Quote Originally Posted by synaesthetic View Post
Kinda renders the whole "armory system" ideal pointless, though, doesn't it? This game is so relentlessly alt-unfriendly that I do not see any reason why this should be done, and certainly not forcing respecs to cost 10k seals.
This depends entirely on what you think the armoury system is about, doesn't it? Just because you can switch to all classes/jobs on the same character, doesn't mean you should be the very best at every class/job on the same character. Want to be the best on everything? Then you have other slots to make new characters that you can do that with. Whilst FFXIV =/= FFXI, in said game, which the armoury system is based on, you couldn't max out every job even though you could also switch to other ones. The benefit here is that you don't have to level up multiple characters and repeat content, unless you absolutely must/want to to maximise your game play in a given job.

And even in XI, where there was also stat allocation once you hit level 75, there was best places to put your stats. It wasn't pointless to have it, it just let you work out where you wanted your play style to focus into. They also applied to all jobs and not just a single one. This is pretty much always going to be the case where any person wants to max out the best in stats. Otherwise, you have all the choice in the world. The game does not prevent you putting points into STR for your BLM (only your own sense). The overall effect of the stat bonuses is only important in high end content.

With stat allocation between 2 Jobs in XIV, it's about deciding (y'know, actually giving some serious thought to what you want to do) where you want to put those stats. You can either improve a specific Job in a specific way, or you can improve both Jobs in a general way. And not putting INT into your SMN doesn't gimp that job, it just doesn't improve it. Stat points are a bonus not a forced part of the system.