Diadem highlights FFXIV's biggest flaw: Lack of Horizontal progression

[Wolf_Gang]

• Alex Normal gives you weapons and armor
• Alex savage gives you weapons and armor
• 24 man gives you armor
• Primals gives you weapons
• Potd gives you weapons
• Relic quests gives you ANOTHER Weap

So we're constantly getting compounding rewards across the different content. Making gear obsolete for one group and content obsolete for the other.

It also diminishes the accomplishments of those who worked hard to obtain certain items.

Many of these problems go away if FFXIV kept the item levels close, but offered a variety of enhancements to existing gear.



Imagine instead of gear, Diadem offered legendary Materia that offered slight skill mods? Or enchantment stones that increased certain attributes for your gear?

[Sprinks]

While I don't disagree with you, it isn't going to happen. They've said before that they don't want there to be a BiS (even though there already is). Stuff like that also becomes situational, and since we can't change gear mid-fight, you have to decide what you're going to wear for the whole dungeon/fight/whathaveyou.

*insert something about how casuals can't get this stuff cuz casual*

Personally, I would love to have unique stats on gear again (I miss you, regen enhancing whm boots), but looks like we're just going to deal with more crit and spell speed....

[Ogulbuk]

Imagine instead of gear, Diadem offered legendary Materia that offered slight skill mods? Or enchantment stones that increased certain attributes for your gear?

So: special [non-market] materia?

While I don't disagree with you, it isn't going to happen. They've said before that they don't want there to be a BiS (even though there already is). Stuff like that also becomes situational, and since we can't change gear mid-fight, you have to decide what you're going to wear for the whole dungeon/fight/whathaveyou.

They may be getting away from this in 4.x, but isn't accuracy for raiding and morale for PvP just that? situational/content specific stats?

[Wolf_Gang]

While I don't disagree with you, it isn't going to happen. They've said before that they don't want there to be a BiS (even though there already is). Stuff like that also becomes situational, and since we can't change gear mid-fight, you have to decide what you're going to wear for the whole dungeon/fight/whathaveyou.

*insert something about how casuals can't get this stuff cuz casual*

Personally, I would love to have unique stats on gear again (I miss you, regen enhancing whm boots), but looks like we're just going to deal with more crit and spell speed....

Don't need unique stats per se. I'm taking about general enhancements that prolongs the use of existing gear. i.e. enchantment stone that makes your Alexandrian Boots of casting +1.

Look at Zurvan Ex for example. Sophia Ex already dropped a weapon. So wouldn't it have been better if Zurvan dropped some sort of enhancement to that weapon rather then simply making it obsolete with another.

[Voltron_HD]

I would like to see this. More so I would like to see a combination of both vertical and horizontal. How likely? very unlikely, but it doesn't hurt to let them know we want this. (which we undoubtedly have)

[Zojha]

Or enchantment stones that increased certain attributes for your gear?

That would still be vertical progression, because stats/performance are increasing. It's the same as when you increase the item level -> Stats/Performance increase. If such a thing as horizontal progression exists, it can only refer to things that give the same overall (though not necessarily situational) performance with different stats - in other words, multiple equally good pieces with the same item level, because item level is meant to indicate just how good an item is.

And in that regard, we are indeed very lacking. Our secondaries aren't balanced and skill speed and piety aside, none of our stats even affect gameplay, only the numbers produced during gameplay. They even messed the most simple choice of hitting more often but weaker or hitting less often but harder up. So even if they 'tried' to remedy that... I'd not have high hopes that they'd be able to get it right.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

Imagine instead of gear, Diadem offered legendary Materia that offered slight skill mods? Or enchantment stones that increased certain attributes for your gear?

Problem is, this will inevitably boil down to which is better. If the skill mod bumps your overall damage more so than the Scripture weapon. People won't farm for tomes and just farm for the skill mod weapon.

[Alistaire]

Honestly the biggest problem with this diadem "revamp" isn't the ilvl rewards, it's the lack of interesting design that went into it.

Seriously, this got delayed, and it turned out to be mostly fate spam?

[CartherineZero]

i totally agree with OP. The game should add more stuff like set bonus and passives on equipment. Lets say i want to be a SMN who enjoys summons. There should be items that removes my ability to use death flare and instead give me 1 more egi totalling 2 or buffing my current egi. This way theres 2 playstyle of SMNS likewise if i really like Deathflare and couldnt careless about egis, i can have an item or a build which sacrifices my EGI for a buffed deathflare, maybe i enjoy doing DOTs as a SMN? let me throw away deathflare and egi for some unique DoT abilities. now we have three unique summoner builds Egi Summoners and Flare summoners and in turn both builds may require totally different stat items. a DoT focused summoner may want to go full skill speed. a deathflare summoner may want to go full crit.

[Wolf_Gang]

That would still be vertical progression, because stats/performance are increasing. It's the same as when you increase the item level -> Stats/Performance increase. If such a thing as horizontal progression exists, it can only refer to things that give the same overall (though not necessarily situational) performance with different stats - in other words, multiple equally good pieces with the same item level, because item level is meant to indicate just how good an item is.

Well in the grand scheme of things all progression is somewhat vertical especially when time is factored in.

I still want there to be a floor and a ceiling but rather than just have one long pillar, I prefer several short ones. That way the gap between the top and bottom is relatively small enough for others to catch but there is enough variance between the hardcore and casual.