the "relic" and "anima" and whatever 4.0 version of it should not be powerful

[Maero]

And you know what players that also raid do have Relic weapons as well (some do).
You fail to see that some players like the grind that comes with Relic, no reason it should not be "Powerful" like it currently is.
And what about the tome weapons? This does not really require any skills at all really...
Not everyone has time or could be part of or find groups to raid, Relic is a different path is all.
Only thing i would say is certain parts of it should have some sort of Challenge like the Relic back in the day having to defeat Primals in sub 90 gear

[Aronys]

It will be... in a patch after. You are forgetting that the relic is always a patch behind. So you get to have your shiny BiS weapon for 3 whole months before the relic crowd. How is that not enough for you? You get it, you beat the content. The relic crowd needs to wait and is ALWAYS behind.

[Rennies]

Thats not even the issue, the problem is that the relic is and will be superior to the raiding weapon. That basically means theres not much point grinding out the raiding weapon lol.

That's an issue with the garbage stats SE ends up with when they dice roll each piece of equipment.

[Aquaslash]

Thats not even the issue, the problem is that the relic is and will be superior to the raiding weapon. That basically means theres not much point grinding out the raiding weapon lol.

Actually for what it's worth, this isn't the case until the very end of the expansion, with the exception of Gordias, which the devs admitted was a mistake all around. The relic never overtook the Midan weapons, and many raiders have their weapons long before the relic's even hit its final form. There's also the fact that the raid weapon itself is a reward for clearing the raid's final tier to begin with. It just comes to you by doing what you were gonna do in the first place.

And you know what players that also raid do have Relic weapons as well (some do).

There's also this. I'm 99% positive that every serious raider also grinds out relic weapons. I remember back in gordias times, the top raiders on my server, who already had their 210 weapons and chests were holding A1N speedrun parties to grind out their unidentifieds.

[TheGrimace]

The 275 Alexander weapons have been in the game since 3.4. Back then, most "casuals" were locked into getting only the 260 relic or the base 260 Shire weapon after 7 weeks of farming A12. Those who successfully finished A12S could obtain a 275 weapon, and they were able to be top dogs for several months and have the other bonuses rewarded for beating Savage. But this is an online game and there needs be progression. The Alexander weapons are still the most powerful weapons in the game DMG-wise and they will continue to be until ~3.55. And then a few months later everything will go back to square one and we'll all be level jack at the start of Stormblood, and the process will begin anew.

If people want these misguided senses of superiority, they're gonna have to repeatedly earn it because the game needs to progress. I'm fine with people holding the strongest weapons in the game for doing the hardest content, but don't act like your momentary hard work is clearance to hold everyone else back for not submitting to the same idea of fun you cater to.

[RaijinSupreme]

If you're raiding only to get a weapon, then you're already doing it wrong.

You have to beat the hardest content in the game in order to get this weapon, so what is the point of the weapon? The only purpose it serves is to make something you can already do well just a little easier.

That doesn't sound like much of a reward.

[Vurtney]

The only purpose it serves is to make something you can already do well just a little easier.

Isn't that the point of gearing up?

[Deus_ex_Machina]

I believe OP is speaking in a raider's perspective. and TBH, it sounds very self-entitled... Apologies.

SE is a company that has to do their best to accommodates for the majority of players in this game. (Keyword: "Majority"). Please understand from a business standpoint, there are hundred of thousands people that cannot raid since they have IRL priorities, be they job(s), family, commitments. And you cannot force them to put this game above all those thing and spend hours on clearing the endgame savage content. So to keep the retention rates, SE give Non-raiders an alternative route to get gears/weapons. In the form of 24man raids, and relics. No matter how much raiders like us scream and yell for harder contents, locked gears, self entitlements, ect. Those hundred of thousand whispers will still be louder. Sorry, us raiders alone will not be able to finance this game's longevity

But that's not to say they didn't listen to raider's voice. They have given raiders 3 months before non-raider to get i270 gears. There is our 3 months of fame right there. Also, they give us the ability to color Alexandrian Gears and they look different from Proto-type, and a mount!

[RaijinSupreme]

Isn't that the point of gearing up?

not really. I gear up so I can actually challenge these instances. But if I can beat it with the gear I'm using, then I don't really need to gear up any further.

At that point, it becomes a choice of whether I want to gear up further (which is obviously unnecessary) or focus on other things.

[Cabalabob]

What about it? I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the relevant step is always just 2-3 days to get the new ilvl for it. You're completely missing my point aren't you?

And I think you're missing THE point. A relic starting from scratch takes ages. And, from release, it takes ages to get an inferior weapon to something you can get from a primal or tomes. Only in the last patches of the expansion does it finally catch up to the best gear. Meanwhile, alex, from release, has been i275.

So not only do you have to perform every step in the long grind to get a relic, but you have to wait an entire expansion for it to be as good as (or better than) the raid weapon you could have gotten 1 month in and then in a few months time, everything from that expansion is obsolete.