Rework ilvl?

[Lemuria]

Should probably take a moment to download and try WoW and then come back and explain to us what the problem with ilvl is. When I left WoW ilvl was around 700

I dare say you've answered your own question. If we wanted to play WoW, we'd play WoW. Square-Enix doesn't need to copy everything they do.

Those saying there wasn't much of a stat jump haven't been paying attention in class. A lot of my stats are essentially double that of my level 50 item level 130 set pre-Heavensward. My HP is slightly above that (from 6k to 14k). Granted it may not be quite as dramatic as WoW, but that's still a very significant increase overall in a relatively short time.

My biggest issue with the game isn't the fact that we have ever-increasing item levels, but rather that there's no point to having anything except those high item levels. Anything below is sub-par and rendered obsolete when the next patch arrives. This 'throwaway' gameplay design means no one really wants to do older dungeons and means despite the length of the game, your gameplay is confined to a narrow band.

This issue is compounded when you consider how much easier it is to get this older equipment with each major update. This means the lower item level characters catch up fast, and make the older dungeons and content obsolete that much faster. Anyone who takes off their rose-tinted glasses for more than 2 seconds can see this is a bad state of affairs for any game, and something needs to be done sooner rather than later.

I already know some of my friends who have left the game because they were bored of the same treadmill. Gameplay for an MMO should be more dynamic, not a linear experience, but they've chosen to ignore the lessons learned by FFXI (still going to this day) and focus on the other side of the pond. SE should stick to what they do best and deliver an experience with as much horizontal gameplay as there is vertical. At present, this is looking like the FF13 of MMO's. Flashy and interesting, but exceptionally linear.