Please remove iLevel

[Tofumaro]

ilvl not needed... Tanked an AK for my friends and we decided to Duty Finder a healer. We got a healer all right, all 20-28 gear.... Yeah, we don't need gear check.

[BobbinT]

Want to get rid iLevel huh?

This is what happens in XI several months before XIV-ARR officially launched :

Me so excited with this new toy on my back:


And here's the toy's stat:


Here's me having fun with it:


Btw, bonus of new completed Rune Fencer AF gears display:


And this is what happened when I bring these bad boy totally soloing campaign in Windurst Crystal War era (I won btw, totally all on my own. Find out on your own stat of each RUN AF gears, but believe me this: it was nasty!):


Proceed with your own judgement. lol

[Inosaska]

The simple fact that there's even an innately -best piece- (Or in XIV's case, that there's not even a potential argument) is the very problem. It's boring. I have no desire to farm for more DL or AF2 because it doesn't feel like I'm gaining anything substantial. It's the exact same as the gear I had before. It's nothing but a a hurdle to be passed with nothing interesting beyond. My character isn't gaining more versatility, utility, or potential build styles. Just higher stats

Well the thread can be locked since the person has already declared there stance and doesn't plan on changing there mind with what I quoted above. Gear check is being added because it prevents under geared players from doing content that they shouldn't be doing in the first place because they're just dragging everyone down with them and are being carried and not pulling there own weight.

[Kantide]

I think what the OP wants is more out of certain gear. For example in 1.0 gear had meaning like this (pic stolen from another thread):


See that "Increases Jump Damage".

I think the game would be more interesting with gear that rather than giving flat stats gave bonuses to effects. Even weapons with "chance on hit to paralyze/posion/slow", armor with "Increases healing potency" or "increased dot duration" would be nice.

[DSN]

It's nothing but a feature that railroads itemization into a very dull linear path, and breeds a very gear elitist community as a result. It's sad when people are looked at as nothing more than a number next to their gear

I hate to break it to you but there has always been an item level we just never knew it in previous games such as XI or 1.0 just because you can't see it doesn't mean it is there. This is how stat itemization is planned for gear to make sure it scales properly with content from the development side of things.

On top of which using the iLVL as a gauge for what you should be capable of is no different than the old shouting based on stats X Str, X Vit, X Mnd. iLvl simplified this as when you are shouting for a group and there is a minimum gear requirement you want to meet you can just say iLVL Blah vs. a whole string of stats for each and every class.

[Delsus]

The problem with ilvl as we have it now is if people want to do a good job they must use Darklight post 50, then they must use mythic as they go through coil because these are the highest ilvl we have. In FFXI (I know I know) there were loads of possibilities, and all jobs looked very different, now we are the Darklight army, I don't personally mind ilvl, but with one or two sets as best for each job we all look just the same (even the different jobs darklight have huge similarities.)

What FFXI did right imo was the more situational gear, you would get the same jobs looking very different a lot of the time (except mages because they had decent af) because of the mass horizontal progression in addition to vertical progression.

Removing ilvl wouldn't stop elitists, they would crunch the numbers to say what gear everyone should wear, but SE could easily make more gear with very similar stats but looked different so you might hut for 1 damage every WS lower but that very small difference could make it the same ilvl so it would be accepted and people would just look different.

(I know this can be solved with vanity slots but it still feels wrong knowing we are all wearing the same gear.)

[Riko_113]

I don't see much benefit to it other than to place artificial limits on players

The limits aren't artificial. They're already there without item level, and people will still require the gear. All this does is make a system where 1) it's easier to see and 2) the game has a way to keep unequipped people from joining random groups of JUST appropriately geared people and making the content harder because one person has become a burden.

Everyday now I see people who literally don't have enough health to survive the unavoidable damage in certain situations(Titan HM) or enough damage to burn certain important parts fast enough(any HM Primal). Unless there are overgeared people on this fight to carry the undergeared through it becomes almost impossible. All this system does is give people specific goals to work towards to keep up with the system that is already in place by design.

[Furio]

Impulsive rant

I really don't understand people that want ilvl removed. Next thing they'll ask to remove the option to inspect others altogether.

Do not complain about the demands party leaders set for group members. It's their call. If you don't agree with them, don't join them. Don't rage about it on the forums.

As for ilvl in duty finder: While it is very possible to do content with gear below the suggested ilvl, it can put unnecessary strain on other players. If players have done the effort to gear up so they can complete said content more easily, it's only right they demand equal behaviour from those that join them.

You, nor anyone else, can decide whether the reason for leaving a dungeon prematurely is warranted or not. No player should ever be forced to complete a duty if they don't feel like it - no matter the reason. If you can't handle the possibility that this might happen, make your own group. Asking for a blanket punishment of 24h is ludicrous.

[Stryker]

I have no problem with the ilvl. Makes it easier to see which piece of armor is a higher level. Now personally I'd like to be able to see items side by side when i highlight them. Other games have it, and it makes it a lot easier to see where you'd lose the stats. I know the game has it for defense, but I don't see the other stats changing. I think that's also important when looking at gear.

[CianaIezuborn]

Because within the limits of what is possible, skill trumps the gear.

100% and is why we've pulled some of our folks from other games into Garuda the day they hit 50, as their skill from playing multiple mmos will more than cover for a gear deficiency up to that encounter.

...

I think we might be mostly in agreement, just that I use the term carried to include 'non equal contribution'. I also don't consider it to automatically have a negative connotation, I picked it up years ago when we would run back up raiders or alts through content so that they could join up with the main raid team eventually. I think it's now seen not only as negative, but as an insult however I haven't adapted my vocabulary to match unfortunately. It's just the way I picked up the term, and just stems from the full raid of you principal. If a full raid of people in your gear and skill couldn't clear the content, then you're not contributing to the average needed to succeed.

The important thing is realizing when your gear level isn't up to par that you're causing someone else to contribute more in order to succeed, which you said yourself you've been on both ends of. The problem is when people don't realize it, then form a party full of people that don't realize it, then pound against a brick wall for 8 hours straight when they could have spent those 8 hours gearing on easy content then tearing that wall down.

I apologize for the use of the word carry though, this actually isn't the first time I've accidentally given offense by using it in a discussion.

As to the OP, I'd love to see more variety in gear especially in the form of skill boosts but in practicality someone is always going to do the math and determine the best set for any particular situation. Which generally leads to homogenization of gear again. The alternative is carrying around a large amount of situational gear, which is cool in concept but could quickly lead to inventory management explosion if you play multiple classes.