New use of Physical Level

[KorPoni]

Instead of abolishing Physical Level, a new tool of implementing "Racial Traits" gained through physical level would be a great way to keep Physical Level while allowing attribute growth to shift over to classes like planned.

System Explanation:
Every Physical Level gained gives the player +1(PL01-15), +2(PL16-30), or +3(PL31-50) Racial Trait points (RT or RP, but not RTP). These can be spent on various racial traits, or retrieved at a rate of 1 trait/period that matches with resetting attribute points in the old system.

Some example traits:
Sea Wolf Expertise:
RP: 4
To Equip: 3 points
Effect: You lose 4 piety to gain 2 strength and 2 dexterity.
Race: Sea Wolf Roegayden

Sea Wolf Rampage:
RP: 10
To Equip: 5 points
Effect: When you regain HP through a spell cast on you, you gain a temporary attack bonus. (+5 attack for 10 seconds).

Duskwight Stealth:
RP: 10
To Equip: 5 points
Effect: You gain a small accuracy and attack bonus when your target is attacking a nearby ally. (+2 attack and +5 accuracy when behind a target currently targetting another party member.)

Hyur Pride:
RP:15
To Equip: 10 points
Effect: You gain a small amount of MP each time you successfully hit an enemy with a melee attack. (+1 MP each time you hit with an arm from MRD, GLD, LNC, or PGL)

[KorPoni]

These ideas are broken, but trying to get the dev team thinking.

[Lienn]

I agree with you! At very first letter of the producer Yoshida said that there would have no character wipe during these changes...but that's exactly what they are doing. The removal of Physical levels is a partial wipe since they are removing something people put effort to raise.

I also agree that, instead of removing it, there are many ways of using these levels so the players won't feel they are removing something we already put effort to gain. I also suggested them a similar idea today, but was a trait system with access similar to FFXIII's crysalis, where you can chose a path and follow it, chosing branchs, to access certain traits this way.

[RemnantWolf]

I think that it would be cool if physical levels were used to give non combat bonuses. I have seen quite a few people who would be interested in more ways to interact with the environment, and I think that they could use physical levels to add some more depth to this.

Maybe add things like how high your character can jump (or fall without taking damage), how fast or for how long they can sprint, ability with lockpicking, how long you can swim underwater and other things could drastically change how they make dungeons. Shortcuts accessible to parties who have good swimmers, fast runners and skilled climbers would give parties another form of diversity that adds to the feeling of being an adventurer.

Having special skills beyond just fighting would add a depth to exploration that most games lack. It would even add depth to combat. A smart archer would climb up where his enemies couldn't reach him, and sometimes the best way to sneak up on an enemy is to run up as fast as you can and nail them in the back of the head.

[Reika]

Maybe the higher you raise your physical leve, the more inventory space you get too.

[KorPoni]

Lots of crazy ideas. Anything to keep physical level in play. Keep them coming. Be detailed if you really want to see your idea happen, such as statistics and how exactly it would work.

Example is a list or tree of traits and what they do.

[Lienn]

I was very detailed when i sent them the suggestion...but here i'll just make it simple.

I suggested you receiving 1 proficiency point at every level 1 and having 4 proficiency trees to spend them on. Attack, defense, accuracy and evasion trees.

If the player start using points at attack tree, hewill often reach branches where he can access attack bonus traits, magic potency traits, damage type enhancements, etc.

Same for the other trees, with defense bringing traits for bulky builds and countering, evasion bringing traits for damage prevention builds, like parry, block and evade bonus traits and accuracy tree bringing traits for a more effective performance, like accuracy, critical rate, spell resist management, etc.

I'm challenging myself in tossing them physical level suggestions in a daily-basis until the june patch come and remove it or until they find a suggestion worth keeping the physical levels. I'll see if i also post them in this topic so it will be very detailed.

[Alzelia]

I really like the idea that a physical level represents the overall development of your character. I also love how it encourages horizontal growth. So here's my suggestion:

-make it harder to increase your physical level
-have each level up give you a very small bonus, like more hp.
-raise the physical level limit

This way, physical levels basically become a Merit Point system.

[Alzelia]

Or another idea, let us keep the physical level even if it has no effect on the game

[Lienn]

Here another suggestion:

Why don't you guys use the points from physical level to work in a similar way merit points did in FFXI?

Every level up would give you some points (maybe just use the current or new allotment amounts) and you being able to spend these points to enhance certain actions from classes you reached max rank.

Would be very nice seeing the enhanced effects of actions you like best when used by the native class (of course these points wouldn't affect the acrtions if used cross-class).

There's many options that could be used this way...

Cast, recast effect duration, accuracy, damage, incapacitation rate, increased effect of buffs, etc.

It could even offer exclusive action this way (maybe for jobs only so they could be job exclusive).