Level Syncing isn't the best solution

[Nabril]

The current system isn't perfect, but it's in my opinion, the best implementation I've encountered.

The main concerns that pop to mind are:
- Higher level + item leveled players versus the on- level + possible lower item leveled causing disparity and making runs frustrating.
- Preventing power creep if SE reworked the past-dungeon system and gave us all of our skills.
- The new constant need to make sure the disparity between older and newer players is balanced (which means constant maintenance of older content, taking focus away from future in some form).

The system I proposed wouldn't break anything that's not already broken by the current system. As for power creep- a little testing goes a LOOONG way. That's why games like this have testers. So properly utilized, the testers would ensure that this doesn't happen. It's what testers are for and a company this big knows this.

The current system of syncing down players means that what the content is balanced around is not so easily broken. Though power creep still exists in past dungeons (syncing you down brings you down to certain stats, but it's easy to tell who has a higher lvl/ilvl during a run, leaving them at capped stats that aren't normally achieved at the level/ilevel the content was made available for), it could be much, much worse. If this is put in solely to "work on your rotation," you have striking dummies for this to work it into your muscle memory. If it's to make sure you have the DPS for a fight with your current rotation, you have the Stone, Sky and Sea for that. If you're looking to optimize in a fight, there's literally nothing better than to do the fight and pay attention to where you have moments where you have to line your utility buffs with the rest of your party, move away/stop casting/turn away and making those gaps as small as possible.

You don't play much content do you? Combat dummies are garbage and everyone who raids should already know this. There's a HUGE difference between a caster standing in one spot on a combat dummy vs. running around and doing mechanics in a real fight. Yeah, combat dummies serve a purpose and that's to let you practice the ideal rotation in a perfect world, but once you get into a fight, you have to practice THAT fight so that you can alter your rotation around the mechanics FOR THAT BOSS.

Anyone who says otherwise is just someone who doesn't know how to play this game or is simply making up arguments to keep changes from happening. Which one are you?

[Paladinleeds]

Anyone who says otherwise is just someone who doesn't know how to play this game or is simply making up arguments to keep changes from happening. Which one are you?

Actually, it's written into the lore that we revisit our memories when we revisit those dungeons. Now, it's not perfect as we obviously can power creep (but maybe we can attest that to Minstrel-style embellishment).
The power creep issue can be mitigated with two things:
1) Tighter ilvl and/or lvl tuning. Not only is that an easier fix, but I feel it's more appropriate. Plus, it also means that at most, the players will see one or two abilities into the future of what they're gonna get for their class, so it therefore also prevents overwhelming the newer player.
2) Role skill adjustments. Ok, the fact we get all 5 of our role skills when synced down does cause some potential issues. Ideally, we should only get access to role skills (and role skill numbers) at that level.

To me, not only do those 2 fixes solve the overgearing aspect better, but they're also much easier to do as they work within the systems we have already (if I remember rightly, the old cross-class system did limit how many role skills you could use when you level synced). This idea not only makes things more complicated, but I feel it provides no benefit, and a lot of pitfalls, as people have already highlights. And for practicing the mechanics of a fight, aren't you best off doing it in that particular fight?

[kikix12]

The system I proposed wouldn't break anything that's not already broken by the current system. As for power creep- a little testing goes a LOOONG way. That's why games like this have testers. So properly utilized, the testers would ensure that this doesn't happen. It's what testers are for and a company this big knows this.

If a fork have five teeth when it's in new, it's perfect.
If two teeth of a fork break, it's broken...but still usable.
If two more break...it's impossible to use for some foods, but still have its use.
Break the last tooth and you end up with useless crap that can't even work as a lever because forks are made from too soft of a material.

See that?! There are multiple stages of "breaking" stuff. Current system is not "perfect" mechanically, because it doesn't let you get that feel that there was a point to you growing stronger. And if you unsync it you cannot get any drops (experience is not relevant here) except from bosses. However, it's still usable and works while minimizing the negatives.

Your system would completely break it. The difference between high level and low level players would be massive. And that's unavoidable. Even if you balance the damage output of high levels to compare to low levels...what point do you compare?! I mean, at lvl18 playing a bard is laughably easy. At lvl70 playing a bard is a very demanding task. That means that a lvl18 player (Sastasha lvl cap) will use their available skills to the utmost, meaning that even if they are average players they will bring damage near the classes maximum output. But a player that's lvl70 synced to 18 in your way?! Not really. Most will be below or around the middle of the potential. That means that at lvl70, you are WORSE than at lvl18.

Go down with the balance to the other end of the spectrum, and nearly every lvl70 WILL be better. And that invalidates the whole process of balancing.

Go down the middle and...some players will be far weaker and some far stronger. Not to mention, the other players will be unable to get a good role model. They will find themselves copying poor gameplay or thinking that a good player is bad because relatively he's at 80% not 95%, unlike the lvl18. So the lvl18 when getting to level 70 will avoid that rotation...and is more likely to end up way lower than at 80%, rather than higher.


What I agree with is that early levels are a pain because most classes lack core FUNCTIONS to themselves. Like AoE, being the biggest culprit. Even if one, every class should have access to AoE from the very first dungeon. Every class should have access to one ranged attack from very first dungeon. And every class should have access to their core mechanics at lvl15. Stormblood made low level content significantly more of a pain because they actually took away from early levels to have what to give at the new ones. That's a design flaw that they absolutely SHOULD fix. And only that.