Item level compression in Heavensward?

[Zohar_Lahar]

I just hope that the top gear we have now will be useless from level 52/53 +, so we need new gear to level from 50 to 60.

Then what would be the point of getting any further gear until 3.0?

[Asael]

We BADLY need more horizontal gear choices.

This.

I'm not too keen on the compression idea, it's not wholly necessary. All they need to do is slow down and minimize the ilvl increments, and slant the game towards a more horizontal model. In this way gear gains more longevity and stays relevant over the game's life span. We really cannot stay on this vertical gear treadmill forever, and especially at the rate we get new gear. Gear treadmills get really old and really fast. IMO it's stale already.

[Ashrak]

Yeah, i want to be up to date with my 15 year old gear.

[Dervy]

I just want to avoid being ilvl 200 by this time next year. Whatever they can do to alleviate that, like adding in horizontal item progress, would be very nice.

You're telling me you wouldn't want your ilvl to be over 9000?!

In a serious note, you have to understand what type of game this is. It's a Themepark MMO. They may add forms of horizontal progression, but at the end of the day, the games foundations are based upon vertical progression and this is evident as they've confirmed they're adding a token based system for the next set of raids in Heavensward. Token system = gear progression = vertical progression.

They can incorporate elements of Horizontal Progression along side the Vertical Progression, but don't get your hopes up. You'll end up regretting it and cry into your pillow.

[Vaer]

Then what would be the point of getting any further gear until 3.0?

That's part of how vertical progression works, though. There's actually no point no matter when you gear, because it's all just going to be replaced anyway. Just like how darklight, allagan, masterworks, high allagan were all replaced and presumably ironworks and dreadwyrm will be replaced come expansion. I think they expect you to be having fun while collecting said gear.


They will most likely tune the new quests in the expansion areas on the low end of average ilvl to accommodate returning players that maybe got to 50 and stopped playing, as their ilvl will be way lower than someone who has been playing until now and hand out better gear as quest rewards that match or are higher than what we are using currently. This will level the playing field and make tuning and matching players for the leveling dungeons and content in the expansion smoother.

The only question mark that remains is whether they will end the current 2.0 relic quest and start a new one in the expansion or if it will carry over and continue. If it carries over and continues in the expansion you would be way behind if you haven't started it yet. So there's somewhat a point in that but I highly doubt they will make new or returning players go through that entire slog without them adjusting it.

[Squa11_Leonhart]

The whole reason other games like wow did it after several expansions is the numbers get so big it takes cpus longer times to process the damage and healing done.

Nonsense.

CPU's love big numbers.

[Felis]

All what item level do is setting the maximal cap of the stats. The higher the item level, the higher the maximal stats a gear can have. Level requirement and ilevel are independent of each other

It would be no problem to keep the current lv50/ilevel 120 gear, put them into dungeons, sharing the chests with mats and give them the same droprate like the current darklight gear. Then the players can choose between farming those lv 50 dungeons xx times until they have a full ilevel 120 set or just keep on with leveling and get another ilevel 120 set in the last level up dungeon with a higher rate.

[Dhex]

It's a Themepark MMO.

A theme park full of rides you have no reason to go back and ride again. Horizontal gear would keep content relevant - right now the only reason to go back and do the first three Extreme Primal fights is the chance at a pony - the gear is inventory -1 for most people.


Old dungeons are only being used because they dumped the Relic quest into them.

First Coil is for mat farming and maybe glamour.

Second Coil is for tomes and alt classes.

Sycrus is... for something? A minion? Or something.

What's Labyrinth of the Ancients again?

[chrillix]

Old dungeons are only being used because they dumped the Relic quest into them.

First Coil is for mat farming and maybe glamour.

Second Coil is for tomes and alt classes.

Sycrus is... for something? A minion? Or something.

What's Labyrinth of the Ancients again?

Couldn't agree more with this. I've never seen content go obsolete as fast as I've had to witness with ffxiv.

[Osias_Qol]

All they need to do is slow down and minimize the ilvl increments, and slant the game towards a more horizontal model.

In my opinion Horizontal progression will never be able to work in this game the way people from say XI remember it working in that game.

In XI it was all about min maxing specific stats for specific skills or actions and so gear swapping via macros (precast, midcast, endcast, TPing, WSing, so on) was a big deal. It made horizontal progression a big deal.

In this game the stats are so streamlined with no way or need to change gear mid fight. What would they do to add horizontal progression that is meaningful?

They can add some kind of ability enhancements or set bonuses to make you consider raw stats or bonus but that is about all I can see with such a stream lined system.
They can start to bloat the game with new stats like double attack but some how I think they want to avoid that.

We have the BIS raid/tome gear. We have gear with materia slots allowing us to shoot for perfect stat weights. The rest is just to fill in gaps or for looks/fun.

Like WoW the system is just set up to be super vertical. It doesn't matter if you slow the vertical progression because the game is just not set up to make use of horizontal progression.