Something needs to be done about inventory space

[Kuroka]

You can say that as much as you want but as long as new ppl come as long ill need mats to make some gear or else they can just delete it.

Stop forcing your way to play onto others and accept that not everyone wanna play like that.

[MiaShino]

I am. It's a case of poor inventory management if you're keeping everything as a "just in case".

Ohhh riiiight! A fresh sprout pre fifty just exploring Eorzea for the first time is thinking about proper inventory management. I am sure you did though! Look at you go!

Crafting all uses the same gear - level your crafters at the same time and you only need one set. Level them at different stages and you'll only need one set per stage. At most this is 5 sets of gear. This coming from someone who VERY RECENTLY leveled all my crafters to 80.

Gathering uses the same gear as well - this is the same thing.

While I am happy that that you plan in advance the moment you load up a new game I am not sure everyone functions this way. I am sure you did this though and never ever never had inventory issues ever!

Sooooo I shall humor you with the math because, zwei not.

Assuming that a new player is going to see three gathering professions and eight crafting professions then say to themselves "Boy! I need all of these and should level them together for maximum efficiency!"

The number of non stacking items amounts toooo; Thirteen items (both left and right side) for DoL then 13 more items for DoH buuut wait!

Do the dominion of land and hand all use the same main and off hand? Nope! So let us expand our math horizions! Accounting for both main and off hand for every DoH and DoL that equals 22 items. 21 items if we do not include fishing off hand because you do not get this until later.

This brings our total tooooooo > 22 (left and right side for DoH + DoL) plus 21 for a total of 43 inventory slots.

This only becomes worse when you get into unique sets for jobs not better. Should I do the math for that? It is not pretty.

At lower levels (sub 30 I believe), there are 3 sets of gear one needs - DOW, DOM, and healing. Past level 30 this becomes 7 sets - One for tanks, 4 for melee dps, One for physical ranged DPS, one for magical ranged DPS, and one for healing. This is 9 sets total (including crafting and gathering). You should be rotating your gearsets to your lowest level.

Actually pre 50 DoM gear is used on healers because it has a mind stat. It is tank gear that is different. Assuming that the player is doing as you said and leveling every single job at exactly the same time (not counting jobs that begin at 50 or Blue) we shall do zee math.

Not even including the weapons this is just left and right side that is umm; 33 inventory slots. Now accounting for weapons; 47

Add previous numbers for DoH + DoL = 90. 90 inventory slots in a best case if I will efficiently level all the things simultaneously.

Try to remember that gearing is not this simple though! Many gear sets are given at fluctuating levels, especially DoL or DoH off hand. Your main hand may be level 46 while the offhand does not have every other level options and ends at level 49. This is especially issue with rings and jewelry.

This problem only bloats when unique sets are required (ninja). Do the math for nine sets and you shall see how this can easily run away.

There is no "don't toss it" mentality because the game actively encourages you to toss items - GC turn ins, marketboard, desynthesizing.

While it is fantastic we know about these things as higher level players there were times when we did not. Unless you wish to imply the moment you set foot in Eorzea you knew how every in game system worked and where it was? Because sometimes with players in FF14 land this is how they come across to newer players. We forget how easy it is to be overwhelmed and lost.

You don't need every crafting item. You don't need to keep every gathered item. This is a mentality that YOU created. Not Squeenix.

No.. no you do not and it is great that we now understand this having spent much time with the game. Heck! There are many many times even after 100 plus hours I still do not know what I should toss away. I recently sold some dark steel only for a friend to want items made with dark steel ore two weeks later and guess who had no dark steel? This lala.

I do not even remember when or if the curious crop trader was even mentioned by anything..

Why do I feel like you may have purchased extra retainers or have other vested interest in defending Square's decisions?

This is kinda reminding me of the "skip cutscenes" crowd or the "I no wish to push buttons" group. I can and have demonstrated how inventory is issue and the response is always "LoL hoarder throw things away". It is difficult to have discourse with groups of individuals that will defend billion dollar corporations to their own detriment. People also purchased cow patties so nothing surprises anymore.

I mean.. I can break down the day to day leveling process of friends and family for that fresh sprout perspective or how end game raiders sometimes have multiple sets (tanks especially) because Warrior values different melds then Dark Knight buuuut I feel it would be mostly ignored. I will though! I will if it is asked of Mia.

[Faafetai]

I think if your retainers just kept your inventory and that was all they did it would not be so bad. But just having my two retainers Botanist and Miner I am realizing the power you indeed have due to these retainers. I can collect time nodes most if not all of the time, without ever going out to collect them with the caveat of just needing to gather them just once. If you have more retainers you also have access with each extra one to have an extra 20 slots to sell things. Now I wish to ask. If you have more retainers do you think someone would be able to make more money in half the time due to this advantage?

I am not hurting for gill but I know someone who is selling a ton more things on the market will definitely get enough to buy a house in way less time. Even flood the market. Maybe buying more houses which I have known some to do so they can than flip the houses to alt characters or just to keep them from others. I know this is not everyone, but when I know someone who has 6 alts all with their own house it seems a bit selfish.

You even get those extra retainer per character. It is account wide so spending extra money for inventory space for an extra retainer per month gives you one extra retainer per character. One extra hand to gather resources 20 extra slots to sell things. I am unsure but it does seem like an unfair advantage given to people who shell out more money. I am sure others would disagree, but those who do, how many retainers do you have? Do you have a house? How much money in game do you make compared to someone else who does not have those things?

I do not think the current inventory systems really encourage leveling crafters or gatherers. You really should keep some of those items to save time, because if you do not you wait or need to spend money to travel and gather things again and again, it is just not fun. The other mmo I have played use to do this same system until people complained, and they were given a resources tab to store resources separate from their inventories. I do not understand why this community has so many people in it that will just eat other players who think something may be unfair. Players wish for things, so we post them, but there is always people just defending the opposite angle with vitriol and malice. It truly is a great community. No one can just have a discussion or debate like civilized humans.

I do not even wish to see my inventory when I am max level and filling my inventory with springs and other random things for relic weapon steps.

EDIT: If this is not already a problem, why are they taking away belts to add extra space already.

[Alexandre_Noireau]

I cannot belive these people defending SE on this one.
There are already games out there that do item managment way better than SE does: GW2 and ESO as the better examples of proper itemization.

The reality is: The devs didn't create a proper inventory system and then when people started facing issues they monetized on it through bank space (retainers).

YET ANOTHER example of SE profiting from clear design issues they have no intention to fix excused on poor server structure-capabilities-networking-coding-PS6 limitations. Whatever, covid even, as of late all fanboys love to use that one - Even if most problems prominent in this game date from... 2013. Inventory space has ALWAYS been an issue.

[RitsukoSonoda]

I need more retainers and a bigger gobbie bag!

And yes I need all that stuff... All that leveling gear... all those surplus crafting materials... all those past relic armors and weapons... Yes even the box of cookies I've kept in there for 8 years that was proven to be the cause of death for 6 lalafels that tried to steal it from my cabinet... >.>

I also need all those past tokens and totems from raids and trials... >.>

Funny enough I have a habit of being a packrat in video games in general but not IRL... *shug* maybe the games let me get it all out of my system lol

I remember making a good amount of gil on FFXI selling materials used for the Gobbiebag upgrades back in the day.

[MiaShino]

I cannot belive these people defending SE on this one.

Just wait until you discover that they have a fantasia addiction, own nearly every cash shop mount, annnnnnd ten retainers.

Source; My entire former FC who would become most vitriolic the moment anyone spoke out against anything they did not like in the game.

I remember being told to stop for merely warning a sprout that the post ARR grind is kinda.. not good. I was not even mean about it! I told them to prepare for a lengthy grind and have snacks or music or other stuffs ready.

[Faafetai]

I see this more as inventory management than anything. They can give us 1000000 slots, yet still will be filled. I've played for years and always managed my inventory and never run out of space.

I know this not be true because of other mmos. Other mmos I have played give you more inventory slots and I have not had any issues. I am unsure what the difference could possibly be. Of course there are other games such as path of exile but their inventory tabs would fill up due to each item taking up six slots max. They had inventory issues, but also 'sold' the solution. Josh Strife Hayes does a video on mmos doing just this particular thing of causing issues in order to sell you the solution. Now Path of Exile was free to play, so I can forgive them slightly....maybe for charging extra money to keep their servers running.

I know I most likely will not have the same inventory issues once I am max level but something about the limited space just seems off. I do not even have enough glamour plates for each individual job to glamour it accordingly. The solution may be to have an extra set of armor for each class and nothing will share the same set. I have just resigned to using the same glamour for every crafter and every gatherer.

This is not anything new. It has been done since the dawn of time. I honestly do not think it is a non greedy thing to have me pay a monthly sub, for each extra expansion, and not even give me a proper inventory. Honestly if inventory was never a problem why do they even sell extra retainers at all. Why do they charge per month and not a one time fee? It just seems suspicious to me.

[MilkieTea]

snip

I'd like to note that my forum age is indicative of the time spent playing this game (by about a month off)- so, yes, I was that sprout planning in advanced. I did face inventory issues too! But that was my fault. Want to know why? While I planned in advanced I did not properly manage my inventory and it became cluttered with useless stuff. I had to sit down and go through everything a few months back and decide: "Am I going to use this? Am I keeping it for good reasons, or am I just... well. hoarding?" And I decluttered about 90% of my inventory. So I'm speaking from the experience of both a newbie who went through it and a newbie who, well... literally went through it.

But I'll bite - Let's go through this step by step, starting out empty:

The number of non stacking items amounts toooo; Thirteen items (both left and right side) for DoL then 13 more items for DoH buuut wait!

- This is 2 items per section.

As the armory chest does not aggregate all inventory into one page but sections it off into neat 35-item sections. The only section that will have more than two items is the weapons section - which should always have a static amount (Meaning if ytou have a lower-levelled weapon, you should not keep it unless you are doing endgame stuff. I'll address this later.).

This is 3 main hands and 3 off hands for DOL,


[8:31 PM]
and 8 mainhands/offhands for DOH



with 11 sets total (2 sets of gear, with 1 gearset per class) each containing the same gear with the same melds because crafting macros require the same melds and gathering... well... that's something I deliberately do not have much experience in, however I know that late-game gathering has generally the same stats.

Actually pre 50 DoM gear is used on healers because it has a mind stat. It is tank gear that is different.

https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/w...he_Novice_Loot You're correct. I got the two mixed up. This is 3 sets that will last you till lvl 30 on all DOW/DOM/Tank classes.

There is a gap between Lvl 30-Lvl 50 in which gearing becomes suboptimal - this is something in which Squeenix can improve upon. Typically it's dungeon loot and crafted gear that is class locked... sometimes? It's not uncommon to see sprouts tanking in "All Classes" healer gear.

Not even including the weapons this is just left and right side that is umm; 33 inventory slots. Now accounting for weapons; 47

Again, inventory slots are not aggregated but separated.

If one levels all DOW simultaneously, this is what your inventory will look like:



7 sets of gear, with separate sets in your Gearset List only for weapons. Additionally, since PLD is the only DOW with off hands, you would only end with 12 off hand weapons.

At the end of your levelling process, Disciple of Magics tagged onto this would look like this:



Ranged Magical DPS Share a gearset, and Healers share a gearset.

At the WORST possible outcome, tossing out gear as you level and leveling each class separate from each other, each section should have 27 pieces of armor each. If there is more, you have something extra that you don't need - toss it out.

Why do I feel like you may have purchased extra retainers or have other vested interest in defending Square's decisions?

I did! ^-^ They're only used for marketboard and ventures, since I've begun to make a pretty penny off of casually selling off gear I don't need/use, and crafting.

However, defending square's decisions I am not. You have a total of 1310 slots, with half of those being for gear and the other half being for whatever you want. The armoire needs upgrading, we need more glamour slots for those who have been around since forever and have filled their glamour chests to the brim, and we need more glamour plates. Preferrably 31+ (One for each class (including the two coming out in Nov) + maybe 3 extra for whatever)

If you're filling your inventory with stuff you "might need... maybe, for this class you're going to eventually level... possibly" then you've got poor inventory management.

I'd like to end this by saying that poor inventory management isn't a bad thing - it's a thing that eventually everyone will have to face. I did so several months back - I had one job at level 80, One at level 70, and the rest were scattered in between 30-40-50. I kept gear that was worthless or easily farmed, because I was worried that, despite my careful planning, I'd lose out. I didn't by the way.

Mention absolutely NOTHING about my spelling of disciple, by the way. I'm dumb and too lazy to go back and fix it all.

EDIT: Messed up a number. ...Preferrably 29+... should've been "Preferrably 31+" And has been fixed.

[Ultimatecalibur]

I know this not be true because of other mmos. Other mmos I have played give you more inventory slots and I have not had any issues. I am unsure what the difference could possibly be. Of course there are other games such as path of exile but their inventory tabs would fill up due to each item taking up six slots max. They had inventory issues, but also 'sold' the solution. Josh Strife Hayes does a video on mmos doing just this particular thing of causing issues in order to sell you the solution. Now Path of Exile was free to play, so I can forgive them slightly....maybe for charging extra money to keep their servers running.

Josh Strife Hayes is a reviewer and critic not a programmer so he doesn't actually know or understand a lot of the back end of game design. He can only talk about what he sees and hears. Trying to use him as gospel about FFXIV's inventory is a bad idea.

Games that use Diablo style inventories where different items take up different numbers of slots are ones where inventories are artificially restricted compared to database style inventories like FFXIV as each items size makes it artificially take up more space in the inventory. Their max inventory item size is actually the number of 1 slot items you can put in them.

WoW's bag system (and others like it) artificially restricts the size of the inventory by restricting the number of available slots in each bag. Each bag actually has 34 slots but they artificially restrict the number of slots you can put items in based on the type of bag.

FFXIV's inventory is at the actual non-artificial limit they can have due to character datasizes and is why they are constantly looking for ways to get around that limit. (i.e. adding Chocobo Saddlebags, Glamour Dresser, repurposing the belt slot to be more Weapon and ring slots).

This is not anything new. It has been done since the dawn of time. I honestly do not think it is a non greedy thing to have me pay a monthly sub, for each extra expansion, and not even give me a proper inventory. Honestly if inventory was never a problem why do they even sell extra retainers at all. Why do they charge per month and not a one time fee? It just seems suspicious to me.

Because they can't actually increase subscription prices without causing backlash. A sub to an MMO in 2003 was $12.95 per month. Inflation would put an equivalent cost today at $19.21 per month, but a monthly sub to FFXIV is $12.99~$14.99. They need a way to make up that $4.22 to $6.22.

[Moonlite]

To the OP Se has adamant defenders. These posts bring out all the usual suspects with 1000's of posts blaming the players. It is pointless. They will defend any bad design and try to drown out any criticism.