[Feedback Relic Weapon] SE needs to change their method with Relics.

[DrWho2010]

remember people! the relic step is a process. that process hasn't been finished yet. You won't get the best weapon in the end of the expansion unless you complete Anemos/Pagos first. who cares what the intermediary steps power level is. Yes there are other better options available RIGHT NOW. but this is a future investment.

[Kirsten_Rev]

remember people! the relic step is a process. that process hasn't been finished yet. You won't get the best weapon in the end of the expansion unless you complete Anemos/Pagos first. who cares what the intermediary steps power level is. Yes there are other better options available RIGHT NOW. but this is a future investment.

Again, I think this would be a relevant point if the 'end of expansion' cycle was longer. Historically, Relic weapons have entered their final upgrade cycle with about four months left in an expansion's life (Zodiac Zeta released in late February of 2015, Anima Lux released in late February of 2017; Heavensward and Stormblood dropped approximately four months later, respectively). Were the fully upgraded versions awesome weapons for a time? Sure - without a doubt. But that period of time coincides with a dearth of new content to try the weapons out in, and that period of time is only four months long. So you got the shiny new weapon to be... even more over-leveled for non-Raid content than you were before?

To me, that just doesn't cut it. Not when the investment is so frequently mind-numbing. To each their own, of course, but the fact that the weapon only becomes BiS at the end of the expansion is too much of a letdown. It's simply not enough time, and with not enough fresh content to jump into with the new toy.

[DrWho2010]

Again, I think this would be a relevant point if the 'end of expansion' cycle was longer. Historically, Relic weapons have entered their final upgrade cycle with about four months left in an expansion's life (Zodiac Zeta released in late February of 2015, Anima Lux released in late February of 2017; Heavensward and Stormblood dropped approximately four months later, respectively). Were the fully upgraded versions awesome weapons for a time? Sure - without a doubt. But that period of time coincides with a dearth of new content to try the weapons out in, and that period of time is only four months long. So you got the shiny new weapon to be... even more over-leveled for non-Raid content than you were before?

To me, that just doesn't cut it. Not when the investment is so frequently mind-numbing. To each their own, of course, but the fact that the weapon only becomes BiS at the end of the expansion is too much of a letdown. It's simply not enough time, and with not enough fresh content to jump into with the new toy.

yes but seeing as the relic can be had thru just grinding and not thru challenging raid content the relic gives those people the opportunity to MAYBE try out the more challenging content with the time they have left to them before the expansion releases. whether or not they grab that opportunity well that's up to them. as for the rest of us? just unsub for the 4 months or so and then come back when 5.0 drops. Yoshi-p won't mind.

[Kirsten_Rev]

Yoshi-p won't mind.

If that's true, he really shouldn't still be directing FFXIV, in my estimation. I very much appreciated his quote from ages ago about accepting, even welcoming, the idea of players pursuing other titles. At the time, I interpreted it as a commitment to keeping FFXIV accessible - a title that you can sink back into after a break, a title that can appeal to people who might have erratic play time, or people with different skill levels.

When transformed into an excuse for relatively bland content cycles or uninspired Relic weapon grinds, though? Then I can't see how it doesn't have a toxic impact on FF's growth. Sure, there's a section of players that currently benefit from the Relic as-is. You described them. But what about players like me? I don't raid; I enjoy grind-y content. I'm someone who should be targeted by the Relic grinds... and yet I've stuck with a single one past the first stage or so, because the end reward hasn't in any way seemed worth the grind to me. What's the value to simply saying 'oh, well, this content just isn't for you, so go unsubscribe'?

In other words, just because a piece of content is acceptable for some players, doesn't mean it can't be made better. That's the issue I had with your original comment, and with this second one - it seemed to dismiss the opinions of people who aren't happy with the overall reward structure of the Relic weapon, and are not participating in content as a result. For a player, well - you're entitled to your opinion. But if that's the opinion of a game's director, I think it's time said individual looks for a new line of work.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

remember people! the relic step is a process. that process hasn't been finished yet. You won't get the best weapon in the end of the expansion unless you complete Anemos/Pagos first. who cares what the intermediary steps power level is. Yes there are other better options available RIGHT NOW. but this is a future investment.

And that future investment will come around March or April when the tier is long dead, and the expansion is only a couple months away. In previous iterations, the relic was a decent weapon for alt jobs. Nowadays, it's decent for only two months out of a two year expansion. This also assumes we will be able to customization the stats at some point. If not, BRD, WHM, SCH, AST and MNK will either be inferior outright or debatably so.

[Aquaslash]

This also assumes we will be able to customization the stats at some point. If not, BRD, WHM, SCH, AST and MNK will either be inferior outright or debatably so.

This is huge btw. The relic only ever had a ghost of a chance of competing with raid weapons due to being able to set and reset the stats at will. If this doesn't happen, there's no point in the relic as the upgraded tome weapon will really be good enough for clearing everything in the game, raids included. Even more so if they go HW DRG/DRK and put complete trash stats on the raid weapons (Parry/SS LMAO)