where are we headed

[Neft]

So how do we fix these issues? the proper way is to re-do the scaling of the entire game to give a sure fire bullet proof fix and ensure numbers never reach those calculations while still giving a sense of progress and fun, but in doing so it also changes how old content works, in other words depending on how it's done its less of a "me level 100 me smash" and more of a "oh crap the difference between 50 and 100 is only 50 stat points, i have to actually do mechanics" however if the scaling is done a certain way, it would still be "im 100 unga bunga me smash", it just really comes down to how hard or easy they want the content to be and if they ever want it to be trivialized.

with proper scaling an MMO should NEVER EVER need a stat squish or a level squish or if they do need it, it would be after a very very long time of actually being up and running, and most would never see that point of exhaustion as they'd likely burn out before it happens.

but seeing as XIVs scaling is closer to WoW and it has the potential to bring about the same issue and even after a stat squish were already due for another one basically?

im just worried that XIV is going down the same path that WoW went down that brought about the level squish and also brought about the screwing of its content areas.

level 70 content became level 30 content.

Level 50 content became like level 1-30 content.

it destroyed any sense of direction that game ever had and its already shoddy world building collapsed basically instantly.

with XIV's current scaling i believe they should leave us capped at level 100.

in FFXI they did a fantastic job with the level cap being at 99 as that game took great care in its end game balancing, yes power creep still happened but it happened over a much longer period of time and most end game content is still well, fun and you still have to do mechanics even for some of the older content even if you are 99, granted its at a faster pace and some of its skipped, but that cant fully be helped as it wasn't designed for a level 99 with full mythics or aeonics.

but with XIV my biggest worry is they'll let us go above 100 the stats will continue to get out of hand and then they'll screw the pooch and level squish us down to XYZ then figure out how many expansions or areas they have to basically re-design level and difficulty wise.

yeah XIVS MSQ is there to help keep things aligned and hold your hand, which is something that might make this worry irrelevant.

but im just looking at everything and seeing some stuff playout the same song and dance we used to get and im just curious as to where the games headed, i love this game and i just don't want to see it get lobotomized.

[AlucaDragonheart]

but with XIV my biggest worry is they'll let us go above 100 the stats will continue to get out of hand and then they'll screw the pooch and level squish us down to XYZ then figure out how many expansions or areas they have to basically re-design level and difficulty wise.

yeah XIVS MSQ is there to help keep things aligned and hold your hand, which is something that might make this worry irrelevant.

but im just looking at everything and seeing some stuff playout the same song and dance we used to get and im just curious as to where the games headed, i love this game and i just don't want to see it get lobotomized.

Sadly, that's exactly what's going to happen. The level numbers are just going to keep rising and they'll just keep squishing down the numbers like they did for Endwalker. There won't be a drastic shakeup in gameplay or jobs, we're just going to get one small capstone ability added with each new expansion, because even though apparently 8.0 is supposed to be the job rework, I know for a fact it's not going to be some grand reinvention of the wheel like some people expect it to be.

[Reimmi]

Sadly, that's exactly what's going to happen. The level numbers are just going to keep rising and they'll just keep squishing down the numbers like they did for Endwalker. There won't be a drastic shakeup in gameplay or jobs, we're just going to get one small capstone ability added with each new expansion, because even though apparently 8.0 is supposed to be the job rework, I know for a fact it's not going to be some grand reinvention of the wheel like some people expect it to be.

Same, better to be pleasantly surprised than disappointed.

[Jeeqbit]

the proper way is to re-do the scaling of the entire game

They did re-scale the whole game already in Endwalker. Essentially reduced it all to a 5th of what it was to future-proof the game. I do think they could squish some other aspects of the game though.

Item levels increment by 5, or even 10. So we could squish item level to a 5th so we increment by 1 item level instead.

We could squish level a bit. 30 is when we unlock jobs, so we could just kill enemies to level to 10, then it get slower. ARR could finish at level 30, allowing the level cap to be 80.

im just worried that XIV is going down the same path that WoW went down that brought about the level squish and also brought about the screwing of its content areas.

The current implementation of the stat squish actually didn't ruin content that much. The minimum item level community was assured the content would barely change, and it didn't really. You can still enjoy old raids this way. I'm not saying the stat squish didn't affect them, but I think the greater influence is from things like job, potency and stat changes over the years (such as Determination buffs, Parry becoming Tenacity, Accuracy becoming Direct Hit).

but with XIV my biggest worry is they'll let us go above 100 the stats will continue to get out of hand

They mentioned this concern prior to Dawntrail but confirmed we would still become level 100. They have since said they are discussing ideas to replace it such as "Skill Trees, Talents and Ability Points" but that these are just early ideas being discussed.