Stormblood and the off-hand equipment slot

[Xandos]

OH for machinist should be a second gun LOL

You want to make a John Woo styled machinama don't you?

Grips and ammo would be a great addition if they don't decide to give us real weapons/shields.

[ErikMynhier]

In Final Fantasy XI, there were items such as: Grips, Ammo and other items. Maybe FFXIV's "off-hand" is something similar?

If they ever add anything to the slot, this is my expectation. Honestly I'm ok with DoW/M except for PLD using it now as It seems fair PLD gets more then the default material slots as PLD is in such a bad way that it feels ok that it is an advantage for them alone.

That said if they boost PLD like they are planning it will quickly become very unfair. "All the tanks are now equal in strength.... oh snap PLD gets an extra 24 DET/CRIT on their shield? PLDs only for this raid boyz!"

I think it's time SE adds off-hand items to even this out.

Ideas
DRK/WAR/DRG - Grips
BLM/RDM/WHM/AST - Charms
SCH/SMN - Quills
NIN/MNK/SAM - Beads

Would be fun.

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

The shields for pld dont have meld slots. And the stats on the shield are taken from the sword.

[ErikMynhier]

The shields for pld dont have meld slots. And the stats on the shield are taken from the sword.

You sure? I could have sworn some shields have them. I could be wrong of course. I just get the tome shields and things for PLD as I main DRK these days. I know the tome shields don't but I remember seeing slots on crafted shields.... I think I do anyway.

[Stitches1974]

You sure? I could have sworn some shields have them. I could be wrong of course. I just get the tome shields and things for PLD as I main DRK these days. I know the tome shields don't but I remember seeing slots on crafted shields.... I think I do anyway.

A good amount of shields have meld slots, but the 250 player made and shire shields don't have meld slots.

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

You sure? I could have sworn some shields have them. I could be wrong of course. I just get the tome shields and things for PLD as I main DRK these days. I know the tome shields don't but I remember seeing slots on crafted shields.... I think I do anyway.

They havent had slots since like 240? and those only had 1 on the sword and 1 on the shield, so it was still 2 slots combined. they just moved both slots to the sword with the 250+ gear.

[kattzkitti]

I haven't seen much of the endgame/HW content, but wouldn't that mean removing the player's choice between block strength/rate? Simplified, sure, but removing some of the variety we get (and we don't often get very much of that).

Block strength/rate have been identical to each other on any given shield for good long while. Couldn't tell you offhand what ilvl it started, but either way there'd be no problem just making a new stat for the PLD main-hand called "Block" or some such and just converting the existing stats to it.

There is one reason, and one reason alone why this won't happen, Glamour. It is a massively backwards step to combine the sword and shield and force people into combination pairs that they maybe don't like. I have glamoured shields that I don't like to be paired with swords that I do, and that system works. Their solution to the problem was to have swords and shields always drop at the same time in loot tables, and that is IMO all that needs to be done.

You glamour concern would be easily fixed with the glamour log the community has been collectively asking for since forever, just saying.

[Vidu]

You glamour concern would be easily fixed with the glamour log the community has been collectively asking for since forever, just saying.

But it doesnt has to be fixed in the first place since there is no reason to create that problem at all - almost half of the classes that are in the game is using the offhand slot. Why would it need to be removed?
There are certainly intresting ideas about things that could be done with the offhand-slot (thinking about two different knifes for ninjas for example or some of the suggestions that have already been made in this thread) and until they do that (or not do that) whats the problem with an empty offhand?
Specially for casters I see no point in having onehand+shield. Shields are used to block and with the way the game is set up, there shouldnt be the need for a caster to block an attack...

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

I don't really understand why you would want it removed. Does an empty slot bother you that much? As Vidu said, all of the crafting classes and 2/3 of the gathering classes have an offhand. You say the glamour log would fix the issue of the shield going away, but glamours apply to the item, and if the item goes, then how do you glamour it?

[kattzkitti]

Why would it need to be removed?

I don't really understand why you would want it removed.

Where am I asking for it to be removed? Rhetorical question, as I'm not asking for removal, as can be easily seen in the OP.