What's the reasoning for melee jobs to have three different sets of gear?

[Phireblast]

In 2.4 when NIN releaed, they shared striking gear, but for reasons unknown, they deviated from that immediately. This feels bad as someone who runs with all melee jobs, because if you want to run higher level content, you pretty much have to stick with one set. Sure, you can clear with lower gear on other jobs, but why should this have to happen in the first place? By the time your others catch up, the raid tier is most likely over for you. The only thing you can do to help ameliorate is to create an alt character just so you can progress whatever gearset mixture you want at the same time.

For real though, why? The only counter argument I can think of is melding, but the difference between good melds and bad melds only shines if you're doing ultimate or something.

[MikkoAkure]

NIN uses DEX as a governing stat for all of its damage as opposed to STR. DRG has always been more heavily armored than the other melee. The reason NIN shared gear at release is because they weren’t going to retroactively add in endgame NIN gear for older content.

[Vidu]

In addition to what Mikko already said in regards to the technical aspect of having different stat-values (DEX for nin instead of strength; more defense for dragoon than the others) I'd also imagine that its the same reason we get different job-sets at all: To give each job a more or less unique look by tailoring the gear more towards that job - I would have expected people to be more thrilled about that... seriously, I envy dragoons and ninjas a little for getting job-sets that always fit their particular job so well instead of being just given a generic melee-set...

There is also "unlimited" gear, like crafted set, that will allow you to gear up all your jobs - and since Savage gets cleared during week one, crafted gear is good enough to clear it. As long as the player is good enough, that is.

[ForteNightshade]

What I don't understand if why they didn't revert Ninja back to STR, then do the following:

Dragoon/Samurai - Maiming (possibly including a new set of accessories along with it)
Monk/Ninja - Striking

Samurai tends to wear heavier armor and such that it'd work just fine with Dragoon. While yes, the aesthetic wouldn't be perfect. That hasn't stopped them from releasing Aiming sets that do not take Dancer into account whatsoever. Conversely, they could just drop the job restrictive glamours entirely outside more iconic sets like the Artifact gear and relics.

[RitsukoSonoda]

IMO I would rather just take it as an excuse to get new jobs later to share sets with DRG and NIN.

Also keep in mind some jobs benefit more from certain substats than others so its not just the primary attribute stats we should be looking at.

[Kazrah]

Samurai tends to wear heavier armor and such that it'd work just fine with Dragoon.

Have you seen the AF gear? Neither one of those sets are heavy armor.

Also have to bear in mind that (at least according to Yoshi-P) the inspiration for Samurai for FFXIV was the Edo period, post-military samurai that served less as an armored soldier and more as a diplomat and local security that also served as the same inspiration behind the Jedi in Star Wars.

Now realistically, I'd argue it would make more sense to make Ninja instead wear Aiming armor instead of trying to combine them with other melee.

[wereotter]

Now realistically, I'd argue it would make more sense to make Ninja instead wear Aiming armor instead of trying to combine them with other melee.

Please no to this, no to ever having this.

As it currently stands, the most intense competition for armor in the game comes from trying to get loot from the 24-man raids.

Tanks can always roll need on the gear for their job if they want it and get it since even though there are four tanking jobs, there will only ever be one in the party.

Healers always have to compete with one other healer.

With 5 DPS in a party, if four jobs shared gear, the possibility of having to roll against 4 other players who can all wear the same item you can is a very real possibility, especially if those four jobs are among the most popular in the game.

Also I will say that keeping multiple sets like this is likely an intentional method to keep people playing the game. More distinct armor sets means more grind for gear if you want to have good gear on multiple jobs.

[24842]

With 5 DPS in a party, if four jobs shared gear, the possibility of having to roll against 4 other players who can all wear the same item you can is a very real possibility, especially if those four jobs are among the most popular in the game

So let's have to farm for 3 different melee dps sets to avoid that when every other role shares gear.
That aside, melee sets could have str & dex. Or have ppl forgotten that physical DPS gear up to lvl50 has both

[Raltar]

I see no reason why they can't just add dex to the striking gear since dex literally does nothing for monk and samurai. But at the same time, I see no harm in leaving things how they are now so we get a bit more variety in how gear looks, even if only one class can use a particular set.

[RitsukoSonoda]

So let's have to farm for 3 different melee dps sets to avoid that when every other role shares gear.
That aside, melee sets could have str & dex. Or have ppl forgotten that physical DPS gear up to lvl50 has both

That's only because they didn't want to add gear lv 1-50 just for ninja since the job wasn't actually added until the latter part of 2.0