Required Class/Rank failed - Can we have Optimal Rank and Favoured Class back?

[Petdo]

NO!

/10char

[ellohwell]

Finally, someone attempted to explain themselves. Now I can show you why you're wrong.

Well with the old system, if you were 3 levels below optimal you woul basicly get no stats, so it was effectively a required system already if you actually wanted to use the gear, but then you go on to say the dated gear is useless when the optimal things were useless unless you were the optimal level.

Whatever you're trying to say here is anyone's guess, but if what you're saying is that the optimal system has a proven track record for not working, despite having harsh penalties for wearing gear outside levels, then this is a premature conclusion because the optimal system was never really improved to the point where anyone could say it failed.

One of the biggest issues with the optimal system was that it never gave players clear information as to what the penalties were when wearing gear outside of the optimal level range. Now that the information is clearly shown on gear, players would, given the chance, gravitate toward the gear which was visibly best for them.

It is entirely speculative to assume that the optimal system would not work, because it was never given that chance.

You then say that it is good for the economy when the main complaint of crafters was that they could not make money off low level gear, because everyone was using high level gear because they didnt know how the system worked. Also the low level players could not buy low level gear because crafters weren't making it because there was no money in it.

Notice how you say there was both 1) a vacuum in the market for low level gear and also 2) low level crafters were not making low level gear.

You would think that if this situation was true, then low level crafters would be making the gear to fill the vacuum? The truth, however, is that there were few crafters that bother to make gear (there still are), and that's primarily because they are just ranking up (not bothering to earn money in the process) and also because historically the complicated crafting system created a financial and logistical barrier to creating low level gear for new crafters. There was just no profit margin there under the old crafting system.

Considering that the crafting system has been simplified for low level crafters, there is ample opporunity for them to make gear. Obviously by my example of not being able to by a sword under R18, it's clear that the restrictive rank system hasn't solved this issue anyway. There's obviously another factor at play (and that is the low population). It doesn't take a genius to figure that out.

The only good thing about the system is the astetics and roleplaying aspect when you could equip anything, you say you want it so you can use it on any class at any level but its pretty much useless on anything but the optimal class and rank, so just use the damn dated gear, its just as much use as old gear on a class 5 levels lower than optimal.

Imagine that dated gear didn't exist (which is SE's intention), then what is your suggestion? I do use dated gear for now, but what about the future? And what about for my R50 classes where dated gear isn't an option due to their inferiority?

you don't have any answers for that because the restrictive rank system doesn't provide answers for that.

[Jinko]

I think it will be much easier when they add mannequins, sadly we have to wait for this, learn to deal with it.

Personally I like the new restrictions, it makes wearing gear actually worth looking forward to.

[Molly_Millions]

just get all your classes to 50, then don't worry about it any more. :P

[Alerith]

Can't quite tell if this topic is serious...

Most MMO games I've ever played that have levels have always had level requirements for the gear. This is nothing new, and honestly most of the playerbase see's it s a normal thing.

The Optimal system was functional, but it wasn't ideal. When you had a level 25 GLA running around in level 50 armor, then getting their face pounded in from a lack of defense, the problem was evident.

Since the patch, I have noticed a sizable increase in player survival and performance, all due to players now actually using gear for their level.

Also, I think crafters are doing a bit better now because people are actually buying more variety in gear because of this.

[Azurus]

Ya im glad gear is finally meaningful to your level. Leave this system alone for the most part. Only time i get annoyed is when i buy a piece of gear to look good in and i find it is required not optimal lol. but thats my own fault.

[akisato]

It's just a test calm down.

[Tsuga]

I've been using macros to change classes pretty much since launch, so I don't have the OP's issue of getting naked every time I switch classes. Lern2macro. They're eventually going to have gear be auto equipped when you do switch classes, so you won't even have to macro in the near future.

The "favor system" doesn't work as well as designated gear because a) it's more confusing to newbies/less streamlined or easy to explain and b) it's harder to balance for the devs. Pretty much any gear that is worth a damn is going to be class locked, because it's easier for the dev team to balance how future gear will scale.

I don't know about you, but I'm tired of looking at the wards, seeing five things that "favor" my class, and wondering what the hell I SHOULD be wearing. This applies more to DoH and DoL for me, but I have this problem with belts, shoes, and pants on my DoW and DoM classes. The "favor" system was confusing, and pointless to anybody who wants to wear gear that works for their class.

tl;dr: It's more streamlined for the devs, and easier on the users to have class/level specific gear.

Also, the OP claims that this current system doesn't work, yet I've never heard anybody complain about it aside from a handful of people on the forums, and a few RPers here and there.

[AdvancedWind]

Most MMO games I've ever played that have levels have always had level requirements for the gear. This is nothing new, and honestly most of the playerbase see's it s a normal thing.

Gods forfend FFXIV dare have a somewhat unique feature that, if well implemented, works well and makes sense within the context of a game that encourages players leveling multiple classes and changing between them. I know we're all sorta traumatized with the whole "trying to be different" issue from the original FFXIV, but throw me a bone here.

The Optimal system was functional, but it wasn't ideal. When you had a level 25 GLA running around in level 50 armor, then getting their face pounded in from a lack of defense, the problem was evident.

Since the patch, I have noticed a sizable increase in player survival and performance, all due to players now actually using gear for their level.

An "evident" problem with the player, IF the UI easily displayed the penalties. Again, not a problem of the system itself, same way a level 50 player wearing a level 25 required armor isn't a "problem of requiring levels for gear"; Clearly show the penalties, and any player with more than 2 brain cells won't do that, unless he simply doesn't care about the stats.

Also, I think crafters are doing a bit better now because people are actually buying more variety in gear because of this.

That's something I cannot deny nor confirm, seeing as I'm not a crafter myself.

The "favor system" doesn't work as well as designated gear because a) it's more confusing to newbies/less streamlined or easy to explain and b) it's harder to balance for the devs. Pretty much any gear that is worth a damn is going to be class locked, because it's easier for the dev team to balance how future gear will scale.

a) How hard can it be to grasp this simple concept: "Wear something below your optmal level, get weaker stats"? Put a simple tutorial about this, and as long as newcomers don't mash X when it pops up, they can understand .

b) I agree that more important gear should be class locked, but with the recipe revamp, pretty much EVERY gear is class required or downright useless. Is it really so hard to make a few general purpose pieces to be used when leveling multiple clases? We're (or, at least, myself) not talking about end game gear.

I don't know about you, but I'm tired of looking at the wards, seeing five things that "favor" my class, and wondering what the hell I SHOULD be wearing. This applies more to DoH and DoL for me, but I have this problem with belts, shoes, and pants on my DoW and DoM classes. The "favor" system was confusing, and pointless to anybody who wants to wear gear that works for their class.

Grab the gear that gives better stats for your class / role...or is it too hard to see that between the belt with +5STR and the one with +5INT, the INT one is better for your mage? Does anyone really need to see a "Requires: Discipline of Magic" to know that?

[Tsuga]

snip.

Why should we need tutorials to know how gear works? It should be self explanatory. The problem with the old system is that it was in no way self explanatory, just like the wards are in no way self explanatory, just like leves are in no way self explanatory. If you need tutorials for the most BASIC of features in the game, then those features are broken, and not streamlined. I should not need to micromanage every little stat on every single piece of gear and between a handful of pieces that are "recommended" to me to know what is good for the class that I am currently playing. The old system was too cluttered, and too misleading. It was not user friendly and so it is getting abolished.

Honestly, I spent an hour last night explaining systems to a newbie that should be self explanatory as functions of an RPG. When you try to reinvent the wheel, it usually doesn't work. It's not innovation, it's clutter, and I'm glad they're getting rid of it.

If you want to wear whatever for aesthetics, then I'm all for an aesthetic gear tab (ala, where you can equip anything to simply change your look, but not stats). But wearing the same gear across levels and disciplines is pointlessly complicating what is currently a streamlined system.