Yoshi-P on Character Growth

[ADVSS]

Alternatively, take character growth off the character and slap it on the gear... I guess I just really hate the glamour system, but I want to use gear I like... Let me "level up" my gear, so I can take Balmung and slowly raise it to a current item level, rather than taking Guillotine of the Tyrant and slapping Balmungs skin on it... That gives me some long term goal to work on, that I want to work on because I loath glamours, without impacting new/returning players...

I would love for the absolute maximum i level to be available to upgrade gear(from the start), but that it takes a while to achieve, while keeping the tome formula for people who dont want to upgrade their balmung to 260, something like this. Sure grindaholics might be 265 before nidhogg comes out, but who cares? Then the timing of releasing increased tome gear will have the same impact as it does now, but there would be other methods of achieving tha growth and more. Tie it into spiritbond, or even invisible stats i mean besides being able to convert something to materia (and not sure if durabilty/wear is lessened at 100% just heard from a long time ago) could be a way to go "ok buddy weapons ready to power up again"

[Bourne_Endeavor]

I was really hoping for some, atleast some small kind of different progression and customization. Well, I am disappointed.

But the question remains, what would that accomplish? I constantly hear how horizontal progression will revolutionize the game, but rarely hear an in-depth rationale on how this will be achieved. Blade & Soul attempted this with its skill tree system, yet everyone inevitably started copying Jaesung because he's the best PvP player. Even WoW is starting to see the same similarity creep in because once people determine optimization, all guides and advice on the subject revolve around it with only small variation. The whole STR vs VIT debate here eventually saw STR cannibalize VIT for that very same reason. Per Yoshi's example, say elemental materia became worthwhile. Would swapping between fire and lightning based on what boss you're fighting really be a riveting experience?

Pretty much what we have now with ilvl.

Not really. ilvl is far more easily obtainable. Friends of mine quit roughly a year ago at ilvl 170 or so. It would take them little more than a month to be caught up if they came back tomorrow. What many here suggest is gear progression that necessitates immense time sinks because it constantly evolves. FFXI is often cited, and some of its BiS required over a year of investment.

People are already bored, they have been complaining about this for ages.

And this will never change. Don't mistake me, FFXIV is far from perfect. However, gamers today consume content far exceeding what can be reasonably developed. Adding horizontal progression is not going to change this no matter how it's implemented.

Ehh guess subs have dropped alot then.

Uh, you do realize if they ever reached 500 apartments per ward; per server, this would amount over two million, yes? ;p

[TheJarvisMan]

Yoshi P's choice to play it safe in terms of content for this game is what makes it a consistently pretty good MMORPG. It also is what keeps it from becoming the best and most innovative game in the genre.

[HungryHippo]

Yoshi P's choice to play it safe in terms of content for this game is what makes it a consistently pretty good MMORPG. It also is what keeps it from becoming the best and most innovative game in the genre.

I just came back to the game, after I quit right before 2.1 patch (leviathan). I qued up mid day as WAR for leviathan. In total I had 1 hour and half ish wait, some guys didnt click then I had to wait even more. There is seriously something wrong when a player who comes back and kinda expect the game doesn't allow people like me to get things done way slower than it should be. I thought MMO was supose to keep the players in the game not run away every 2 months or 1? I'm only saying this from my perspective and the players? Rarely see people, even in Limsa, where it usually have a big crowd. I was told peopel leave every 1-2 month after HW came out and before I came back to the game I read there is a lot of active players? Aren't data centers connected to the server, so the one I'm in are connected to at least 3-4 more servers?

[SendohJin]

Rarely see people, even in Limsa, where it usually have a big crowd. I was told peopel leave every 1-2 month after HW came out and before I came back to the game I read there is a lot of active players?

Most people are in the expansion hubs of Ishgard and Idyllshire.

You just came back at a very strange time right before a major patch. Normally, Leviathan shouldn't take that long with Trial Roulette. But since this is literally the very trail end of the content patch, not as many people are bothering with tomes these days.

[StrejdaTom]

Snip

You came back before next patch, which is the worst time to come back.
From what I see (Linkshells, FCs, Party Finder, Queue times) half of the people just took a break before 3.4.
That's how FFXIV works, some patches last for 1 month, some for 2, for the rest of the time you either PvP, hunt glamours, craft or play other games.

[HungryHippo]

You came back before next patch, which is the worst time to come back.
From what I see (Linkshells, FCs, Party Finder, Queue times) half of the people just took a break before 3.4.
That's how FFXIV works, some patches last for 1 month, some for 2, for the rest of the time you either PvP, hunt glamours, craft or play other games.

I wont lie, back when I played back then, I could see from long miles how the patch cycle would work. Now, I'm not complaining we get 3 months cycle, but it's the fact it's the same structure.

To everyone else who replied, I get that people can be in the 1 year old zones, but then again linkshells/fc is barely alive. Is this really a thing? So it was actually a bad thing to come back?

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

I wont lie, back when I played back then, I could see from long miles how the patch cycle would work. Now, I'm not complaining we get 3 months cycle, but it's the fact it's the same structure.

To everyone else who replied, I get that people can be in the 1 year old zones, but then again linkshells/fc is barely alive. Is this really a thing? So it was actually a bad thing to come back?

Is it the same ls/fc? cuz those people may have moved on. look for new ones.

[Kallera]

I wont lie, back when I played back then, I could see from long miles how the patch cycle would work. Now, I'm not complaining we get 3 months cycle, but it's the fact it's the same structure.

To everyone else who replied, I get that people can be in the 1 year old zones, but then again linkshells/fc is barely alive. Is this really a thing? So it was actually a bad thing to come back?

Yeah, it was a mistake to come back, according to Yoshi P's own words. The game isn't going to change out of its grind for tomestones, so the thing that turned you off the last time is going to turn you off this time. That intentionally repetitive feeling is waiting for you to come back once you catch up.

This kind of raises questions of why to get on the gear treadmill in the first place.