Quote Originally Posted by Liam_Harper View Post
Sadly we don't have Mythic+ dungeons.
M+ is a horrifying, terrible system that (along with other terrible systems) murdered the WoW subcount from 14m to 2m.
"Infinite" gear progression is a scam, and it brings with it a pyramid scheme-like environment where the people with the most gear get spots in raids and dungeons, and the people below a certain threshold simply hit a huge, arbitrary wall in their progression that is simply unnecessary.

The problem with gear in FFXIV is not the length of its progression, it's:
1) You are not allowed to use your gear anywhere outside of where you get the gear. Dungeons scale your gear down, PVP does not take gear into account, I do believe Bozja also scales your gear down. The only place where 530ilvl will help you, outside of the current raid wing, is either farming old EX Trials unsynced (unnecessary to be above 500 anyway) , and farming FATEs in the open world.
2) Outside of Ultimate, gear above crafted is not needed at all, and won't make a big difference.
3) Crafted gear is too cheap and powerful and negates progression entirely. World 1st Raiders simply go into a new savage tier with the crafted set on, and complete it in around 24h, which isn't to say everyone does that, but it does mean it is possible and that's a problem.

In short, the problem boils down to the question "Why do you want the gear?" and currently, there is no reasonable answer to that question, other than "I want the dyeable gear for glamour".

WoW's gear is exciting and relevant, NOT because you have a 1% chance of it Turboforging 100extra ilvl with a socket and a tertiary stat, but because that gear defines your gameplay for the rest of the time you're not raiding.
It's relevant in PVP, open world, Open world pvp, dungeons, daily chores, etc.
Essentially, it gives you a tangible return for the time and effort you invested, and "infinite" progression simply isn't a component that makes that formula work.

Bit of a tangent, but a microcosm of this issue is Eureka VS Bozja.
Eureka's leveling system gave you very very tangible feedback for your progression through it, while Bozja is the same from start to finish.
Even the Baldesion Arsenal gear fed into this progression, it was memorable how the 2nd or 3rd time through it people who got a couple pieces of the set were finally able to see the mobs' level because they grew in power, while the Bozja gear is simply yet another skin for your character.