5.3 Sundry Splendors

[Iscah]

There's not much point to offering both augmented and unaugmented gear - especially if people don't yet have access to the upgrade stalls.

If the two versions had different models then that would be justifiable for glamour purposes, but when the augmented version is exactly the same but dyeable then there's no point to buying the base version.

I hope this includes directly buying weapons as well! They're the most confusing thing to explain how to purchase.

[Theodric]

Oh, good. Hopefully that means I don't need to head to Idyllshire to pick up demicrystals each time I need to spend poetics...

[Tlamila]

I hope this includes directly buying weapons as well! They're the most confusing thing to explain how to purchase.

I'm hoping that too, the current system is way too messy.

[wereotter]

This is just so that new people don't have to learn where every past endgame hub was, and figure out which NPC sells the gear, weapon tokens, and upgrade tokens; which NPC trades weapon tokens for the weapon; and which NPC upgrades everything; for each expansion.

I would assume this also means that because it's so easy to over level before you hit the end of an expansion, it means you can get your shire gear, for example, before you finish the Heavensward story and unlock the vendors in Idyllshire.

[Vahlnir]

The current system is a bit...chaotic, so this is a good change. Definitely saves me from making 1240919401 trips to Idyllshire for demicrystals. Well, provided those items are also available from these new vendors.

[TheMightyMollusk]

So my next alt won't have to go to Mor Dhona, buy tokens, buy a weapon, buy upgrade items, teleport to Hyrstmill, check the vendor, realize I bought the wrong upgrade items, teleport back to Mor Dhona, run MSQ roulette because I ran out of Poetics, buy the right upgrade items, and teleport back to Hyrstmill to get an augmented weapon?

Neat.

[Esmoire]

It makes a lot of sense to streamline old gear. If you can get a full set of gear for poetics and have it be almost the best you can get for your level, it's going to be old stuff, and for the most part just helping new players catch up or level new jobs.

Not sure what's it's like for others, but as someone who started a few years ago, buying my first set of Ironworks and Shire gear was a nightmare. So many adjacent menus, NPCs to run back and forth from, so many things that look or sound the same but have different uses, stuff that's objectively inferior to other stuff (unless you want it for glam). It's like, get 10 of these items, then one of these items for a weapon, and then another item to upgrade it, and they all have similar names or sometimes even similar graphics.

As someone with minor dyslexia the Shire stuff was particularly egregious, and I felt the need to have a web tab open to make sure I was getting the right stuff (not as bad these days with dual monitors). While I appreciate the flavour text saying what it's for, honestly it should just have a line of text that says what it's for in plain simple text either before or after the flavour text, rather than hiding it in a short essay. By the time I realized the coat/twine pattern I already gotten a few jobs to 70. It's just a mess. The system we have now works well enough for current expansion stuff, but for old gear there was no need to make people jump through so many hoops.

Having an NPC that helps sprouts get the best gear possible is for the good of us all. There was nothing meaningful about the system we have now... It's old stuff, for old content, let's just get them geared up and help them catch up.

[Raltar]

There's not much point to offering both augmented and unaugmented gear - especially if people don't yet have access to the upgrade stalls.

If the two versions had different models then that would be justifiable for glamour purposes, but when the augmented version is exactly the same but dyeable then there's no point to buying the base version.

I hope this includes directly buying weapons as well! They're the most confusing thing to explain how to purchase.

Well, it's fine for melee and tanks at 50 and 60, but at 70, tanks can't wear melee rings anymore, so if you want a full set of gear, you have to have one augmented ring and one unaugmented ring because they are unique.

[Iscah]

Well, it's fine for melee and tanks at 50 and 60, but at 70, tanks can't wear melee rings anymore, so if you want a full set of gear, you have to have one augmented ring and one unaugmented ring because they are unique.

But then if you're overlevelled enough to be accessing the next expansion's endgame gear, it's not like you actually need the ilevel at that point. You'll be perfectly fine with a Ryumaku ring instead of a second Scaevan one.

[kaynide]

We are assuming a lot here. They never really explained anything beyond “an NPC will be in each hub now, and said NPC will provide tomestone/token items.”

There was no information mentioned about if there were unlock requirements (eg “need to unlock Idylshire to access Items/equipment that would be available there”).. So all we can do is speculate.

Personally I think it was mostly to cut down on the sheer number of NPCs/clicks to get lost and/or the whole Gerolt run for level 50 upgrades. Would be nice, but I’m not expecting instant access.

That said, I expect the 80 gear will eventually be rolled into this come next expansion.