Does this game truly need minmaxing?

[Phaus]

I'm not talking about people who are working towards a cool weapon or want to beat a certain boss, I'm talking about people who get angry when they don't have anything to do in the game. I'm talking about people who yell at a player who won't skip CS. I'm talking about those who refuse to try anything new in dungeons or primal battles because it might add a couple minutes to their run time. I'm talking about people who boot a new player from a PUG after a single wipe. I'm talking about those who spend the majority of their waking hours in the game when there is a life in the real world they should be living.

Think you're going a little off topic or my definition seems to be completley different to yours.
You pefectly described an asshole elitists, there's a difference between being competitive and being a douche.

[juniglee]

As a veteran Monster Hunter player, looks are never in my priority - stats are.

I have a role in my team not to pull my team down, and likewise. If you want to look good, go ahead, but just be sure you are able to do your job in coil (ie. meet the minimum stat requirements for anything - for example, my job as a tank is to cap my accuracy at 482, then focus on as much VIT/Parry as I can), and not pull down the rest of the team. Or you can form a party with like-minded people. I care about how my character appears to an extent (ie. I hate the tank DL chest because it hides my face), but if I don't have something more efficient for the stuff that matters, then that's what I will use until I do have something more efficient.

Before you clump me in as one of the "burnt out end game players", let me assure you I run 5 WP runs a day for fun. Yes, for fun. I have a group of friends I always run WP with, and we're mostly usually spiritbonding there. Our goals are never the philo stones or the gear. I run Titan HM maybe twice a day as well. For fun. I have two Titan Hearts, and almost a full collection of Titan weapons, but I run it with friends because it's fun.

Outside of Coil (the only dungeon where stats matter at this point of the game), you can go and do Ifrit HM in your swimsuit and stuff, go have fun. Just be sure that when it comes time for the weekly Coil, I don't see you messing around by being undergeared or understat'ed (don't know what's the term for this lol). Of course, if you're not in my team, you don't have to answer to me, and I won't have to be responsible to you either.

[Welsper59]

Min/maxing is perfectly fine, the problem is when it is being forced upon others (when it isn't truly needed). This, unfortunately, happens quite a lot.

Of course, the same can be said from the opposite perspective. It is a problem when people refuse to do what they need to in order to help the team win.

Both sides are fine, but suffer from the exact same problem. People who take it too far and are too stubborn to accommodate.

[Doo]

Who doesn't like being as efficient as possible?

Why do players speed run dungeons?

[Mysteltain]

On the one hand, I love completing gear sets. Running Satasha, Tam-Tara, and CBM over two dozen times to get the full Foestriker's Set was well worth it in my opinion (even more so since I can get good mileage off the set when I begin to level Lancer). Even though I didn't complete the set until a 29 Pugilist, I was enjoying the hunt. Same goes for when I completed the Cavalry set after about 30 runs of Brayflox (although I never saw the damn Marauder's Ring drop!). Getting the full set, and then running dungeons or leves or FATEs--whatever it is--and looking damn good doing 'em feels great. Even if I have a slight stat deficiency over my party members, I'm confident enough and clever enough to know that my skill will cover me in that respect.

However, I will still recognize when I can't both look good and play well, as well as when skill just ain't enough. Having recently run Stone Vigil as a Warrior in full Cavalry Set, plus the axe from Sunken Temple, it was much more difficult than I anticipated. I'm not sure if the healer just wasn't keeping up, or if it was due to my armor (especially since the NQ Mythril Armor set has lower defense than the Cavalry pieces, I'm inclined to believe it was the healer), but I recognized the possibility of a shortcoming and covered it--with a HQ set of Mythril gear, no less. Am I a bit miffed that I'm not gonna be wearing the set anytime soon? Definitely. But I would much prefer to make everyone's jobs easier, even if it comes at the expense of looking silly.

What I'm trying to say, if any of this made a lick of sense, is that if you can look good AND kick ass, good on ya! But should push ever come to shove in a real way (as in more than a few points), then it'd probably be best to focus on wearing gear with better stats.

[FinagleABagel]

Does min/maxing matter? Nope, not at all. Utterly unnecessary. Full AF2 or Allagan will get you through Twintania either way (a bit less should do it too). The buffs obtained from potions and food far outweigh slight stat tweaks.

Is it a goal itself? Yeah, and there's nothing wrong with that.

[Teon]

Does min/maxing matter? Nope, not at all. Utterly unnecessary. Full AF2 or Allagan will get you through Twintania either way (a bit less should do it too). The buffs obtained from potions and food far outweigh slight stat tweaks.

Is it a goal itself? Yeah, and there's nothing wrong with that.

This is the point Both set will make the player perform like a god, no issue at all, noone will notice or blame that guy with a full myth/allagan armor instead of a patchwork
At worst some food, and wow, you got back the 231 dps point missing from the allagan piece. Some people just don't get it

Until the childish pathetic attitude of "minimax or kick him" is contained to some losers and their like-minded groups working toward it (and looks like a clown with mixed sets), everyone will be happy
When it widespread to the point of ruin the fun to log or pay the sub, ruining the gameplay of others ("dafuq, why this guy is wearing a full myth set, not wearing the allagan pants? He will have 147 less dps points, kick him") the community is a fail.
Let's not ruin our game, lucky devs made endgame armors perfectly balanced for endgame content

On the one hand, I love completing gear sets. Running Satasha, Tam-Tara, and CBM over two dozen times to get the full Foestriker's Set was well worth it in my opinion (even more so since I can get good mileage off the set when I begin to level Lancer). Even though I didn't complete the set until a 29 Pugilist, I was enjoying the hunt. Same goes for when I completed the Cavalry set after about 30 runs of Brayflox (although I never saw the damn Marauder's Ring drop!). Getting the full set, and then running dungeons or leves or FATEs--whatever it is--and looking damn good doing 'em feels great. Even if I have a slight stat deficiency over my party members, I'm confident enough and clever enough to know that my skill will cover me in that respect.

THIS is the spirit Vanity system will give you back the satisfaction of that set and other sets you collected, even with a lv50 char nor worried anymore of "your performance" , your work collecting sets will not be wasted!

[Sinth]

Personally, I have minmaxed in many other MMORPGs, but in FFXIV, the difference in max stat options is negligible. The ability to dodge mechanics far outweighs the benefits gained from maxing stats per situation in FFXIV. When it comes to multiple sets of the same iLevel, the choice is yours. The effects of your choices will have little impact in your overall performance / effectiveness, unless you are in a situational fight (see: WHM in turn 4 avoiding crit stat).

[CUTS3R]

I know i will probably sound like a ignorant but what does BiS gear mean?

( sorry im french )

[Yashnaheen]

To directly answer the thread title- No. Just do your anti wipe mechanic skills on time and do the dance. Considering end game is built around vertical gear progression, min/max is end game. It isn't needed however which seems odd to some.

BiS = Best in Slot. There are no upgrades for that piece of gear (until next expansion where you just drop it lol).