"Revamped" Rewards System

[NefGP]

Primals were an example, but it could be any piece of content. Compare DH and AV/CC: the rewards have strikingly different potency for content released over a year apart. For an average person subscribing to an MMO, a 1 year or 1.5 years seems to me a reasonable amount of time for "repeat content" to exist before something offers a greater challenge and a statistically superior reward.

Keep in mind I am talking about rewards, not reward structures. Grinding Dynamis for 3 years without a RDM hat has no effect on the properties of the hat.


That's my point. Glanzfaust underperformed because SE was afraid of making something that challenged 5 year-old content. The silly thing was how Glanzfaust gave the same statistical bonuses as Spharai--ATK/Counter--but connected them to your JAs instead of the weapon itself. It wasn't an alternative or a sidegrade; it was definitely worse.

Seals are just one way to repurpose content. Materia is another--primal weapons yield unique materia. There are surely a dozen ways to repurpose older content without holding back the advancement of new gear.


Newer doesn't necessarily have to mean better, but I think in the long term there will come a time when all of the alternatives and incremental sidegrides aren't cutting the mustard. There can be an equal measure of sidegrade to existing gear (Skirmish, for example) and more powerful gear, but the point I am driving is how there ought to be more powerful gear over time so that character growth isn't an imaginary or geologically slow progression like FFXI.


Was it really lv.76+ gear that broke FFXI? I am pretty sure it was the damage calculations that depend so heavily on level difference.

Besides, FFXI's endgame foundation was sidegrades. Of course things got screwed up once they raised the bar after 8 years. FFXIV is starting fresh. FFXIV already has a primitive system of old gear = redemption items, new gear = more powerful at a one year turnover and I don't foresee any creeping at this rate.

I agree with you that the Mythics were largely disappointing, especially when they required far more effort than relics (however the current 99 versions are just insane, but that's hardly justification) however that doesn't mean the concept was wrong - just because something was implemented poorly, doesn't mean the idea itself was flawed.

I never said I was completely against introducing better gear - I just feel there needs to be a balance, and the whole emphasis on DPS as the main stat to look for on a weapon is counter-intuitive and even potentially destructive. I really can't fathom why the dev team opted to go that route as opposed to adjusting specific subskills to account for use on other classes/jobs. They did it fairly well in XI (such as meditate being reduced when used by non-SAM or ustusemi Ni only being 4 shadows for NIN main).

Again, I only single out Ifrit vs Garuda because IMO the Primals should all have equally attractive gear, with their elemental affinities offering different styles. Again look at XI - all the avatars offered a wide variety of things, but they were largely equal in terms of reward (at least the first 6 were anyway.)

As others have said, I just don't want to constantly be chasing after the newest items and completely ignore older content. There needs to be sidegrading, but to a degree. I think we both agree that XI took it to the extreme with 3 expansions across 5+ years before a level cap increase. That was insanity.

A way to upgrade the older gear might be cool as well - this is party why I suggested allowing melds on Rare/EX gear (only 1 mind you) and so that's 1 possible method - or they could introduce quests to get better/updated versions. The Primal Weapons are all really, really cool and are such a bitch to get, I hate to just toss them aside (even for a Relic) just because something better came along.

Not that I'd use one for anything other than cosmetics if I did get a Relic, but still ^^

Also, again speaking of which, according to Yoshi even Relics aren't safe... that we will see various "Relic" class weapons. If that's not a kick in the pants to anyone who's done that quest, I don't know what is.


I wouldn't mind seeing an updated version of Magian Trials in ARR - just, hopefully far less tedious than they were in XI.


Personally I think what finally did XI in was Tanaka coming back lol... after he took off and left the game in Matsui's hands, we got Abyssea, which was just so much fun... and then we went back to old-school dev shenanigans, but with a new level cap and it all just kinda fell apart.

Besides, it's pretty hard to come down from a high like that. Atma was just too much fun.