So I'm not seeing how this is them changing things up from 2.0/3.0

[OcieKo]

Commentary on recurring points I see:

1: Add flying to ARR Zones: from an art perspective this is a MASSIVE undertaking, doing this would pretty much require building all the zones from scratch. Video hame assets are generally made with certain viewpoints in mind, when you add a new viewpoint the art has to reflect that ability. Your average video game tree looks like garbage from above. One point of reference here for specifically flying in old zones would be WoW Cataclysm, had very few new open world zones in comparison to other expacs and even some major patches.

2: Improve the Graphics: this is more of an issue with maintaining a reasonable min specs. PS3 support being dropped is a beginning step here, and quite frankly this game doesnt look bad enough to warrant this big of an overhaul. Also CG graphics are nearing an indefinite plateau, its more of an issue of the speed of rendering and the cost efficiency of production. Only MMO i know of that has done a major graphics overhaul was EQ1 in Shadows of Luclin expansion, even than i think some parts of the game werent actually finished being redone for a few more expacs.

3: Cross Realm Interaction Hindering Community Building: is everyone mentioning this seriously ignoring that theyve been telling us theyve been working on cross realm friends lists, tells, and link shells to follow up on the group finder improvements? Or that they have plans to hopefully eventually allow cross realm Free Companies?

4: Proposed Combat Changes Seem Like a "Dumbing Down": while in some regards this is true, but so far im optimistic as to the methid they're proposing. Skill bloat is an issue that has been plaguing long running MMOS since UO. Eventually left unchecked being a top teir player becomes physically improbable bordering on impossible. Which can lead to the production of bots that can run scripts far better than a player can actually press so many buttons in the necessary time frame. Essentially players would cease to surpass the systems expectations because they literally cant. GW/GW2 countered this by having a limit on usable skills at a given time, others games simply remove old skills or let them become irrelevant by making new improved versions, which would be no just rehashed old stuff still anyways.

5: Casual Friendly Gear Progression: Tomestones/Tokens/Crafted/Handouts/Quested/etc fall here. Anyone whos played MMOs at endgame for the past 20 years or so has probably felt the frustration of getting nothing for weeks because "nothing for me dropped". These systems simply exist to make a goal achievable, pure RNG sucks, a lot, imagine alexander savage without the manifestos when the weekly lockout is still in place, ya ouch. You say you want new ways, but realistically there isnt any. Sure they could never add new tomestones and we could use soldiery for everything, but the incentive to do harder content would drop and i mean harder as in like doing EX roulette as opposed to a premade lvl 50 dungeon with a high tomestone count so an actual 50 can get 50 gear at a humane pace. If it helps think of it like at work everyone rolls 5 d20s and top 4 rolls get paid that week as opposed to top 4 rolls get a bonus... Situation one most people would quit and sue for their pay, situation 2 youd hope for a high yahtzee. Try to say you like the first option better. In the end Quest Reward, General Currency, Special Currency, Item Turn-In (Pre-Determined Barter), Make It Yourself, or Freebie is literally about all the ways to obtain an item within human knowledge limitations. This is a wheel not a battery it cant be reinvented anymore. You can make it look different but eventually you realize it still rolls pretty easily just like all its predecessors...