New(?) idea: Junction of the Twelve

[Balipu]

Hello everyone. While I was taking a shower this morning I've had an idea and I like it so much that I figured I would share it with you all.

Now as far as I know this is a new idea but I'm sure some of you will correct me.

It might be difficult to remember but before Viera, Dancers, people who glamour too much and RMT there were pretty frequent calls for a new progression system. This is what I want to tackle now.

Now the biggest problem with a talent system, according to Yoshi-P is that people would just end up picking the best option and the illusion of choice would go away.

Here is how I plan to circumvent this issue.

Once you get at least one job or class to the level cap you unlock the junction system. What are we going to junction? Primals? Nah, primals are for summoners. We are going to junction one of the twelve. Now instead of wasting XP you instead earn points that can used to level up your patron god and earn stuff like passive bonuses, cosmetic changes or even completely new abilities that may or may not replace basic ones. It is also shared between your classes. So you might not be earn more points with a class that is only level 10 or so, but you can enjoy the benefits. It is sort of like the legacy system in SWTOR. Although Diablo III's paragon system might be a better analogy.

So about picking the best: Like in the FFVIII Junction system you would be able to switch whoever you have junctioned. And each of the gods would be the best for something. Like one would maybe boost XP gain and have other perks good for leveling. One would be good for currency gain. Another might be the best at PVP healing or pve tanking.
And it would be up to you to decide in what order do you want to level them.

Of course ideally there would be lore heavy questlines to unlock each god on the grid.

This would also get players something more permanent to work for, unlike tomestones that quickly become obsolete.

As an added bonus this could even help class balance. For example let us suppose that Paladins are getting left out of PVE content because they are not as good as Warrior and DK. Next patch adds a new tier to the talent trees and the pve tanking god gets perks that increase blocking other traits that benefit Paladin more than the other tanks.


An optional but pretty nice addition would be to add vendors that increase their selection of offerable wares when you reach certain milestones with a given god, much the same way reputation vendors work.

These shops could sell, among other things, gear belonging to their favored roles made available for any class for glamour purposes.

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...ement-currency

Draco here has been working hard to come up with something to use the now pretty useless achievement currency. Either this shop or the whole junction system could also be a way to eat up achievement points. While achievements can't be grinded indefinitely as there is only a finite number of them available, they also increase with every content patch.

[RubyCirha]

I wouldn't mind a system like this infact id even welcome it

[Bongaboi]

Yoshi-P (a.k.a. Dad), get a load of this. #FundIt

[Kazrah]

I have a better analogy: like Grand Companies without everything that makes them annoying or combat-oriented. It would also help to have some sort of tie-in with the deity you pick upon character creation.

Only thing I'd recommend though is not having anything combat-related. As nice as it might seem to add something for extra job balance, that's just one more thing that devs have to worry about and often results in minor job adjustments take longer than necessary. Otherwise, not a bad idea.

[RubyCirha]

I think a cool way to change your junction would be like in skyrim i mean we already have stone shrines doting the land scape so why not use them also i think this would make a good opportunity to fix the sign system where you choose your sign at the beginning of the game to give better bonuses not just the elemental resistances we get now that are useless leftovers of 1.0

[Balipu]

I have a better analogy: like Grand Companies without everything that makes them annoying or combat-oriented. It would also help to have some sort of tie-in with the deity you pick upon character creation.

Only thing I'd recommend though is not having anything combat-related. As nice as it might seem to add something for extra job balance, that's just one more thing that devs have to worry about and often results in minor job adjustments take longer than necessary. Otherwise, not a bad idea.

Holy crap. That IS a great idea. It could be the deity you start with when you unlock the system. The one you don't have to go after. Well I would be fine with keeping it all off combat and only providing cosmetic changes to abilties if at all, but I'd want a system that is interesting to as much of the playerbase as possible. But I totally understand your concerns.

I think a cool way to change your junction would be like in skyrim i mean we already have stone shrines doting the land scape so why not use them also i think this would make a good opportunity to fix the sign system where you choose your sign at the beginning of the game to give better bonuses not just the elemental resistances we get now that are useless leftovers of 1.0

I think more people would complain if you could not junction whenever. Obviously not inside duties and in combat but you get the idea. It would be better for the unlock questline to lead you to those stones. Or perhaps even the spending of the points. But no, junction change has to be doable in the field or people would riot.

[Enkidoh]

The main problem I can see with such a system is inevitably players would still find the one that gave the 'best results' or give the best benefit for the least effort and then everyone would simply go for that. It's why such systems of 'choice' usually do not work very well in MMORPGs because 'choice' is misleading if not illusory.

Also it is increasingly clear in the game's very story that the Twelve... do not really exist (at least not in any way that directly interacts with the mortal world). It's Hydaelyn Herself (as in the Mothercrystal) that is the very real deity that is directly influencing the player's character's life and story (after all, She is the one that gave the player the Echo, and by extension, the Blessing of Light which is what empowers them as the Warrior of Light - gameplay wise manifesting in the 'Power of the Echo' to 'transcend your mortal limits' by offering stat boosts in battle).

So I think the Twelve will continue to fade into obscurity as Hydaelyn takes over as the main deity in Eorzea (and thus is also used in gameplay). Your idea about using the Twelve has merit, but the whole use of 'junctioning' members of the Twelve... does not really fit FFXIV's setting (the Garleans after all regard the Twelve as 'false gods' after all).

Having said that, it appears at least one point in 1.0 that the game's story was leading up to a possibility of maybe being able to equip a Primal in such a way like the Totemas from FF Tactics Advance - Ifrit basically told the player's character outright that as "one of the godless Blessed" (as in, an Echo user), they can summon their own Primal and forced them to swear that they will never do that - the player's Path Companion ponders that possibility only to then dismiss it as a "taboo best left unbroken."

As this line was completely scrapped from ARR it's pretty clear SE have long since abandoned such an idea alas, so I do not see SE using such a system given how SMN was executed with summoning Egis, and my earlier comment about human laziness just taking over and people simply chosing what gives them the best benefits for the least effort.

[Balipu]

The main problem I can see with such a system is inevitably players would still find the one that gave the 'best results' or give the best benefit for the least effort and then everyone would simply go for that. It's why such systems of 'choice' usually do not work very well in MMORPGs because 'choice' is misleading if not illusory.

That's the whole point. One deity would be best for tanks in savage raids for example but another would be the best for healers in PVP and another would be good for grinding. The choice is about in what order you level up these deities. Or even do you level them all? You only need the ones used for the content and role you use.

[Zsolen]

Maybe we can get banners depicting their symbols for housing, but that could be tied to reputation merchants.

Edit: Also more City-State glams

[Belhi]

I see two potential issues with a system which in any way effects combat performance, and it in both cases revolves around the fact that any combat specific buffs would come by the community to be seen as 'required'.

Firstly, it makes the time required for someone with more than one role take substantially longer to get 'up to standard'. I just need to point to WoWs artefact system for this. People burned themselves out early on in Legion grinding artefact power to max out their weapons so they had the maximum potential power out of them.

Secondly, it makes it take even longer for a new player to get to the point where they can start experiencing end game with other players as once they actually get to max level they will then not only have the gear grind but another progression grind before they are 'ready' for end game content.

A further issue with this is as time passes the progression system would need to be expanded to stay relevant potentially making the time it take for newer players or players who are changing roles to 'catch up' even longer.