Quote Originally Posted by FizzleofHyperion View Post
@Belhi: Ofcourse its not new the only problem is compared to how FFXI relic was and how certain dynamis gear was they where still something you could use endgame and where not outdated due to some treadmill progression. Its different when you look forward to doing something and be hyped for it than doing something that feels like a burden or chore that you already know that it will get nerfed around the corner. FFXI didn't nerf stuff in years here we nerf stuff every 3 weeks when the casual joes complain over the stuff they will most likely not do more than once anyways. I think whats really worse is how comfortable alot of FFXI players have gotten in this envoirment. I understand that some of us are older and don't have time anymore but we are still playing an MMORPG its meant to be time consuming.
How exactly do you work a horizontal progression type like weapon into a vertical based game? Switching from a vertical to horizontal doesn't happen at the snap of the fingers. What you ask for is not realistic unless they decide to completely revamp the structure. They offer content on a 3-4 month basis due to the game working in vertical progression. In a horizontal, you have to plan out content that it lasts for a lot longer. We are in a community where people get sick of content very quickly and horizontal would make that even worse. People at this point expect new content to take on and new goals to work on every 3-4 months. Trying to make horizontal work in this fashion is absolutely terrifying and also a ton more work to balance each patch.

Ideas like that don't work on a mass scale. As popular as FFXI was in it's prime, it was still based around a niche audience. The end game scene was not as big as some led to believe. A ton of players who tried the game didn't even reach 75. You can't expect people who don't have a lot of time to adjust to this system. As unbalanced as this game is with casual content which I have been griping about in this thread, it does need to exist to keep the up flow going. Making the game too casual or too hardcore is not good for the game. We need balanced content that works in favor of casual players, midcore, and hardcore. FFXI in it's prime was truly only for hardcore willing to put in 4+ hours minimum in doing end game content. I know I was there from the start till Abyssea came out.

It isn't to say some FFXI style content can't work, but it has to work in the context of FFXIV's already established system. So far SE's attempts to work them in haven't been in their favor. Hunts are either chaotic or no one touches them and Diadem is a horrible mess right now.

I won't argue that the vertical progression system has it's flaws, but it works in the context of the game's system. Instead of trying to go full on horizontal, I would try to find ways to working more options to gear yourself up to feel like there is variety.