapon deals 20000, Player B is going to deal far more damage even if his actual rotation and skills are mediocre. By placing a huge emphasis on gear, you create a massive divide between "geared" players and "non-geared" players. Depending on your intent for the game, this can be seen as a good or a bad thing. Some players want to feel like absolute gods thanks to their amazing equipment, while others prefer to keep the game more focused on personal skill than their gear. Neither approach is "wrong".

4.) How many "relevant" items should there be to choose from? 3? 5? 100? 1000?

This is also a difficult factor to balance. The more options there are, the more difficult it is for both developers to balance and for players to choose from. If you have too many, it's highly likely that only a few will actually be used, with most of the options rendered irrelevant. If you have too few, it can often feel like you have no choice at all (which can definitely happen in FFXIV). It's a very tricky thing to balance, and mostly comes down to personal preference.

5.) How much development resources are you willing to spend on the items? A lot? A little?

Another often-forgotten factor is development resources. Creating both weapon/armor assets can be incredibly expensive. Artists, 3-D modelers, as well as game designers deciding the statistics of each item all add up to both a good chunk of money and a good chunk of development time. If too much time is spent on creating art assets and stats, then development resources may have to be cut from things like dungeons, housing, raids, and new game modes. Development resources are far from infinite, and choices have to be made. What should be the priority, revamping the classes, revamping the gearing system, or creating more playable content?

Note, there is no "right" answer to any of these questions. Nor is it black and white, you can combine different approaches. It's just that there is far more to creating a "good" gearing system then it initially seems. Personal preference is crucial to most of these interests. Game developers have the nigh-impossible task of finding ways to satisfy all of these competing factors. Overall, I'm mostly fine with what we have now, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't mind seeing some improvements I feel like Gear Set Bonuses should be utilized more, for example. I just wish people would be a bit more specific in their desires.

[Wade]

OP is right: FFXI had gear you wanted for a long time because it was awesome but hard to get (Scorpion Harness for example).

There should be no reason not to give awesome gear that is hard to get that is great for a long time other than to not make "casuals" feel badly done to - and it has been said many times by the team they don't want to anger lazy people or busy people so it's unlikely we'll get it because the few will moan - very fitting in our modern world that the game follows how we behave in the real world - the few outweigh the many.

[SpookyGhost]

It's called feedback.

No, dude, don't you see? The world is black and white - you either like everything in XIV and praise it from the mountaintops or you hate it with every fiber of your being.