MrHappy interview with Yoshi-p (Raid boss tiers, set bonuses)

[Campi]

So Raidgear will get Bonus.
Not the Savage Raidgear, but the gear from "Savage+"
Sounds pretty fair
The best Players will get the best Gear.

[Arutan]

{Raid Gear Set Bonus} {Yes please} {I need that}

Honestly this could be the best thing that would happen in this game. Raid gear would finally be relevant, and this will give more envy to go to raid.
Also I'll be able to drink the tears of the casuals who won't be able to get it

[Zumi]

I think set bonuses for raid gear is a good idea. Lets you get something extra out of raiding and more people would want to get through the raid.

[Confidence_Trick]

Isn't the danger with set bonuses that they can be so powerful that the entire job revolves around them, meaning that those who don't happen to have whatever the gear is may as well not bother logging on?

[Roth_Trailfinder]

Isn't the danger with set bonuses that they can be so powerful that the entire job revolves around them, meaning that those who don't happen to have whatever the gear is may as well not bother logging on?

That would be the reason they have resisted putting them in so far (with the exception of GC gear).

Personally, I suspect that if they do go this route, initially it will just be stuff like "wear 2 pieces, get 10 Determination; wear 4 pieces, get 15 crit". It won't be for at least an expansion or two before we start seeing the really unique, powerful effects, like "wear 8 pieces, get 'Effect: 50% chance to parry all attacks from the front for 50% damage reduction'; or wear 10 pieces, get 'Effect: Fire IV and Blizzard IV can now be cast outside of Enochian'" type of stuff. I'm sure others can come up with other effects of power that would put the gear in the "have it or don't log in" category.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

That would be the reason they have resisted putting them in so far (with the exception of GC gear).

Personally, I suspect that if they do go this route, initially it will just be stuff like "wear 2 pieces, get 10 Determination; wear 4 pieces, get 15 crit". It won't be for at least an expansion or two before we start seeing the really unique, powerful effects, like "wear 8 pieces, get 'Effect: 50% chance to parry all attacks from the front for 50% damage reduction'; or wear 10 pieces, get 'Effect: Fire IV and Blizzard IV can now be cast outside of Enochian'" type of stuff. I'm sure others can come up with other effects of power that would put the gear in the "have it or don't log in" category.

Hopefully, they will be better, but I more or less agree. If set bonuses are added in Stormblood, I see it being more of a trial attempt. If it does lead to further exclusion, doesn't really change the landscape or causes friction between non-raiders and raiders, I could see them quickly abandoning it. On the other hand, it may be a nice way of allowing raiders to keep their previous tiered gear and still prog the next raid. That does hurt the crafted market though. Ahh, so many things to balance. I don't envy them lol.

[Fuma]

Isn't the danger with set bonuses that they can be so powerful that the entire job revolves around them, meaning that those who don't happen to have whatever the gear is may as well not bother logging on?

The same could be said for any gear dropping in general... That's flawed logic.

[Jib]

I have done endgame raids in other mmos for years where set bonus was a thing. From what i remember optimal rotations revolved around set bonus to a point ️that you absolutely needed set bonus gear or dont even bother, you would be considered a "carry". This would be for every class, dps healer or tank. Not having set bonus would make you life much much harder comparing to when you had it, especially as in raiding every little portion dps, hps, mitigation is seen as very important.

I believe as some of you have said, it has pros but has cons. to be honest i dont mind the way the gear system is atm, but i wouldnt mind set bonus also. It is a tricky one for me.

[loreleidiangelo]

I think trialing the CONCEPT of set bonuses on raid gear first only isn't a bad idea. It's a small sample set of (relatively speaking) the better players in this game, meaning that the devs will get the best indicator of how powerful said effects are (and if they're broken, they won't be affecting huge portions of the population at least). It will also allow the developers to test just how strong a pull more powerful gear is in terms of encouraging people to do harder raiding.

If the sets aren't too hard for them to balance but don't entice people to raid, I could see them being added to more "casual" gear down the line. But I think given their cautionary stance on it, their way of approaching set bonuses initially is best.

[ApolloGenX]

So far is seems like SB will be more of the same. It sounds like they are working on some new elements to add, but nothing is really fleshed out with a long term design goal. Honestly, this makes me want to wait to even think about getting the expansion until several patches into it.