Quote Originally Posted by Sub-Xero View Post
Honestly, and I'm not going to go into extreme detail, but I've seen many, MANY players with AF2, Relic +1, Allagan gear etc. be TERRIBLE. I've seen pre 2.1 DPS that should've easily been able to practically solo the Demon Wall not be able to do it. Skill > gear but gear ≠ skill.
I totally agree. I'm not saying that gear is the be all end all, only that there is a point where a fight isn't winnable if the gear doesn't reach some baseline. I'm not distrustful of the Devs, I just don't think there's any way that i57 could've been established as a baseline in a scientific manner in a timely fashion. It is at best a good estimate that can't account for the differences in party composition completely. I would assume since Titan is DF'ed as 2 Tank, 2 healer, 4 dps, that that's how the Devs would've tested it. That would be reasonable. However, WAR/WAR is different than WAR/PLD or PLD/PLD, and so on. I think it's foolish to think that the ilevel requirement is some absolute value that was extensively tested to the point of indisputable perfection. BUT even if it was, that would only prove that the Devs did feel there was a point that a fight would become unwinnable because of gear alone regardless of skill. The thing about skill is that a lot of unskilled players can get it, it just might take them longer than others. However, if you don't even have the tools at your disposal the game mechanics require, then no amount of skill will save you.

At the end of the day, I don't consider myself hardcore or elite (whatever that means) but I confess that I would rather help someone who's taken the time to gear.