Please read about Physical Levels and Removing them.

[graiman]

i think they should make changes to the point system too!
lala's can have as much hp as roe's
and vice versa with mp =( makes the races pointless as well as stat bonus items =/

EDIT: i thought i should add, im no game maker and im sure the dev's are doin there best to fix various bugs and what not in game =)

[OmegaNovaios]

There has been discussion amoungst some peers who play FFXIV with me about the potential loss of Physical levels. Some even think it should warrent a new poll regarding this issue alone taking into account the simple fix method this article proposes.

The Devs have outlined that physical levels points alotment as it stands will be changed to a integrated preset on a class by class basis. Potentially making it not possible to be as diverse as it currently can be as it works now pre patch.

We would like to keep the flexability.

Propose these changes then offer the choice of which method should be used and a different answer may be seen.

It is felt that simple changes to the current system might be best and a serious look at the question of weather it should be changed at all. Please take a look at this simple list of changes that might negate the need to substantually change the fundamentals of the game engine.

List of proposed changes:

• When you reasign points it should reassign all points instead of a anoyingly small amount.
• add some ui elements to alot points faster then currently possibly maybe a dropdown or number ticker like the ones used in the sell ui elements for bazaar pricing. including a option to used preset class recomended spec choices
• save assigned points and reload automatically on class change when you apply new weapons. for example you might need to alot points to DEX as a weaver but maybe you are a conjurer or thaumaturge and dont have DEX with current system it would take days to reallot to be optimal to make 1 item.
• save the actions assignments to make changing classes not need such a involved manual overhaul after every simple job/class change.

This simple list of changes to the current system would let us be as flexable as we need to be on the go.

What do you think?

Quote from Letter from the Producer, V
"The bonus point allotment system was intended to be a means by which players could customize their character's individuality. The free distribution of attribute points has given rise to certain problems, however, such as compatibility issues with the Armoury system, and the lowered effectiveness of the attributes themselves. In particular, this lowered effectiveness of attributes also extends its influence to items, and is therefore something that we feel must be rectified. To do so, we are currently looking into the following two options:

1. Removal of the bonus point system, and the addition of automatic allotment of attribute points based on class.
2. Removal of physical levels, and the addition of class-specific allotment of attribute points for each class based on rank."

Now with option 1 the stat/gear system would be setup up exactly like FFXI. This means that the amount of points allowed to use is different for each class based based on the rank of the class and most likely equivalent to that if compared to physical levels. Now with this setup attribute stats will be allowed to increase to their highest potential since SE has direct control of class stats. With this setup you customize your character with gear rather than with allocated points. This will also add to class uniqueness since no class will have the exact same stats and thus will make actions more effective on certain classes.

Now with option 2 this thread's OP (which I also quoted) gives a prime example of how things will turn out. This option also increases the potential of attribute stats but not as high as option 1. This will put much more emphasis on customization through allocated stats while allowing maybe up to 10-20% of customization for gear (attributes only).

Personally this is a very hard decision for me to choose which is ultimately best because they are both very good solutions and I would be happy either way.

As from a min-maxer perspective you could spend just as long deciding on allocated stats as gear choices so I don't think that is a valid argument.

As for the proposal of this OP it wouldn't matter if all or a small amount of points are given back when you reassign because you can do this for each class and not have every class affected from 1 set of allocated points (same for bullet #3). Some type of UI element to speed up the process is a very good idea. A number ticker as well as + and - symbol for adding/removing stat points would be great. Also, IMO it would be better if SE made it so that when clicking on the + or - symbol that it adds/subtracts the required amount of points to increase/decrease the next attribute point rather than having to add multiple points so you don't lose track, especially if you don't have quite enough points to increase any stat and forget you have points spent the next time you level (rank up when this changes).

Now after knowing the exact details of both options please choose carefully which option you prefer and also know that 56.0% voted for option 2, 28.4% voted for option 1, and 15.6% voted to keep the current system (for those who voted on the official FFXIV Poll 2). So expect to see option 2 implemented into FFXIV unless you voice your opinion here.

As for class/job actions not staying the same and being similar to the way to the way attribute points will be in effect in option 2 has nothing to do with option 1 nor 2, nor even physical levels. However, this would be very convenient and I support this idea fully since I don't use 80% of the actions from Class A on Class B.

[Keith_Dragoon]

Hate to tell you, but all the advance classes except Ranger, Ninja, and Samurai were Hybrids. PLD is a WAR/WHM, DRK is a WAR/BLM, RDM is a WAR/WHM/BLM, so on and so forth. They may have all had their own special abilities no single class had, like PLD had Flash, RDM had Elemental sword attacks, Etc. That does not mean they were not hybrids. They just took knowledge from both worlds and combined them to form new special skills.

WHM has flash :P