New Grand Company Gear (04/23/2012)

[Hulan]

There is a particular challenge with MMO's when it comes to weaponry: if you want it to be appreciated, it has to be noticeable. Of course what prevents something from being noticeable is the general nature of an mmorpg, and that is the zoomed-out camera and flashy spell/skill effects. Both of these, combined, really detract from the beauty of a weapon without making it large, flashy, or otherwise more noticeable. Could you imagine if pgl weapons were as tiny as brass knuckles? Who the hell would be excited about getting new gear when you can't even see it. Wooooot new brass knuckles that I can't even see! This makes upgrading so exciting!! Not. Weapons have to be somewhat oversized or somewhat overdetailed in order to stand out. If they don't stand out, then from an aesthetics point of view no one will give 2 shits about getting a new weapon really. Some ppl might because they love that sort of thing, but quite a lot of ppl (myself included) would find every upgrade sorely underwhelming. Joy oh joy, another recolor of a weapon I already have. I encourage SE's creativity. Give me crazy weapons, normal weapons, flashy weapons, silly weapons...make every new weapon feel *distinct*. And that is waht SE is doing. Good for them.

I have to disagree with your hypothesis here. You make some interesting and compelling points, but you don't have to look any further than FFXI for a counter example of "needing slightly larger weapons to stand out". The Joyeuse was incredibly understated, but was the envy of virtually every RDM and quite a few PLDs. More importantly, the players became quite skilled at identifying high-tier weapons like this (Ok ok, I know Joyeuse hasn't been high-tier in years, but that's beside the point) by sight very quickly. Personally, I felt very... shiny... every time I put on my RDM AF and strapped on my Joyeuse.

Big can be an effective way to indicate "awesomeness", but it is quite possible to make understated weapons that look unique and desirable. That being said, don't get me wrong, I think having a wide variety is probably a good thing. SE did seem to dry up for ideas in FFXI and I would hate to see that happen here, especially this early in development.

[Gramul]

I have to disagree with your hypothesis here. You make some interesting and compelling points, but you don't have to look any further than FFXI for a counter example of "needing slightly larger weapons to stand out". The Joyeuse was incredibly understated, but was the envy of virtually every RDM and quite a few PLDs. More importantly, the players became quite skilled at identifying high-tier weapons like this (Ok ok, I know Joyeuse hasn't been high-tier in years, but that's beside the point) by sight very quickly. Personally, I felt very... shiny... every time I put on my RDM AF and strapped on my Joyeuse.

Big can be an effective way to indicate "awesomeness", but it is quite possible to make understated weapons that look unique and desirable. That being said, don't get me wrong, I think having a wide variety is probably a good thing. SE did seem to dry up for ideas in FFXI and I would hate to see that happen here, especially this early in development.

Oh my God!
Someone used the allakhazam link feature!

[Kiote]

Still debating I see~ the way I see it, you're gonna get normal weapons and you're gonna get crazy weapons.

Except, now we have 3 x Crazy(4 if you count Garuda as crazy since it's not exactly normal..) and 0 x Normal for Pugilists.

I would rather not be able to see my weapons than use something that is hideous for the sake of being seen.

[Kiote]

You make some interesting and compelling points, but you don't have to look any further than FFXI for a counter example of "needing slightly larger weapons to stand out". The Joyeuse was incredibly understated, but was the envy of virtually every RDM and quite a few PLDs.

I couldn't agree more. Anyone who knew what a Joyeuse was were jealous. People who didn't wouldn't notice. I don't want to be that guy standing around town that everyone is staring at because I am carrying something absurd.

I would rather go unnoticed.

[Rydin]

I couldn't agree more. Anyone who knew what a Joyeuse was were jealous. People who didn't wouldn't notice. I don't want to be that guy standing around town that everyone is staring at because I am carrying something absurd.

I would rather go unnoticed.

Was everyone staring because it looked so good or because people were gear snobs and it was the a great piece to have at the time?

[Zantetsuken]

Joyeuse[/url] was incredibly understated, but was the envy of virtually every RDM and quite a few PLDs. More importantly, the players became quite skilled at identifying high-tier weapons like this (Ok ok, I know Joyeuse hasn't been high-tier in years, but that's beside the point) by sight very quickly. Personally, I felt very... shiny... every time I put on my RDM AF and strapped on my Joyeuse.

Big can be an effective way to indicate "awesomeness", but it is quite possible to make understated weapons that look unique and desirable. That being said, don't get me wrong, I think having a wide variety is probably a good thing. SE did seem to dry up for ideas in FFXI and I would hate to see that happen here, especially this early in development.

Exactly! The Joyeuse was a fantastic prestige weapon that was tastefully understated. It didn't need to be glowing and 3x the size of any other sword to look awesome, the stats made it so.

I hope they scale back the extreme gear designs or we will all look like carnival clowns long before they ever raise the cap.

Please Devs, Save the crazy stuff for lvl 80+.. Otherwise, what do we have to look forward to?

[syntaxlies]

Exactly! The Joyeuse was a fantastic prestige weapon that was tastefully understated. It didn't need to be glowing and 3x the size of any other sword to look awesome, the stats made it so.

I hope they scale back the extreme gear designs or we will all look like carnival clowns long before they ever raise the cap.

Please Devs, Save the crazy stuff for lvl 80+.. Otherwise, what do we have to look forward to?

over-sized weapons are pretty common in the final fantasy franchise.

[bobbygunz]

over-sized weapons are pretty common in the final fantasy franchise.

... that's not a good reason lol.

[Rokien]

over-sized weapons are pretty common in the final fantasy franchise.

that is true, but they were also a trademark for the game its elf, like buster and 9foot katana.


don't forget relic weapons, they were pretty low key.



I would say they were really classy

[Kiote]

over-sized weapons are pretty common in the final fantasy franchise.

It's not just about being Large. These Puglist Weapons are not just large, they are blatantly absurd. Yeah, I get it, it's fun to be silly sometimes. But you have to compensate for people who want to take themselves a little seriously too.

Clouds Weapons in VII were outrageously big, but at least they looked like weapons.