Character development and customization

[lordbyron42]

First off I really liked the merit point system in FFXI. It was a nice little bonus every once in a while and even though the bonus may not have affected much of my characters contribution but it really helped me feel like my character was just that much more differentiated from the hive of end game people.

Second I really like the FFX sphere grid system. If you havn\\'t played it, it\\'s a good game and I recommend it. A similar system can be found in Path of Exile which is a completely different game but it is highly customizable.

Here\\'s the deal. Take the twelve gods, slap em on a grid sphere grid, the god you picked is where you start. Get a point every level or so and slap it in the tree, I think this could replace the stat customization we have now which for PLD as you know is literally every point in VIT. Or this could be added on as a not game imbalancing bonus which you pick up as you gain merit points after you hit the level cap.

Discuss?

[ToraoKoga]

That sounds like a good idea!

[Enkidoh]

The Sphere Grid has been recycled too many times in the FF series (It also appeared under different names in FFXII and XIII), as it was a broken system to begin with - it's utterly linear and doesn't actually give customization at all (the only 'freedom' the player has in customizing their character is how quickly you proceed through it). And the trouble with your 'Twelve' based system is players will inevitably find the best one to use with a certain class, and thus favoritism will occur - what SE are actually trying to avoid with FFXIV's system (it's the reason why we don't have elemental spells for one thing).

FFXI merits on the other hand, I can definitely see being added in one form or another. The Merit System was added into FFXI to compensate having the level cap frozen at 75 for so long, thus allowing players to customize their character beyond the level cap. But given the fact FFXIV uses item level to break the current level cap, I don't see Merits or something like them being added any time soon sadly.