Required Rank vs Optimal Rank

[Ark_mage2]

Well I am for having required rank, or at least for the penalties of optimum rank being prohibitive of using it in combat when you are a less than optimal rank. It is not a question of not wanting to see lower rank people in high rank gear. For me it is a matter of having a goal to strive for in the low and mid levels. While I have not ranked any classes to 50 yet, doing the ranking I have it is a very weird feeling going into the market ward to see armor that I could get that is 10-20 levels above my current rank. With the surplus of gil, I can go and buy a bunch of high rank gear and wear it around. For me that takes away from the experience of ranking up. I don't want to rank up just to have better stats or spells, but I want to be able to earn the ability and the right to wear better gear as well. I think having rank required gear is a big part of the feel of game progression.

[Reika]

I always thought since the beginning optimal rank equipment should have had a much steeper penalty for equipping it on a class below the optimal rank. But it is probably easier for them to add the rank required equipment instead. I suspect all the equipment we will see added from here on out will have required ranks.

If they did this from the beginning however, there would have been no end to the inventory issues. Now that inventories are starting to get more space due to some of the changes, it might not be much of an issue. It will be even less of an issue for those that already have everything ranked up.