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

[Tsuga]

Totally agree. I don't fault SE throwing it in as a quick fix. But if we're in this for the long haul, through major changes that fundamentally alter gameplay, I think we can do better.

I don't disagree with you that there are probably more unique, or interesting solutions. However this game has all ready tried to innovate in so many areas, and failed. What this game needs is to shake of the reputation that it is full of systems that are flawed, and thus make it a broken game. According to the producer, this system was flawed to the point that it would have been too difficult to try to integrate into the future plans for content in this game. According to a majority of the player base it was flawed, as shown when we voted yes to revamping the system. I think that this game needed to return to MMO and RPG roots in some areas for reasons of balance, and accessibility, and this is one of those instances.

Yoshida is quoted as saying that he is not aiming to "reinvent the wheel". He's here to fix this game, and make it marketable. Sometimes that means sacrificing what may have turned into a better idea with more time and manpower.

The balance thing.. again, fine as a quick fix for balance, but just gimp it for inappropriate classes/levels. There's no need to balance the game for people who are equipping things for purely aesthetic reasons.

Sure, that may work. But that would also require more time, and more variables for the devs to deal with. It is clear that it was more of a hassle to deal with than it was worth, and so Yoshida posed the question to us "do you guys even like this system?". Most of us said no.

How about "Now that I am the appropriate class/level, this gear will finally benefit me!"? I mean, are you equipping for stats or looks? Given your apparent contempt for people who want to equip things for aesthetic reasons, isn't the fact that you're getting good stats from it more important? And if so, what's the difference between my example and yours?

I have no problem with anyone equipping gear for looks. I've never said I have a problem with that. What I have a problem with is over-complicating what should be one of the most easy to pick up, streamlined, and balanced systems in the game so that a small group people can play dress up.

Also, having gear at a restricted level fosters milestones in the same way that learning skills at a certain level fosters milestones. Or being able to quest for jobs at a certain level functions as a milestone. Or being able to participate in a certain quest at a certain level functions as a milestone.

It is a carrot to dangle in front of players, and that is a good thing for an MMO because it encourages people to play, and it gives you a reason to continue leveling.

You could very well be right about that, but people becoming complacent with something doesn't make it the best system. And if we still have some combination of required and favored gear (as is my understanding), I think which gear follows which system will seem arbitrary and still be frustrating.

I'm not saying the system is perfect, but I am saying that it is less complicated than favored gear, and so it is more user friendly. I'm saying that it is a system that is easier to balance for future content. I'm saying that it is a step in the right direction to repairing this game, and attracting new players to it.