I just don't get it.

[Deuce]

That said, I think it's something we're just going to have to put up with. From its core, itemization in this game is tough to play around with. Every piece of gear, down to the tiniest accessory, comes packed with PRIMARY STAT. This means that lower-level gear can never last beyond its prescribed duration, no matter how interesting its sub-stats are. This, unfortunately, also means that finally getting a piece of gear from difficult content rarely provides any kind of thrill or sense of achievement, like finally getting that E-Body or Pimp Hat could in FFXI - gear that you could be confident would be useful for years to come, both as a trophy AND as usable gear.

I agree, and go further to say that, the focus, weight, and compartmentalized structure of primary stats in the combat system are this game's greatest design flaw. I am serious when I say this. The limited primary stats (DEX, STR, MND, INT, PIE, VIT) in FFXIV: ARR and their significant weight were a mistake. To understand why we need to go back a lot further.

Sometime between 1.23b and 2.0 or possibly earlier, the development team made the decision to axe over 80% of the stats players could directly influence through gear. In A Realm Reborn we lost the ability to directly affect interesting and unique stats such as Attack Power, Critical Attack Power, and Block Rate. Furthermore, we saw a decrease in the number of primary stats from 8 to 6, losing CHR (Charisma) and AGI (Agility) along the way. While it is easy to see that these two stats have little value in the current combat system it is important to note that their removal only exacerbates the problem. Regardless, the developer's decided that "they", not "we" the players would be better off with making our choices for us. Admittedly, the materia system was bloated with a lot of stats, but the removal or consolidation of many of them into bland primary stats such as Dexterity and Strength was an extreme overreaction.

As a result of this simplification we find ourselves in our current situation, a jaded playerbase and dropping subscriber numbers. Players complain about an ever increasing iLvl, gear becoming outdated in 6 months, and old content becoming irrelevant. And no, no amount of mundane relic quests and short sighted design decisions (roulettes) will ever make them relevant again. Due to the problem of having few directions to go in with gear the developer's have little choice but to increase the primary stats on new gear. By the current definitions of the combat system these increases necessitate an increase in iLvl. Along with this increase in iLvl we see an increase in secondary stats, such as Critical Hit Rate, Determination, and so on. Unfortunately, the materia system has fallen behind because of this rapid increase in iLvls since 3.0 and it will continue to do so.

The primary stats weight in the combat system cripple this game severely and by doing so the development team have taken a baseball bat to the knees of player autonomy. There's a saying, "the crows have come home to roost". Well, SE, your decisions with regard to player accountability have finally begun to come full circle. This issue and more so overall philosophy of player's being unable to make intelligent decisions has permeated nearly all aspects of the game. Instead of being able to explore the world that they have created the developers have hemmed us into a small playpen unable to touch all of the interesting objects in the room.

Yoshida I must ask, whatever happened to non-linear dungeons? What happened to providing us with secondary and tertiary goals while in dungeons? No, I do not mean giving us more bosses to kill. Those are just roadblocks in place that are used to impede our progress towards goal one, which is completion. I am referring to having benefits to doing speed runs a la Cuttery's Cry, Aurum Vale, Dzemeal Darkhold in 1.23.

Where are the side rooms with chests and sidebosses that may be too difficult upon first entering, but become surmountable after gearing out? Thereby increasing the longevity of said dungeons as a result. While speed runs do not need to be as extreme as these examples it would be nice to provide player's with additional goals once they have geared up other than not falling behind before the next patch. Side attractions such as the Golden Saucer, PvP, and Lord of Verminion while initially fun they are very much short lived because good goals are too few and in some cases too far. Adding 5000 win achievements does not get players to play your dead content nor increase their incentive to do so without gaming the system a la win trades. Fortunately, PvP appears to be moving in a better direction, but please, do not waste more time with the travesty that is Lord of Verminion, a game that should have been a separate mobile game with a FFXIV tie-in at best.

[RiceisNice]

I agree, and go further to say that, the focus, weight, and compartmentalized structure of primary stats in the combat system are this game's greatest design flaw. I am serious when I say this. The limited primary stats (DEX, STR, MND, INT, PIE, VIT) in FFXIV: ARR and their significant weight were a mistake. To understand why we need to go back a lot further.

The stats bother me in this game as well, in both the 1-diemsnionality of it and somehow the intransparency of it. They're objective increases to your damage, and nothing else. At the same time, you have this convoluted means of finding how much accuracy you need because it's not a tangible percentage value versus the target's evade rate.

Yoshida I must ask, whatever happened to non-linear dungeons? What happened to providing us with secondary and tertiary goals while in dungeons? No, I do not mean giving us more bosses to kill. Those are just roadblocks in place that are used to impede our progress towards goal one, which is completion. I am referring to having benefits to doing speed runs a la Cuttery's Cry, Aurum Vale, Dzemeal Darkhold in 1.23. t.

This is also an issue I have in regards to the dungeon, and its only exasperated with the monotony of having only two in a roulette. It becomes incredibly routine and predictable. As beautiful as the environments are, it's ultimately a hall way and even the map shows it. You'd have to sink pretty damn low to put bonus chests in the middle of the (only) road. because you couldn't be bothered to make it side track or to a dead end.