Quote Originally Posted by IndigoDarkwolf View Post
So the only course of action for a successful MMO is to treadmill the gear rewards? Just flat out make content that is impossible until you have the right gear, and have that content drop the gear you need for the next content, which drops the gear you need for the content after that, in perpetuity?
MMO's all have one thing in common, and it is called "progression". The reason MMO's are even popular today is because it builds a concept of dangling something in your face that you must have. It is a feeling of empowerment, to be better than everyone else. The reason gear progression is the ideal choice in most situations is simply because it helps display that empowerment. It may sound silly, but the feeling of walking into town with the best gear on you feels a lot better than coming in with the same crap you wear all the time with a good record.

Even take FFXIV 1.xx for example, how good does it feel to walk in Ul'Dah with a full set of Darklight on you? Well, I wouldn't know because the damn pieces I want never dropped, but that is a topic of the past. Anyways, that feeling alone really is what keeps you going, that feeling of empowerment and accomplishment alone. Could it be reworked? Sure. What I ask is this: Why change what isn't broken or outdated? Why must we be original on this concept?

I agree with Yoshida that being "too unique" can be a real downfall of an MMO, it also is one of the reasons that FFXIV 1.xx was a failure. I am not saying to not bring unique concepts in an MMO, because the genre itself will never take that next step. At the same time however, you do have to bring that sense of familiarity in. The genre itself has gotten to a point that it has it's standards like a FPS or fighting game.

Lets put that other genre into perspective also. When you play an FPS, you expect that sense of familiarity don't you? What happens when you switch this around, do something unique that feels out of place of the genre? People get scared of it. Could it be a success? Sure. However, the best approach to any genre to me is simply, "Take what is good, and make it better.". WoW may of not been the first MMO, but it definitely created a standard in the genre like Street Fighter 2 did to fighting games.

Actually that is another genre you can take perspective on. Street Fighter 2 basically set the standard for 2D fighting games. You see successes like King of Fighters and Darkstalkers follow it. You know why they were a success also? Because they took the genre standard, and improved upon it to make it their own unique game without changing the standard.

That is how I feel about FFXIV 2.0, it takes the standard and improves upon it. What is one unique thing that it does that most MMO's do not? An Armory System. You will be surprised on how appealing this system is and why FFXI was a major success outside FF players alone. The thought of changing your job on the go sounds so great because you don't have to make 10+ alts to play everything, you have access to everything the game has to offer from one character alone.

Then you ask me, "Hey Vel, what does all this babbling have to do with my statement about gear?". Well, gear progression is an MMO standard. Like I said above, the feeling of empowerment is very powerful in an MMO and changing that around can potentially cause an issue of commitment. I played GW2 and had a blast with it, I got to the end and I felt like my options were, go PvP, or do dungeons. As a strong PvE player, I said to myself that I will do the dungeons. I play through them and they are "okay". Then I learn (please correct me if I am wrong), that gear you obtain in the game does not improve you much and kind of easy to get access to.

To me, it is something that set me apart from GW2. I am all for looking cool, but really, it diminishes that feeling of empowerment, which is what I need to depend on the PvP concept to give me. Which also made me realize that GW2 is more of PvP game than anything. Have they improved upon this? Can't say, I haven't been on the game for quite a while now.

Next argument is, "Make gear like FFXI/FFXIV". While I will not say this concept is bad at all, it is very meh also. I do not want to be fighting for the same piece of gear for over 7 years like I did in FFXI. I want to feel like my character battle wise has progressed in some form every day. I want something new to aim for in every major patch update. I look back in my FFXI days and I ask myself, "How did I put up with it?". Of course FFXI was more of an EQ game and that is how it was simply. I don't want to be wearing a Haubergeon or Kirin's Osode for 7 years, I don't want situational gear. I want a piece of gear that says, "This is obviously better than what you have on right now, toss that thing aside and wear me now!". Then when the new dungeon comes out, I want the next piece of gear to say, "This is obviously better than what you have on right now, toss that thing aside and wear me now!". It keeps the game fresh and make the goal not feel stale.

I have a Gae Bolg on my character. Do I want it to be the ultimate weapon for the rest of the game's career? No. I already want something better than it. I want a new goal to hit. You can slap a +1 on it for all I care, but I want a new goal every once in a while. I can't be satisfied with this one weapon for the rest of the game, it has to improve, or a weapon to surpass it.

TL;DR: So in short, I feel gear progression is genre standard that doesn't need to be tampered with. It can be improved, but it doesn't need to be altered.

As for difficulty in dungeons. Sure I am game for it, at the same time, you need to approach it well. The bosses can't simply be the same thing, just with more HP and attack power. It needs to do things that they wouldn't do in an easier mode, like new abilities or areas to fight them in. Needs to be different enough that you need to rework your strategy to overcome it.