Suggestion to the Developer

[Synra]

There's a few big flaws in your logic here. Firstly, the crysarium was really just another exp leveling system with a fancy and unique paint job. Second, there was NO customization involved in any of those systems. Your goal was ultimately to buy everything avialable.

The third and most important problem is that it is about 4 or 5 years too late to use a fancy leveling system like those in FFXIV. It's far too late to change that when some players have been building their character on the current mechanic for over 3 years now.

On the other hand, if you are talking about some sort of talent tree system that works in tandem with the current leveling system, I believe there are very good reasons why SE chose not to include that sort of function in this game, and it's much better for it. In the end there is little or no customization in those systems. There's a right way to spec and there's "you gimped yourself".

[Mixxy]

There's a right way to spec and there's "you gimped yourself".

This is the fault the MMO community being terrible, not any inherent design flaw. In tabletop RPGs and even early MMOs, character design was about making yourself unique and bringing something to the table that none of your allies could. Now it's all about unquestioningly worshiping the numbers that come up on Recount, and valuing players entirely by their DPS and nothing else. That's ultimately what killed the support role in modern games. Sacrificing your own output to enhance the performance of others is no longer considered acceptable, simply because you can't measure it on a chart.

[Tiggy]

This is the fault the MMO community being terrible, not any inherent design flaw. In tabletop RPGs and even early MMOs, character design was about making yourself unique and bringing something to the table that none of your allies could. Now it's all about unquestioningly worshiping the numbers that come up on Recount, and valuing players entirely by their DPS and nothing else. That's ultimately what killed the support role in modern games. Sacrificing your own output to enhance the performance of others is no longer considered acceptable, simply because you can't measure it on a chart.

Well to be fair it's also a function of game design. Like in Diablo 2. Sure you could pick where to spend your stat points, but there were very specific builds that players used anyway which really removed the choice. The players did this because more offense was generally the best strategy in that game. No amount of other stats options was going to change the fact that if you hit hard you do better. Therefore despite options the players choose the one that does the most damage. This isn't due to a bad player community. It's due to game design.

[Mixxy]

This isn't due to a bad player community. It's due to game design.

Well that's the problem when your only customization is in the form of stat points. Another example, back in the old days of Burning Crusade, I played an Arms specialized Warrior. This was a spec usually reserved for PvP, but I raided with it. My DPS was garbage, but I was considered valuable anyway. Why? Because as an Arms Warrior, I had an ability which could prevent mobs and bosses from healing themselves. My functionality was more important than raw numbers. Later on, however, as the new generation of players came in, utility became meaningless. Only numbers mattered. Even healers were expected to compete for top healing done, which meant that damage prevention (i.e, shields) were frowned upon.

I'll admit that often it's the dev's fault, but players also share the blame.

[Tiggy]

There's a few big flaws in your logic here. Firstly, the crysarium was really just another exp leveling system with a fancy and unique paint job. Second, there was NO customization involved in any of those systems. Your goal was ultimately to buy everything avialable.

Yeah, the Crystarium didn't give any options at all other than choosing which path to pick at this exact moment. It was horribly linear and you had to go through certain nodes to reach other ones. It wasn't much of a choice.

I'd have to disagree about the sphere grid though. You could clearly choose to take differing paths and unlock optional paths to do as you wanted. The ability to turn blank nodes into a node you wanted extended the options further. Sure there were some paths laid out, but you weren't forced to use them. I'd say this system offered a decent amount of options to the player. Hell Khimari was completely yours to choose which path you wanted. He exemplified the concept.

[Akiza]

The third and most important problem is that it is about 4 or 5 years too late to use a fancy leveling system like those in FFXIV. It's far too late to change that when some players have been building their character on the current mechanic for over 3 years now.

On the other hand, if you are talking about some sort of talent tree system that works in tandem with the current leveling system, I believe there are very good reasons why SE chose not to include that sort of function in this game, and it's much better for it. In the end there is little or no customization in those systems. There's a right way to spec and there's "you gimped yourself".

The crytarium system will be more like a talent tree that is unlocked once players get 50 but look really cool.