Suggestions for iLvl80 Loot Options

[Renvalt]

Alright, I've been analyzing the state of our current items, and I'll be blunt: there are few options in the path to gear for Coil 1-5. While getting into those tiers will be a bit easier come 2.2, the problem of actually gearing up still exists. It's a pretty well known fact that some douches (I'll refrain from accusing, but those people know who they are) have absurd requirements, itemization wise. So I came up with these ideas to help give the fresh 50 community some options.

Please note that these are suggestions, and I'm not suggesting they add these in 2.2 or 2.3, but sometime down the road this should be thought of.

With that said, let's get this underway, shall we?

Suggestion 1: Expand the potential of the Dimension Blade Fragment to be used for more than just furnishing.
Reasoning: Right now, we already know that rolling on this material drop eats your loot chance for the week. So there's virtually only two reasons why you'd roll on this: you're aiming to craft the furniture piece itself, and/or you have nothing else you figure is worth the roll. Given that I don't see many options for iLvl 80 weapons (only two exist at present - and one of them gets upgraded to its iLvl90 counterpart fairly quickly), adding this to a crafter's repertoire allows them to make money off of a gamble on something they'd hardly ever roll on.

With a iLvl80 being available for purchase on the Market Boards (at a ridiculous price I'd wager, given the rarity of the above mentioned material), it gives fresh 50s a way to help them find a suitable weapon, in case they're SoL in terms of Titan weaponry or are stuck on Relic. Not to mention, you make crafters in demand with this kind of (useful) bling.

Suggestion 2: Add more Odin/Behemoth-esque FATES.
Reasoning: I know many of you will probably go blergh at this because for the most part you guys seem to abhor FATES, but hear me out. Right now, Odin and Behemoth are the only two mobs in the game that I'd really compare to FFXI's HNMs. They have a ridiculously long respawn timer (24 hours, if I'm not mistaken?), they require a massive amount of players to kill them (I see plenty of people at Behemoth, not sure about Odin but given complaints I'd wager that this also holds true there), and the rewards gained from them can be cashed in at Aelina for (atm) cool, albeit weaksauce, gear.

A lot of people probably don't want to hear this next bit either: my suggestion is to make Fenrir the second wandering Primal (and I'll explain why this fits here in a second) and either Ultros or Kraken of the Four Fiends (most likely the former) as the counterpart to Behemoth.

Now for my reasoning as to why Fenrir deserves the same status as Odin: in terms of both FF lore and the actual Norse lore, this makes the most sense. FF lore-wise, Fenrir's power level is known to be just as strong, if not stronger, as Odin's. He's given badass status in FF-dom for a reason. The excuse for his Norse lore is even more legit: Odin and Fenrir actually kill each other during Ragnarok, the end war in Norse mythos. For those thinking Thor killed him, you're thinking of the wrong beast: the beast you're looking for is Jormungandr, the World Eating Serpent (paralleled often with Ouroboros, who has many similarities).

For Ultros/Kraken, the reasoning behind this one is just as clear: Behemoth's inspiration is the Hebrew terror of the Land. The flipside to a Land Terror is a Sea Terror, and other than Leviathan (who is already slated as a Primal), there's only one other creature that meets this criterium: the Kraken. However, I didn't want to throw the Kraken in so early if SE had plans to use the Four Fiends content theme in another area. Which is why I went with Ultros - FF lore wise, he's annoying enough (and oddly powerful enough) to where he'd be able to meet Behemoth as a match in the area our purple friend can't cover (and did I forget to mention that Ultros is as recognizable as Gilgamesh?)

Now you may be asking me: but how would this solve gear issues? First off, I'm aware that the items bought with Odin/Behemoth reward tokens are abysmal. So my suggestion? Buff them, make them a viable alternative to other gear pieces out there at the moment. Odin Mantles reward stuff for Paladins, Behemoth has a Dragoon spear (why I don't know) and some headgear; so my suggestion is to make Fenrir's tokens help out the Monks with a weapon of their own (as well as maybe a Belt or something), and Ultros would reward a Bow for Bards and Necklaces/Bracelets.

Now you may be asking: why iLvl80 for this stuff? Simple - the only other place to get i80 accessories is Ultima, and prior to that, iLvl70 is DL Tome territory (not to be confused with Darklight Weapons, which drop from Wanderer's Palace, as well as the current Hard Modes). Not to mention that having more iLvl80 stuff would help broaden the options for that gear tier. And it gives people some open world evils. Everyone wins (at least, if you don't think lose-lose).


In regards to Gilgamesh, I do believe that the best course of action is to make him go the route that Dhorme/Hydra went prior to their recent DF additions: have him be a serverbound Duty. Reason? He's tied to a sidestory quest. If you're gonna have him be a DF-able fight, then make that kind of clash into the endreward (if not have such a fight be part of said progression) for the quest chain (assuming that it ends here, although you'll be pissing off a few Hildi lovers in the process, myself included).


I know everyone's gonna have something to say about this, be it suggestions, constructive criticism, hate mail, pro-Tanaka sabre-rattling, Yoshida-white knighting, etc, but do drop a line and at least tell me what you think about this.

Because I'd hate to have typed all this and not have anybody give a damn.