Required Rank vs Optimal Rank

[MattyWS]

No, what's stupid is what you just posted. Why do you care what some level one LALAFELL is wearing when it's optimal rank 50. If the character isn't rank 50 it's not functioning properly.

Between people unable to wear optimal rank gear, build a character to fulfill a role on their own without choosing a class from a list, and the whole progression/battle issues you'd think that most of the people playing this game are mentally retarded.

You missed my point. I'm not trying to tell people how to play, or what to wear. But the whole idea that you worked towards the goal of being able to wear awesome looking gear, just to find that everyone else can wear it regardless of rank or class, kinda takes the unique feel from the armour and also make the goal of getting to the point where you can wear that cool armour is void.

I do like the optimal rank system as well as the required system, but if anything, you shouldn't be able to wear it 5 ranks above or below the optimal, maybe? Something should be changed about it, because no armour/gear is unique if any random person can wear it.

Also any moron can buy gil from the start of the game(illegally) and take a trip to the market and buy that gear. It's not like the current system makes you work for the equipment.

[Arcell]

And what of untradable gear? Can't just go and buy that off the wards or hand it down. The systems can co-exist.

Just tweak the penalties and explain the system more thoroughly. Current gear deteriorates extremely quickly outside optimal rank, more so now with the death penalty.

[MattyWS]

Jesus people don't read. Look up, I suggested in my post that I don't want to abolish Optimal rank system, and that they can co-exist, but it needed tweaking!

[Zenaku]

All gear should be limit to what rank you are not just allow everyone to wear everything -.- when i see players at 20 wearing 50 gear it's like really? come on lol

[Arlekiel]

Personal opinion.... I really do like Optimal Rank, I come from an MMO that do not have "required rank" and to be honest I enjoyed it ... I have also played other games with "required rank" and for me it looks kinda "generic" and unreal... its like all the archers lvl 40 are wearing the SAME outfit, all the ranks 50 the same outfit and go on... With optimal rank, u can be a mage wearing armor, or cloth... its all about how u want ur character to be seen. At the end thats what matters...

If someone has issues to see a rank 1 wearing other stuff, then its just "his/hers" issue. After all what I like about FFXIV is this sense of "reality" or at least try to be realistic in some stuff (armory system for example) and I like the FREEDOM of the game. In the end required rank cuts out that freedom.


Still I think the optimal rank should be more "obvious".... but thats not just with optimal rank... thats with everything.. I remember someone said in this forum that to play FFXIV u need to have a friking PHD... or something like "FFXIV is only for smart people" and thats kinda true... 95% is not obvious or self explanatory.. u either need to have some sort of experience with ffxi or at least read ALOT from different sources (lodestone dosent has all the info).

In the end I think the problem wasnt "noobs wearing rank 50 stuff". It was "noobs not knowing that wearing rank 50 stuff was hurting their status instead of actually helping them building a better character". In the end thats because the game is not self explanatory at all... For example every item have this "optimal rank" but it dosent tell u the penalty of how many stats u are loosing for not equiping it when u are under-ranked. Also it would be nice some kind of effect, like showing the name of the item in red, when ur equiping something that its not for ur rank.

I think those two solutions would be a better alternative to just implementing a required rank and cutting a big aspect of FFXIV which is freedom. Freedom to choose ur job, Freedom to change it whenever you want, Freedom to do whatever and to be whatever you want. Freedom to equip whatever you want.
Unfortunatly this last one :P its already cutted down LOL...


Well not that it makes a HUGE difference... after all its just some "items" I just hope they dont start releasing every single item with a required rank system...

[Ferth]

This complaint could easily be leveled at the UI as well as "required" or "optimal" rank gear.

I know not everyone appreciates references to FFXI but as one of the few MMOs where one character can play multiple jobs it's, I think, an applicable reference. But in FFXI when you changed jobs, the game remembered what you had on and, provided it was still in your inventory, auto equipped everything.

I made a post on the forum awhile ago, and also a blog post about an inventory system that could allow the storage of sets of gear for different classes that could autoequip when changing to specific classes. Granted it wouldn't accomodate the "playing a job to just mess around" example. But I still think it would be a nice feature that would ease class transitions and help alleviate inventory woes.

I think there are aspects of optimal ranks that are nice... I have a tendency to walk around in a cowl no matter what class I am currently playing.

But at the same time having to hit a certain achievement in order to equip something has an allure as well. And yeah part of the achievement is just earning the gear... But it's nice to be able to look forward to being X rank to wear Y item.

[Dubont]

the only problem with optimal vs required is that there isn't enough gear that uses the required system.

[Val_Rhys]

Aside from class uniqueness issues, optimal rank is probably my biggest complaint currently still in game. Everything has been said in this thread already from both sides. But, as an example, take a look at every crafter wearing the exact same gear. I wear the same set on my r48 ARM as I do on my r30 ALC (because the stats are better than rank-appropriate gear). No progression, development, or any goals to speak of.

I hope it's removed or at least DRASTICALLY changed so the thought of wearing gear 20 levels above your rank is not only frowned upon, it's actually absurd because the penalties will be so rough. Right now, it's practically frowned upon if you DO use rank-appropriate gear because you're wasting tons of inventory slots for practically no gain.

[Sav]

the only problem with optimal vs required is that there isn't enough gear that uses the required system.

They intend to add more. Via JP Dev Tracker

[Arlekiel]

Aside from class uniqueness issues, optimal rank is probably my biggest complaint currently still in game. Everything has been said in this thread already from both sides. But, as an example, take a look at every crafter wearing the exact same gear. I wear the same set on my r48 ARM as I do on my r30 ALC (because the stats are better than rank-appropriate gear). No progression, development, or any goals to speak of.

I hope it's removed or at least DRASTICALLY changed so the thought of wearing gear 20 levels above your rank is not only frowned upon, it's actually absurd because the penalties will be so rough. Right now, it's practically frowned upon if you DO use rank-appropriate gear because you're wasting tons of inventory slots for practically no gain.

To be honest, even thought I do not agree with you in terms of "removing the optimal rank system" I do agree in making it more noticeable and increasing the penalty. Also it would be nice to add that information in the UI. Because in the end, this game needs to be more "self explanatory". A good increase in the penalty and some UI changes to actually let us know how much we are loosing by equiping something that we shouldnt be wearing is good enough.

I think one of the core aspects of the game is FREEDOM. Removing the optimal rank , is cut off of that system. I am all for making a gear "worth" enough of ur level and get that feeling of acomplishment.. but at the same time I do not think the removal of the optimal rank system is the answer.