Item level compression in Heavensward?

[Zohar_Lahar]

I have been wondering, are they going to compress the level 50 gear item levels with the new level cap? Like...everything above i55 and below i120 to scale back inflation. This would have the side benefit of making "obsolete" gear like Darklight or Allagan useful again while leveling the new jobs from 50 to 60.

[Terrini]

I would like to see this... Sure it may be considered by some a step backwards, but considering that we only have increments of every five levels after level fifty, what's the point other than a superficial sense of advancement? I don't care if the big number changes, as long as the gear is useful and the dungeons pre expansion are made easier to access.

[Zumi]

This isn't needed until you like have 5-6 expansions.

[Teslo]

This isn't needed until you like have 5-6 expansions.

It isn't needed at all if you plan ahead for it. Hopefully SE has a plan in mind to keep this from being required, like they just had to go through in WoW.

The problem with item compression is that, while it works the first time, eventually you'll need to do it again (Sooner and sooner, each time). After 2 or more, the low levels start bleeding together and it gets to the point where iL55 gear is 1 or 2 stat points less than iL90. Then the next time iL55 is 1 or 2 stat points less than iL120, etc... This isn't NECESSARILY a huge problem, since all that gear is essentially worthless at that point anyway, but from a logistics standpoint it seems awfully foolish to me. My 2gil.

[Zumi]

It isn't needed at all if you plan ahead for it. Hopefully SE has a plan in mind to keep this from being required, like they just had to go through in WoW.

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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. But its not until you are doing like 1 million dps that you actually need to do it. Because in a expansion people want to see bigger numbers, not to be set back down to a lower ilvl just to get back to where they previously where.

[Teslo]

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. But its not until you are doing like 1 million dps that you actually need to do it. Because in a expansion people want to see bigger numbers, not to be set back down to a lower ilvl just to get back to where they previously where.

Nono, I get that. I wasn't arguing. lol Really mostly hoping that the devs are planning ahead on this issue. It got way out of hand in WoW, and the problem will only compound over time with each consecutive IL crunch.

[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.

[Dotsusama]

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.

[Waliel]

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.

Seeing this, I remembered once asking what exactly is horizontal progress in similiar thread, but forgot about it. So I went through my history and saw I actually got an answer to it and I'll just adress it here. This is what I asked and got:

Sooo one set that you never replace? Random pieces that are good for only spesific fights? There's something about horizontal progression that I just can't wrap my head around. How does it even work?

These threads make me think that maybe Squenix should've just kept the ilvl hidden and a lot more people would be happier, I think.

It seems that FFXIV is your first mmo then, all fine friend I'm going to explain it a bit deeper then . There is an incredible amount of possibilities to make the gears armory working into an horizontal progression design like :

- adding partial and full set bonus on "named-gears" with skills/stats/jobs stats/etc,
- being able to improve your best equipements with specific enhancements (in this case it could be materia but why not something else too !),
- re-using your previous piece of gear into a specific craft as a base material to make it stronger or more specific (stats wise) into something you are aiming for,
- storyline achievement gears that are just "too good" to replace, like a ring or an earring (is Rajas Ring ring like a bell for everyone? xD),
- legendary weapons questline, no, I'm not talking about our current relic weapons , they actually missed the opportunity by making them a "catch-up weapon" before getting the last "top tier endgame weapon", it's lame, very bad design to me x.x, last coil shouldn't drop them directly, it could be mandatory to "beat the hardest boss" to improve them but nothing related to the system we have now.
- mixing endgame crafting material drops with non-tradable items in order to craft powerful equipements,
- funny armory with weird, bizzare, odd, untypical stats like enhancing your chocobo exp gain rate or your "skills" while watering your personal garden plants xD

To be honest, this is just a couple of exemples of what we could get, there is no limits to a game designer / developer creativity.
That's why the current gear treadmill is looking a bit pathetic to say the least :x, new major update : player n°9255478 will replace his full armory ilevel 110 for ilevel 130, the differences? more base stats number and that's it, see you in 3-4 months to do it again.

My first MMO was actually Earth & Beyond. I do say, however, that I never played XI.

From what I gather from that list, horizontal progression is either over powered gear or exactly the same as vertical, but crafted items instead. Is the point that most upgrades should come by somehow using old gear as base, applying some magic on it, and getting a shiny new piece of gear? How is that not vertical and making old gear obsolete when you finally get your new piece? I don't see how set bonuses or enchants have anything to do with either, as you can just apply them to both, and upgreadable Legendary weapon just screams vertical to me. Or am I just thinking too literally about the words?

Anyway, I wouldn't mind seeing crafting materials dropping from raids, though, and I don't have a problem random gear that helps with Chocobo xp and the like.

Help a cat out here, will you?

[kyuven]

Horizontal progression

From what I understand, or at least what I gleaned over my own time playing other MMOs, horizontal progression is NOT what the guy who answered your question. That's just vertical progression via different means.
Actual horizontal progression is when you're given more items with different stat allocations, such as one item having more DET but less DEX, or more defense but less VIT, and the like.
But it doesn't matter, because the BIS mentality will always exist. SE's devs realized this and simplified it. There will always be a "golden path," so wasting time making 20 different items for every class, 19 of which no one will ever, ever use, is a waste of resources.
Thus, vertical progression. Vertical progression is when one item you get in one area that is more difficult than the previous is fundamentally and unequivocally better than one from the area before it. The best example for "horizontal" i can think of is comparing the Nexus weapon to the High Allagan weapons, or the Augmented Ironworks gear with the Dreadwyrm gear.
Having played a game where the weapons actually DO require beating the hardest raids (sometimes multiple times), I will say that it's not something I particularly care for anymore. I've seen some pretty heated arguments over those things.